Privacy policy

Last updated 7 November 2026

The short version

We only collect what Handler needs to work.
No adverts, no tracking, and we never sell your information.
Civilians can't see the verified side. ID photos are seen only by our admins and are deleted once they've been checked.
You can delete your account at any time from the app.

1. Who we are

Handler is run by Alisdair Jones, trading as Handler K9, a sole trader based in England. Under UK data protection law (the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018), we are the "controller" of your personal information. Contact us at handlerapp.noreply@gmail.com.

2. What we collect, and why

What	Why	Legal basis
Your account: email address, password (stored scrambled, so we can't read it), username, and the date you confirmed you're 18 or over and agreed to the terms	To create your account, sign you in, and send you account emails such as sign-up and password reset codes	Contract: we need it to provide Handler to you
Your profile: display name, bio, country and region, if you add them	To show other members who you are	Contract
What you post: messages, your dogs, and training logs (dates, times, distances, conditions, notes and results)	To show your posts to the right people and keep your training records	Contract
Verification, if you apply: your role, organisation, country, any vouches, and a photo of your ID or warrant card if you upload one. For a work email, we keep only the part after the @ (for example examplecounty.gov), never the full address.	To check that only genuine working handlers get into verified channels, which protects the people in them	Legitimate interests (keeping verified channels safe), and contract
Safety records: reports you make or that are made about you, blocks, bans, and a log of what our admins and moderators do	To keep the community safe, handle complaints, and meet our duties under the Online Safety Act 2023	Legal obligation, and legitimate interests (keeping the community safe)
Technical information: our providers' servers record IP addresses, device or browser type, and when requests were made	Security, stopping abuse, and fixing problems	Legitimate interests (keeping Handler secure)

We don't collect your location, your contacts or advertising IDs, and Handler has no analytics or advertising trackers. Photos you upload are re-saved inside the app before they're sent, which removes the hidden GPS location and camera details from the file.

Other members see your username, display name, bio and region, and what you post in channels they can see. Civilians can't see verified channels, or who is verified, unless you choose to show your Working badge.
Your dogs and training logs are visible only to you, unless you choose to share them with all members or with verified members only.
Our admins and moderators see what they need to handle verification, reports and safety. They must use two-factor sign-in.
Companies that run parts of Handler for us. They may only use your information to provide their service to us:
- Supabase: database, sign-in and file storage. Our data is stored on their servers in the United States.
- Cloudflare: hosts these web pages and the web version of the app.
- Google (Gmail): sends our account emails, such as sign-up and password reset codes.
The police or other authorities, when the law requires it, or to protect someone from serious harm (for example reporting child sexual abuse material or a threat to someone's life).

We never sell your information or share it for advertising.

4. Your information is stored in the United States

Our database is in the United States. When your information goes from the UK to the US, it is protected by the safeguards in our providers' data processing terms, such as the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, or by the UK–US "data bridge" where the provider is certified under it.

5. How long we keep it

Your account, profile, dogs and training logs: until you delete your account.
Your messages: they stay in their channels after you delete your account, shown as from a deleted account and no longer linked to you. To remove them, delete them before you delete your account, or email us and we'll remove them.
ID photos: deleted as soon as they've been checked. We keep only the date they were checked. If you delete your account first, any photo not yet checked is deleted with it.
Verification requests and vouches you received: deleted with your account. Vouches you gave to others stay on their record, without your name.
Reports, bans and the log of staff actions: kept while they're needed to keep the community safe, deal with complaints or meet legal duties. We review them at least once a year and delete what's no longer needed.
Emails you send us: kept while we deal with them and for as long as we may need them afterwards (for example for a complaint). We review them at least once a year.
Copies of account emails we send (your email address and a one-time code) stay in our Gmail sent folder until we clear it, which we do at least every 3 months.
Server logs: kept by our providers for a short time, usually a few days.

6. Your rights

You can ask us to:

give you a copy of your information
correct information that's wrong
delete your information
stop or limit how we use it, or object to how we use it
give you your information in a format you can take elsewhere

Email handlerapp.noreply@gmail.com, ideally from the address on your account so we know it's you. We'll reply within one month. It's free.

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or 0303 123 1113. We'd appreciate the chance to sort it out first.

Wherever you live, including in the United States, you can make the same requests and we'll treat them the same way.

7. Children

Handler is for adults only. We don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If we find out an account belongs to someone under 18, we close it and delete their information.

8. Keeping it secure

Passwords are stored scrambled, everything is encrypted on its way to and from the app, and our database provider encrypts stored data.
Database rules decide who can see what, so the verified side stays closed to civilians even if someone tampers with the app.
Admins and moderators must sign in with two-factor authentication.
No system is perfectly secure. If there's a breach that affects you, we'll tell you, and the ICO, where the law requires it.

9. Changes to this policy

If we make a significant change, we'll tell you in the app before it takes effect. The date at the top shows when it was last updated.

10. Contact

Alisdair Jones, trading as Handler K9. Email handlerapp.noreply@gmail.com.