Privacy notice
This notice explains what personal data ParallelPath processes, why, and your rights. It is written for the UK GDPR / EU GDPR and is a template the operator of this server should review and adapt.
Who is responsible? Each ParallelPath server is run independently by its own operator (the "controller"). The software's authors (DarkCipher Systems) do not run your server, cannot see your data and are not the controller of it. Contact details for this server's operator should be added below by the administrator.
Operator / controller of this server: shown here on each installed server (set by its administrator)
1. What we collect
| Data | Examples | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Account | Name, username, email, password hash, 2FA secret, time zone, preferences | To create and secure your account |
| Family records you create | Messages, attachments, calendar events, schedules, swap requests, expenses, receipts, info-bank entries, journal entries, documents, check-ins (including location if you choose to add it), call logs and, with consent, call recordings | To provide the co-parenting service and keep a reliable shared record |
| Children's information | Names, dates of birth, health, school and similar details entered by parents | To help parents share care information |
| Security & audit data | Sign-in attempts, IP addresses, device/browser type, an audit trail of actions with reasons | To protect accounts, detect abuse and keep records trustworthy |
| Server logs | Web server access logs with an anonymised IP address (last part removed), time, page (without query strings) and browser; token-bearing links are never logged | Security, troubleshooting and anonymous traffic statistics |
| Problem reports | What you send via "Report a problem" | To fix problems |
We do not use advertising, trackers, analytics services, social-media plug-ins or third-party fonts/CDNs. Nothing is sold or shared for marketing.
2. Lawful bases
- Contract / legitimate interests - providing the service you and the other parent signed up for, and keeping it secure.
- Legal obligation - where the operator must keep or disclose information by law.
- Consent - for optional things such as location in check-ins, call recording, and AI Tone Check providers outside this server. You can withdraw consent at any time for the future.
- Special category data (e.g. children's health information) is processed because a parent chose to record it for the child's care and protection; parents should only record what's necessary.
3. Children
ParallelPath is used by parents about their children. Child accounts, if created by a parent, can only see the calendar and message their parents. Parents are responsible for what they record about their children.
4. Who can see your data
- The other parent sees shared records (messages you send them, the shared calendar, shared documents, expenses, the shared info bank, journal entries you choose to share).
- Family members, children and professionals only see what a parent explicitly allowed, and professional access can be time-limited. Professionals' viewing is logged.
- Your private items (private files, private journal entries, private info and events) are visible only to you.
- The server administrator manages the server but cannot read family content or your personal details through the admin portal: accounts appear as numbers with masked usernames/emails, your activity is redacted in their audit view, backups are encrypted, and they can't reset your 2FA or get a password-reset link for you unless you switch on administrator-assisted recovery in your account. You're notified of every admin action on your account. Failed sign-in attempts show masked usernames and IP addresses (to stop attackers).
- Processors: your email provider (if email is set up - emails contain no family content) and, only if the administrator enabled one and you haven't switched Tone Check off, an AI provider that receives the draft text of messages you're writing.
5. Security
Everything is encrypted at rest (family content with per-family keys, personal details as encrypted fields, all of it on a mandatory encrypted volume, backups encrypted again) and in transit (HTTPS/TLS; calls encrypted end-to-end between devices). Web-server logs keep only anonymised addresses. See the full Security page.
6. How long we keep data
- Shared family records are kept for as long as the family account exists. They're a joint record of both parents and can't be deleted by one parent alone - this is what makes them trustworthy. "Deleted" items go to a recycle bin and their history is retained.
- Sessions expire within 12 hours; expired session records are removed after 90 days.
- Read notifications are removed after 90 days.
- Backups are kept for the number of days set by the administrator (14 by default).
- Server access logs rotate per the server's log settings (typically 14-52 weeks).
7. Your rights
You can:
- Access your data - Account > Your data gives you a ZIP of what you created or received, your private files and the shared files you uploaded - optionally encrypted with your own passphrase; reports give you the full shared record.
- Rectify - edit your profile; for records, add an amendment or a new version (with a reason). Originals are kept because the other parent relies on the record.
- Erase - you can ask the administrator to close your account. Your private items can be deleted; shared records may need to be kept because they are also the other parent's data and may be needed for legal claims (UK GDPR Art. 17(3)(e)). The administrator will explain what can be erased.
- Restrict or object to processing, and withdraw consent for optional processing.
- Portability - the export is in machine-readable JSON plus your original files.
- Complain to the operator, and to the data protection authority (in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office, ico.org.uk).
Make requests to the operator (see top of this page). The operator must respond within one month.
8. Cookies and local storage
- Essential cookies only: a session cookie for signing in (and a separate one for the admin portal). No tracking cookies, so no cookie banner is needed.
- Local storage: your display preferences (theme, text size, contrast) on this device.
- Service worker: caches only public files (styles, scripts, icons) so the app loads quickly; it never stores family information.
9. International transfers
Data stays on this server unless the administrator enabled an external AI provider or email service located elsewhere; in that case the operator is responsible for appropriate safeguards.
10. Changes
The operator will tell users about material changes to this notice through the in-app announcement banner.
Template provided with ParallelPath by DarkCipher Systems. It is not legal advice; operators should have it reviewed for their circumstances.