Privacy policy

Last updated: 9 October 2026

TouchBase is a daily check-in app for people who live alone. You check in once a day, and if you miss a check-in, TouchBase texts the emergency contacts you have chosen. This policy explains what information we collect to do that, why, who it is shared with, and your rights.

We collect only what the app needs. TouchBase does not track your location, and we never sell your information.

Who we are

TouchBase is provided by The Software Tub Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 08772069), registered office 7 Victoria Road, Tamworth, England, B79 7HS. We are the controller of the personal information described here.

What we collect

Your account

Your first name, last name and email address.
Your password. We never store it as you typed it: it is stored scrambled (salted and hashed) so it cannot be read back.
When you created your account and accepted these terms.

Your emergency contacts

For each contact you choose from your phone: their first name, last name and the phone numbers saved for them, and which number is their main number. Their main number is the one we text.
We only take the contacts you pick. We do not upload the rest of your address book.

On Android, picking a contact needs permission to read your contacts; on iPhone it does not. Either way, only the contact you pick leaves your phone.

Your check-ins

Your daily check-in time and your phone's time zone, so reminders arrive at the right local time.
When you check in. A check-in is recorded when you press the button, open the app or tap a reminder.
Records of the reminders and alert texts we send, and whether they were delivered.

Your device

A notification token, which lets us send reminders to your phone, and whether your phone is an iPhone or Android.
Technical logs from our servers, such as the time of a request, any errors, and the network (IP) address it came from. We use these to keep the service running and to fix problems.

Measuring our adverts

We advertise TouchBase on Facebook and Instagram. The app includes Meta's software development kit so we can tell how many people install and open the app after seeing an advert.

On iPhone, Meta receives app install and app open events, but not your phone's advertising identifier. Adverts are credited through Apple's privacy-preserving system (SKAdNetwork), and we do not track you across other companies' apps or websites.
On Android, Meta receives app install and app open events together with your device's advertising ID. You can reset or delete your advertising ID in your phone's settings, under Google or Privacy, depending on the phone.

Meta does not receive your name, your contacts or your check-ins.

What we don't collect

Your location. TouchBase has no map and does not use GPS.
Your address book, apart from the contacts you pick.
The invitation text you can send to a contact. It is sent from your own messaging app, so we never see it.
Payment details. TouchBase is currently free.

How we use it, and our legal basis

To provide TouchBase: your account, reminders, recording check-ins, and texting your contacts when you miss one. This is necessary to provide the service you signed up for (contract).
To contact your emergency contacts: you add them so they can be told if you miss a check-in. We hold their details for that purpose only (legitimate interests).
To keep the service secure and working, and to fix problems (legitimate interests).
To measure our adverts, as described above (legitimate interests). We don't use your information to show you adverts inside the app.
To reply to you when you contact us (legitimate interests).

If you're someone's emergency contact

Someone using TouchBase has chosen you as a person to be told if they miss a check-in. We hold your name and the phone numbers they had saved for you, and we only use them to text you about that person's missed check-ins. If you'd rather not be contacted, email support@thesoftwaretub.co.uk and we'll remove your details. Please also let the person know, so they can choose someone else.

Who we share it with

We use a small number of trusted companies to run TouchBase. They process information only on our instructions:

Microsoft Azure: hosts our servers, database and logs, in Western Europe.
Twilio: sends the alert texts to your emergency contacts.
Google Firebase Cloud Messaging, and Apple on iPhone: deliver notifications to your phone.
Google: our email provider, used when we email you or reply to you.
Meta: measures our adverts, as described above.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect someone's safety. If our business is ever sold or merged, your information may pass to the new owner under this policy, and we will tell you first.

Transfers outside the UK

Some of these companies, such as Twilio, Google and Meta, may process information in the United States or elsewhere outside the UK. Where they do, the transfer is protected by the safeguards UK law requires, such as the UK-US data bridge or approved contract terms.

How long we keep it

Your account, contacts, schedule and check-in records: for as long as you have an account. When you ask us to delete your account, we delete them within 30 days.
Server logs: a short period, normally no more than 90 days.
Records of texts already sent may be kept for a time by our text provider, Twilio, under its own retention rules.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you can ask us to:

give you a copy of the information we hold about you;
correct anything that's wrong;
delete your information (see deleting your account);
restrict how we use it, or object to us using it;
give you your information in a format you can take elsewhere.

Email support@thesoftwaretub.co.uk, and we'll reply within one month. If you're unhappy with how we handle your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.

Security

Information travels between the app and our servers encrypted (HTTPS), and passwords are stored hashed. No system is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information.

Children

TouchBase is not intended for anyone under 16, and we do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. If the change is significant, we'll also tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect.