Cowrie Research

location-protocol

3 min read

Location Protocol

  • Name: Location Protocol
  • URL: https://spec.decentralizedgeo.org/
  • Category: geospatial data envelope standard / signed spatial-record specification / implementation-agnostic location-attestation protocol
  • Summary: Location Protocol is worth cataloging not as another proof-of-location app or witness network, but as a thinner standard beneath those systems: a minimal envelope for portable, optionally signed spatial records. Its primary materials emphasize four required fields — lp_version, srs, location_type, and location — wrapped around existing geospatial formats like GeoJSON or H3, with optional composable fields for timestamps, media, attributes, and proofs. That makes it a useful lower-bound comparison point for Astral, Location Proof Protocol, FOAM, Witness Chain, and other geospatial-verification projects because it isolates payload normalization, spatial-reference clarity, proof carriage, and backend choice from any one trust network or storage layer.
  • What it does:
    • Defines a minimal schema for portable location records that can wrap existing geospatial formats instead of replacing them
    • Requires explicit versioning and spatial-reference metadata so downstream systems do not have to guess coordinate semantics or axis order
    • Lets implementations attach optional timestamps, media, structured attributes, and proof artifacts without breaking the base envelope
    • Frames signatures and attestation backends as optional implementation choices rather than protocol-defining requirements
    • Positions the same record structure for use across onchain, offchain, peer-to-peer, and traditional database environments
    • Provides implementation guidance and ecosystem materials through the spec site, the spec repo, and the Astral SDK
  • Key claims:
    • The strongest reason to keep Location Protocol in the corpus is that it makes the lower-layer geospatial envelope explicit. Instead of starting with one proof network or one attestation product, it starts with a minimal record shape that can travel across systems.
    • The four required fields are the core mechanism insight. The spec repeatedly says the protocol is a thin wrapper around existing spatial formats, adding version, spatial reference, format identification, and the payload itself so records can be interpreted consistently anywhere.
    • The materials are unusually clear that this is not trying to replace GeoJSON, H3, or other geospatial standards. It is trying to normalize the missing metadata and signing surface around them.
    • The protocol also matters because it keeps implementation and protocol separate. The Easier Data writeup and the Astral SDK both use Ethereum Attestation Service as a reference path, but the spec says the format should work across Ethereum, ATProto, IPFS, databases, and other systems.
    • That separation is analytically useful for the location cluster. It exposes one layer for payload structure and proof slots, another for signature/storage choices, and still another for whatever witness or credibility system a downstream product adds.
    • Location Protocol belongs in the active corpus because many later proof of location or geospatial verification projects implicitly bundle envelope design, witness policy, verification logic, and storage backends together. This spec helps separate those layers again.
  • Whitepaper: No standalone Location Protocol whitepaper surfaced in this pass. The strongest primary materials were the public specification, the Easier Data writeup, the spec repository, and the Astral SDK README collected in ../../whitepapers/location-protocol-primary-sources-2026-05-13.md.
  • Sources:

Internal linkages

  • Slightly thicker standard that adds recipe semantics and EAS-native proof packaging on top of this envelope: location-proof-protocol

  • Strongest higher-level proof-stack comparisons once the envelope stops being the point: astral-protocol and witness-chain

  • Attestation backend contrast that helps explain why this note stays thin and storage-agnostic: ethereum-attestation-service

  • Last reviewed: 2026-06-01 UTC

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