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Privacy Policy

How Upkind collects, uses and protects information. Written to be readable, with safeguarding for young people built in from the start.

Last updated20 May 2026
Effective1 September 2026
Version1.0
Data ControllerUpkind CIC

01Who we are

Upkind is a youth development platform operated by Upkind CIC, a Community Interest Company registered in England and Wales (company number 17105926) with its registered office at Suite 1, 1711 High Street, Knowle, Solihull, B93 0LN, United Kingdom.

For the purposes of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, Upkind CIC is the data controller of personal information processed through the Upkind platform, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Plain English: When you use Upkind, the company responsible for your information is Upkind CIC.

02Information we collect

We collect only what we need to run Upkind safely and helpfully. This includes:

Account information

  • First name, year group and age band (we do not require a surname or full date of birth)
  • School or organisation (where a young person is enrolled through a pilot school)
  • Parent or guardian contact email for users under 13

Activity information

  • Activities, milestones and reflections a young person chooses to record
  • Verifications by teachers, coaches, mentors or guardians
  • Badges, streaks and recognition received through the platform

Technical information

  • Device type, operating system and approximate region (city level, never precise location)
  • Diagnostic logs and crash reports, where the user or operator has consented

03How we use information

We use personal information to:

  • Operate the Upkind platform and build a young person's development profile
  • Allow teachers, mentors and guardians to verify and support activities
  • Generate the personal QR code a young person may choose to share with colleges, universities or employers
  • Keep the service safe, including detecting misuse and protecting safeguarding
  • Communicate with users about important changes, with parental consent where required

We do not sell personal information. We do not run third party advertising and we do not profile young people for advertising.

04Lawful basis

We rely on the following legal bases under UK GDPR:

  • Legitimate interests. Running and improving the platform in a way young people, parents and schools would reasonably expect.
  • Consent. For optional features, parental consent for under 13s, and for any non essential cookies or analytics.
  • Contract. Where a school or organisation has entered into a pilot agreement with us.
  • Legal obligation. Where we are required to retain or disclose information by law.

05Children & safeguarding

Upkind is built for young people aged 8 to 21 and we take safeguarding seriously.

  • Users under 13 require parental or guardian consent to create a profile.
  • We do not show public profiles by default. Sharing through a QR code is always an active, informed choice.
  • We do not include public messaging, comments or follower features. Upkind is not a social network.
  • Our team follows DfE Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) principles in product decisions.
  • Safeguarding concerns can be raised at any time to safeguarding@upkind.app.
If a young person is at immediate risk, please contact the appropriate emergency or safeguarding service (999 / NSPCC / your DSL). Upkind cannot respond in an emergency.

06Sharing & disclosure

We share personal information only where necessary, with:

  • Schools or organisations a young person is enrolled with, where applicable
  • Parents and guardians of users under 13
  • Carefully vetted processors who help us run the service (hosting, error reporting, transactional email)
  • Recipients chosen by the young person themselves through the QR sharing feature
  • Authorities where required by law or for safeguarding reasons

07International transfers

Upkind hosts data within the United Kingdom and European Economic Area wherever possible. Where a processor operates outside these regions, we ensure an appropriate transfer mechanism is in place. This may include UK International Data Transfer Agreements or EU Standard Contractual Clauses with supplementary safeguards.

08Retention

We keep personal information only as long as it is useful and lawful to do so. As a guide:

  • Active accounts. For as long as the account is in use.
  • Inactive accounts. We contact the user (or guardian) before deletion after 24 months of inactivity.
  • Pilot school records. For the duration of the pilot plus 12 months.
  • Safeguarding logs. Retained in line with school safeguarding policies and statutory requirements.

09Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to processing of your personal information, and to data portability. To exercise any of these rights, please contact team@upkind.app. We respond within one calendar month.

You can also complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

10Cookies

Our public website uses only essential cookies needed to operate the site. We do not use third party advertising cookies. If we add analytics in future, it will be a privacy respecting, aggregated solution and we will update this policy accordingly.

11Changes to this policy

We will update this Privacy Policy as the platform develops. We will notify pilot schools and account holders of material changes in advance and post the date of the most recent revision at the top of this page.

12Contact us

For any privacy or data protection question, please contact: