Offline-first design
A report should not need a signal bar to start moving.
Offline mesh relay means that when a phone has no cellular signal or internet, a report can still be captured and saved on that phone, then passed hand-to-hand — device-to-device, over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi — between nearby phones until one of them reaches a connection. At that point it automatically reaches ChildTrace's servers, with nothing typed twice and nothing lost in between.
This matters because children go missing in places where connectivity itself cannot be assumed: rural areas far from cell coverage, and displacement or conflict-affected settings where infrastructure is damaged or absent. ChildTrace is built to operate in low-connectivity and offline environments — mesh relay extends that principle from "the app still works with no signal" to "the report can still travel with no signal."
How mesh relay works
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1. Capture
A report is made on a phone with no signal. It is saved locally on that device — never lost while waiting for connectivity.
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2. Relay
The report hops between nearby relay-capable devices, each one carrying it a little closer to connectivity.
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3. Sync
The moment any device in the chain reaches the internet, the report reaches ChildTrace's servers through the same verification pipeline as any other report.
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4. Verify
Professionals review the relayed report exactly as they would any other report.
Where this stands today
The mesh-relay server infrastructure is built and operating: ChildTrace's backend is ready to receive relayed reports, verify they haven't already arrived, and reconcile them safely into the normal case pipeline.
Bringing device-to-device relay to everyone depends on one more piece: a mesh-capable field or community companion app. Real phone-to-phone Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct relay requires native mobile platform capabilities that a website running in a browser tab cannot provide — so this page describes the server-side capability that is ready today, not a feature this web platform performs by itself. Infrastructure is ready; a native companion app is the next step to bring mesh relay to everyone.
Same review, every time
A relayed report goes through the identical review and data-minimization safeguards as any report submitted directly — relay never bypasses verification.
Relay nodes see nothing extra
A phone that only passes a report along never sees more than what any other reporter would submit, and never gains access to case data.
Not a shortcut
Mesh relay changes how a report travels before it arrives — it never changes what happens once it does.
Have a signal right now?
Report directly — no waiting for a relay chain when you already have connectivity.