This notice covers the scOS mobile apps on iOS and Android.
1. Who this notice covers
This App Privacy Policy explains how Smart City Operating System Limited ("scOS", "we", "us") handles personal data when you use the scOS app on iPhone, iPad or Android.
It supplements:
- the Website Privacy Policy: scos.co.uk;
- the Service Privacy Policy: the Home and Business security service, including cameras, the Intelligence Hub, detection, classifications, voice announcements and alert records.
Camera footage, detections, voice announcements and Hub recordings are governed by the Service Privacy Policy, not this one. This notice covers what the app itself collects on the device and sends in order to sign you in, deliver alerts, and (if you agree) measure crashes and usage.
This notice is given under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. The app is offered in the United Kingdom. The ICO is our supervisory authority. We have not appointed a Data Protection Officer. The sole director, Flynn Robinson, is the controller's representative.
2. Who we are
Smart City Operating System Limited, company number 13569571.
- Registered office (legal identity): 71 Manor Road, Caddington, Luton, LU1 4EE
- Correspondence / mailing: 4th Floor, Silverstream House, 45 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 6EB
- Contact: Contact Us: email, telephone and other methods
- ICO registration: ZB346678
3. Information the app collects
3.1 Account and sign-in
To use the app you sign in to a service account. We process your email address, user identifier, and authentication tokens. Tokens are stored in the iOS Keychain or Android Keystore. Sign-in is handled by Amazon Cognito in AWS London (eu-west-2).
This is necessary for the contract: we cannot give you the app's features without knowing which account you are.
3.2 Device information
We process device type and model, operating system and version, and a device identifier used to run the app and deliver notifications. We do not use these identifiers for advertising.
3.3 Push notifications
To send security alerts we hold a push token for your device and your notification preferences. Delivery uses Apple Push Notification service (APNs) on iOS and Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) on Android. A security alert may include a small detection thumbnail so you can see it quickly. It does not include the event video, which stays on the Hub.
Push is part of delivering the service (contract). You can mute or disable alerts in the app, including on a timer, and you can disable notifications in the operating system. You will then not receive alerts on that device for as long as they are muted or disabled.
3.4 Usage analytics and crash reports (off until you agree)
The app includes:
- Firebase Analytics: app launches, screen views, feature use and performance;
- Firebase Crashlytics: crash logs, error reports and technical diagnostics.
Both are off until you choose. The first time you use the app we show a privacy dialog. You can accept all, reject all, or choose separately. You can change this later in the app's Privacy Settings.
Withdrawing consent stops future collection. It does not by itself delete what was already sent. To ask us to delete previously collected analytics or crash data, use Contact Us.
This consent is for our first-party product improvement. It is not Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt, and it is not consent for advertising. We do not use advertising SDKs.
3.5 Firebase App Check
The app uses Firebase App Check so that only a genuine copy of the app can call certain backends. That is a security measure, not analytics.
3.6 Permissions the app may ask for
The app does not film you with the phone's camera. Live view is a receive-only stream from your security cameras.
| Permission | Why we ask |
|---|---|
| Notifications | Security alerts |
| Face ID / Touch ID / device biometrics | To unlock the app on this device. This stays on the device. It is not facial recognition of people on your cameras and is not used to identify anyone in footage |
| Bluetooth | Pairing smart devices to the Intelligence Hub |
| Local network / nearby devices | Talking to the Hub and discovering devices on your network |
| Photo library (add only) | Saving a clip you chose to download |
| Location (Android) | The operating system may require this to scan for nearby Bluetooth or Wi-Fi devices when you commission a Hub. We do not use it to track where you go |
| Phone camera (framework only) | Declared because the video-streaming library references it. The app does not capture video with the phone camera |
You can refuse a permission. Some features will then not work (for example pairing, or saving a clip).
3.7 What we do not do in the app
- We do not track you for advertising.
- We do not do cross-app or cross-site tracking.
- We do not use advertising SDKs or ad networks.
- We do not sell personal information or share it with data brokers.
- We do not link app analytics with third-party data for marketing.
