Privacy Policy

• Account details: your name, email address and, if given, a mobile number, along with whether you are using the service for yourself or for a relative.
• Profile details: first name only, age, gender, postcode (used only to work out a broad area such as "West Yorkshire"), interests, personality words, conversation topics, call preferences and a short "about" paragraph.
• Telephone verification: the number to verify and whether verification succeeded. The one-time codes are handled by our telephony provider, Twilio.
• Identity verification status: whether a check is not started, pending, verified or failed, which route was used (passport or driving licence, or proof of address), whether the liveness, face match and UK location checks passed, and the reference for that check. Where the provider returns them, we also hold the verified date of birth, name and gender so we can confirm the profile is accurate and that members are in the UK. We do not store identity documents, selfies or verification videos. Those are captured and held by our verification provider, Didit, under their own retention policy; we receive only the outcome.
• Call recordings: calls made through Elder Connect may be recorded for safety and safeguarding. Both people hear a spoken notice at the start of every call. Recordings are stored securely and can only be listened to by our safety administrators in connection with an active report or safety case — they are not browsable by staff otherwise, and never by other members.
• Consent records: who agreed to these terms, when, and which version — including a relative's confirmation that they have the right to register a senior adult.
• Service records: matches, connections, call times and durations (never call content or recordings), feedback, blocks, reports and safety cases.

Profile information is used to suggest compatible people and for nothing else. We do not sell personal information, we do not advertise, and we do not share your details with other members: matches see only a first name, broad area, age and shared interests. Contact details are used for service messages such as match suggestions and safety notices, according to the preferences on your Settings page. Verification and safety records are used to protect members and to meet our legal obligations.

Our lawful bases are your consent (joining and receiving notifications), the performance of the service you have asked for, and our legitimate interest in keeping members safe from harm and fraud.

Twilio (telephone verification and private-number calls), Didit (identity verification), SendGrid (email delivery) and our hosting and database providers. Each acts on our instructions under a data processing agreement.

• Profile and account data: while your account is open, then deleted within 30 days of closure.
• Call metadata and feedback: 12 months.
• Call recordings: 90 days, then deleted automatically — unless attached to an open safety case, when they are kept until that case is resolved.
• Consent records: 6 years, so we can show what was agreed and when.
• Safety reports, blocks and enforcement records: up to 6 years, to protect other members.
• Identity documents: never held by us. Retention is Didit's, per their published policy.

You have the right to access a copy of your information, to have inaccurate details corrected, to have your data deleted, to restrict or object to certain uses, to data portability, and to withdraw consent at any time. You can edit your profile and close your account yourself from Settings, or email hello@elderconnect.org.uk and we will respond within one month.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

A photograph is optional. It is stored privately and is not shown to anyone unless you switch it on in your privacy settings. A separate switch controls whether your first name and photograph may ever be featured on this website, and a third covers an optional testimonial. All three are off by default and can be turned off again at any time.

Members you are connected with see only: your first name, your approximate age, a broad area such as "West Yorkshire", your interests, and your photograph if you have allowed it. They never see your surname, email address, telephone number or full postcode.

Where a relative, carer or organisation sets up and manages a profile, the account holder can see and edit that profile's details. We record who registered the profile, their relationship, any organisation name, and their confirmation that they have the person's agreement. The senior adult must confirm by telephone before any matching begins, and can ask us to remove a manager's access at any time.

Data is held in an access-controlled UK/EU-hosted database with row-level security, so an account can only reach its own records. Photographs are stored in private storage and shared only through short-lived links. Telephone numbers are never revealed to other members — calls are bridged through a platform number.

We do not use advertising or third-party analytics trackers. We keep basic technical logs (such as error reports) to keep the service working.

If we change this policy we will update the version above and tell members by email where the change is significant. Questions, requests or complaints: hello@elderconnect.org.uk. A published telephone number will be added here when one is available.

Please note: this policy describes how the service actually works today. It is written in plain English and is not legal advice — it should be reviewed by a qualified UK solicitor or data protection adviser before publication, and the data controller's registered name and address added.

We use only the cookies and local storage needed to keep you signed in. There is no advertising or third-party tracking on this site.