Security

How we keep this safe.

CloseKin holds something private: a conversation between a parent and a young person. Here is exactly how it is protected, in plain English.

Who can get in

  • CloseKin is invite-only. Only email addresses we have added to the invite list can create an account or sign in.
  • Sign-in is by email and password, or a one-tap link sent to your email address. Passwords are never stored in a readable form and are handled by our authentication provider.
  • Forgotten passwords are reset only through a link sent to the registered email address.
  • A long period of inactivity signs you out, with a warning first, so a shared or borrowed device does not stay logged in.

Who can see what

  • A connection is private to the two accounts in it. No other family, and no other account, can reach it.
  • Answers stay sealed until both people have replied. Nobody can read an answer early.
  • These rules are enforced by the database itself against your signed-in account, not only by what the screens choose to show. A request for someone else's data is refused at the source.

How your data is protected

  • Everything travels over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection, and is encrypted at rest by our hosting provider.
  • Data is held on managed UK/EU infrastructure operated by our hosting provider, who handle patching and physical security.
  • Reminder and unlock emails never contain the text of an answer — they only tell you there is something to read in the app.

Admin access

  • There is one administrator account, used to manage the invite list, read support requests and view anonymised pilot activity.
  • Administrator status is checked on the server against a separate roles record. It cannot be granted by anything stored on your device.
  • Administrators do not read your answers as part of running the service. Pilot figures are counts and anonymised extracts, not a window into a family's conversation.

Keeping the app current

  • CloseKin runs on a managed platform: the servers, database and operating software are patched by the provider rather than left to age.
  • The app itself is rebuilt and redeployed whenever we change it, so fixes reach everyone at once. There is nothing for you to update.
  • Anything you install to your home screen is the same website, kept up to date automatically.

What we deliberately don't do

  • No location tracking. No reading of messages, browsing history or screen time. CloseKin only ever contains what you both choose to write in it.
  • No selling of email addresses or app content, and no third-party advertising trackers.
  • No scanning of answers. The promise that an answer is sealed until you both reply would mean nothing if we read them.

The Children's Code

  • The Children's Code (the ICO's Age Appropriate Design Code) sets 15 standards for services used by under-18s. CloseKin is 13+, so it applies to us, and the app is built around it.
  • Best interests first: the point of CloseKin is a conversation, not engagement. A parent cannot read an answer before writing their own, and there is no dashboard of a young person's activity for a parent to watch.
  • High privacy by default: answers sealed, nothing public, nothing shared, reminders and phone notifications off until someone turns them on.
  • Data minimisation: an email address, a chosen name, a cartoon avatar and whatever you write. No location, no phone number, no messages, no browsing or screen-time data.
  • No profiling, no behavioural advertising and no automated decisions about anyone.
  • Nudge techniques kept honest: the streak has a grace day, no leaderboard and no penalty for ending it, and milestones can be dismissed for good.
  • Told plainly: young people get their own short privacy summary written for them, including why the streak exists.
  • Rights inside the app: read your own history, change your name and avatar, leave a connection, or delete your account immediately from Profile.

A note on certification

  • Cyber Essentials and similar schemes certify an organisation's whole IT setup — laptops, phones, email accounts and cloud logins — rather than a single app. This page describes the app.
  • If you are assessing CloseKin for a school or service and need more detail, get in touch and we will answer directly.

Reporting something

  • Found a security problem, or worried about someone's safety? Email hello@myclosekin.app and tell us what you saw. We would much rather hear about it early.
  • Inside the app, the 'Need help?' button on every screen reaches us too.

CloseKin is a conversation space for families aged 13 and over. It is not a monitoring tool, not a crisis service, and not a substitute for professional help. In an emergency, call 999.

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