4. How we use app data
| Purpose | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Sign you in and keep the session | Contract (Art 6(1)(b)) |
| Show cameras, alerts, briefings and messages | Contract (Art 6(1)(b)): the underlying footage and detections are explained in the Service Privacy Policy |
| Deliver push alerts | Contract (Art 6(1)(b)) |
| Protect the account and the app (including App Check) | Legitimate interests (Art 6(1)(f)): security of the service |
| Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics | Consent (Art 6(1)(a)) |
5. Third-party services used by the app
| Service | Purpose | Privacy information |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Cognito (AWS) | Sign-in and account | aws.amazon.com/privacy |
| Firebase Cloud Messaging | Push notifications | firebase.google.com/support/privacy |
| Firebase Analytics | Usage analytics, only with consent | Same Firebase notice |
| Firebase Crashlytics | Crash reports, only with consent | Same Firebase notice |
| Firebase App Check | App authenticity | Same Firebase notice |
| Apple APNs | iOS push delivery | Apple's privacy notice |
Account and authentication data is processed in AWS London and Ireland.
Firebase services are operated by Google and may process data outside the United Kingdom, including in the United States. Where that is a restricted transfer we intend to rely on Google's Standard Contractual Clauses with the UK Addendum (or an adequacy decision if one applies), where those tools are in force for the account we use. We have not confirmed every vendor addendum on a company-held account. We do not send video frames through Firebase Analytics or Crashlytics.
A security alert may include a small event snapshot so you can see the alert quickly. Apple or Google deliver that notification to your device. The snapshot is not a cloud copy of the event video. Event video stays on the Hub. Push networks are global. They see a device token and the notification payload, not your Hub recordings.
Footage, detections and voice announcements use the processors named in the Service Privacy Policy.
6. Storage, security and retention
- Tokens sit in the hardware-backed Keychain / Keystore.
- Traffic uses TLS.
- Server-side account data is encrypted at rest in AWS.
| App-related data | Retention |
|---|---|
| Account data | Duration of the account plus up to 2 years: see the Service Privacy Policy |
| Push tokens | Until you uninstall the app, revoke permission, or the token is replaced; cleared on account closure |
| Analytics (if you consented) | Up to 26 months |
| Crash and diagnostic data (if you consented) | 90 days |
| On-device chat or briefing cache | Short-lived; should not outlast the server copy |
Alert records, Hub recordings and billing follow the Service Privacy Policy (alert records up to 30 days; event footage and optional 24/7 recording on the Hub only; billing 7 years).
If you save a clip to Photos, that copy is outside our control.
7. Your rights
You have the same rights as in the Service Privacy Policy: access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection, portability where it applies, and withdrawal of consent.
Use the in-app Privacy Settings for analytics and crash consent. For everything else, use Contact Us or /privacy/complaints/.
Requests about Hub recordings go to the person who operates the property. We cannot view those recordings.
8. Children
The app is not for anyone under 18. We do not knowingly create accounts for children. If you think a child has an account, contact us and we will close it.
Children may appear in camera view at a property. That processing is explained in the Service Privacy Policy, in Children.
9. Complaints
- Online: /privacy/complaints/
- Other electronic and telephone contact: Contact Us
- Post: Smart City Operating System Limited, 4th Floor, Silverstream House, 45 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 6EB
We acknowledge a data-protection complaint within 30 days and keep you informed of progress (Data Protection Act 2018, section 164A). If your complaint is about an AI classification or an automated voice announcement, a human reviews it within 14 days. If the same kind of disputed classification is likely to happen again at that property, we will pause automated voice announcements for that property or that context while we review, unless we have a compelling reason not to: see the Service Privacy Policy and the complaints page.
You can complain to the ICO at any time: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/ or 0303 123 1113. Our ICO registration is ZB346678.
10. Changes
We will update the date at the top when this notice changes. If a change is material we may also tell you in the app or by email.
11. How to contact us
Smart City Operating System Limited
Registered office (legal identity): 71 Manor Road, Caddington, Luton, LU1 4EE
Correspondence: 4th Floor, Silverstream House, 45 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 6EB
Email, telephone and other contact methods: Contact Us
Related notices: Website Privacy Policy · Service Privacy Policy · Complaints