Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 14 March 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Parentlog collects, uses, stores and protects your personal data when you use our app and website. Please read it carefully. By using Parentlog, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this policy.

1. Who we are

For all privacy-related enquiries, contact us at legal@parentlog.app. We are the data controller for the personal data you provide to us.

2. What data we collect

We collect the following categories of personal data:

  • Account data - your name (if provided), email address, and authentication credentials when you sign up. If you sign in with Apple, we receive only the data Apple shares with us under your chosen sharing settings.
  • App content (your records) - journal entries, expense records, calendar entries, messages, and any files you upload (receipts, photos, videos). This data belongs to you. Every record is cryptographically timestamped and verified at the moment of writing to preserve its integrity.
  • Information about third parties you enter - your co-parent's name and email address (when you initiate a pairing), and information about your children that you choose to record. You are responsible for ensuring you have the right to enter this information.
  • Usage and diagnostic data - crash reports, feature usage, and performance data collected via our analytics and crash-reporting tools. This data is anonymised or pseudonymised and cannot be used to identify you.
  • Device data - device type, operating system version, and app version, used for compatibility and diagnostic purposes.
  • Payment data - subscription payments are processed entirely by Apple via the App Store. We do not receive or store your card details.

3. How we use your data

We use your data to:

  • Provide, maintain and improve the Parentlog service
  • Authenticate your account and keep it secure
  • Generate PDF exports at your request, including server-side cryptographic verification
  • Send service notifications (new messages from your co-parent, pairing requests) via push notification
  • Diagnose crashes and improve app stability
  • Comply with our legal obligations

We do not sell your data to third parties. Ever. We do not use your content for advertising. We do not read your private journal entries, messages or records except where required by law.

4. Legal basis for processing (UK & EU GDPR)

We process your data under the following legal bases:

  • Contract (Article 6(1)(b)) - processing necessary to provide the service you have signed up for, including storing your records, generating exports, and enabling co-parent communication.
  • Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)) - crash reporting, fraud prevention and security monitoring, where this does not override your rights and interests.
  • Consent (Article 6(1)(a)) - optional features such as AI tone analysis and AI-generated summaries, where you explicitly opt in. You may withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
  • Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)) - where we are required to process or retain data to comply with applicable law.

5. Data relating to children

Parentlog is intended for use by adults (aged 18 and over). The app may contain information about children entered by their parents or guardians - for example, custody schedule records or expense notes relating to a child. This information is subject to the same security and access controls as all other user data.

We do not knowingly collect personal data directly from children. If you believe a child has provided us with data without appropriate authorisation, please contact us at legal@parentlog.app.

6. Shared data and co-parent pairing

When you connect with a co-parent using an invite code, a pairing is established. All data you created before pairing remains private to you - pairing does not automatically share any existing records. Only entries you explicitly mark as Shared at the time of writing become visible to your co-parent.

Shared entries, including messages, are considered the personal data of both you and your co-parent. Because these records may be used as legal evidence, they cannot be deleted by either party unilaterally. Any request to delete shared records will be handled in accordance with our legal obligations and, where applicable, will require the agreement of both parties.

Your private entries remain yours alone and are never visible to your co-parent.

7. Immutability and record integrity

Parentlog is built on a principle of immutability. Once a record is written, it cannot be edited or deleted by any user. Every entry is assigned a server-set timestamp and a SHA-256 cryptographic hash at the moment of creation. This design exists to preserve the evidential integrity of your records.

This means that data deletion rights under UK GDPR (see Section 11) may be subject to legally recognised exceptions where records are reasonably required for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

8. AI features

Parentlog offers optional AI-powered features, including tone analysis of messages before sending and AI-generated plain-English summaries of recent activity. These features are subject to the following rules:

  • All AI features are opt-in only. You can enable or disable each feature independently in Settings.
  • No entry content is sent to any third-party AI provider without your explicit consent for that specific feature.
  • AI features never modify stored entries.

9. Data storage and security

Your data is stored by Google LLC acting as our data processor, under a data processing agreement with us. Data is held within the European Economic Area (EEA), which provides an equivalent level of data protection to the UK under UK GDPR.

We take the security of your records seriously. Access to your data is strictly controlled, your private records are visible only to you, and shared records only to you and your connected co-parent. All data in transit is encrypted. We implement technical and organisational measures appropriate to the sensitivity of the information we hold.

No system is completely secure. In the event of a data breach that poses a high risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as required by law.

10. How long we keep your data

We retain your account and content data for as long as your account is active. If your subscription lapses or is cancelled, your data is not immediately deleted, because we believe your records may still be important to you, and we give you time to export them.

After cancellation: your records are retained for 12 months from the date your subscription ends. During this period you can log back in and download a PDF export of your records (a reasonable limit on export frequency applies). If you re-subscribe at any point during this window, your account is fully restored and the 12-month retention period resets from the new cancellation date, should you cancel again.

Paired accounts: if you are paired with a co-parent, records you share cannot be deleted while the other party's account remains active, even if your own subscription has ended. Once both subscription have been cancelled, shared records are retained for 12 months from the date of the last cancellation, then deleted. This is because shared records may form part of ongoing legal proceedings that neither party has full control over.

Account deletion: if you request full account deletion, we will delete your personal data within 30 days, subject to the paired-account rules above and the exceptions listed below.

We may retain data beyond these periods where:

  • We are required to do so by law or court order
  • Retention is reasonably necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims

Anonymised diagnostic data (crash logs, usage statistics) may be retained indefinitely as it cannot be linked back to you.

11. Your rights under UK GDPR

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

  • Access - request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
  • Rectification - ask us to correct inaccurate account data (note: app records are immutable by design)
  • Erasure - request deletion of your personal data, subject to the exceptions described in Sections 7 and 10
  • Restriction - ask us to limit how we process your data in certain circumstances
  • Portability - receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format (your PDF export function serves this purpose for your records)
  • Object - object to processing based on legitimate interests
  • Withdraw consent - for any processing based on consent (such as AI features), at any time, without affecting prior processing

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at legal@parentlog.app. We will respond within 30 days. We may ask you to verify your identity before we act on your request.

12. Third parties we share data with

We share your data only with the following parties, and only to the extent necessary:

  • Google Firebase (Google LLC) - infrastructure provider for authentication, database, file storage, cloud functions and crash reporting. Google processes data on our behalf under a data processing agreement.
  • Apple Inc. - payment processing via the App Store. Apple processes payment data under their own privacy policy. We do not receive your card details.
  • AI providers - only if you explicitly opt in to an AI feature, and only the specific content submitted for analysis. We will identify the provider in the relevant feature settings. Content is not retained by the provider after processing.
  • Legal and regulatory authorities - where we are required to disclose data by law, court order or warrant. We will notify you where legally permitted to do so.

No other third parties receive your personal data.

13. Cookies

The Parentlog website uses only strictly necessary cookies, for example, to remember your preferences so the site works correctly. We do not use advertising, tracking or analytics cookies that require your consent. Under UK PECR, no cookie consent banner is required where only strictly necessary cookies are used.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will notify you of any significant changes via email or an in-app notice at least 14 days before they take effect. The "last updated" date at the top of this page always reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of Parentlog after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

15. Contact and complaints

For any privacy questions or to exercise your rights, contact us at legal@parentlog.app.