Privacy policy

Without an account

You can use all of Wellhow without an account. Then everything it remembers stays on your phone and we never receive it: the topics you picked, what you saved and read, the step you reached in an explainer, your reading level and whether you have seen a tip. Your phone’s own backup may include it.

Checking for updates

Each time it opens, Wellhow asks Expo, which delivers its updates, whether there is a newer version. Like any web request, this sends your network address, along with the app’s version, your phone’s system and a random code for this installation. Nothing you read or save is sent.

With an account

An account is optional. It keeps your reading the same on each iPhone you sign in on. You sign in with Apple, and you need to be 13 or over. When you do, we receive and keep:

• Apple’s ID for you in Wellhow: a code, not your name. We don’t ask Apple for your name or email address.
• Your reading: the topics you picked, what you saved and read, the step you reached in up to 10 explainers, your reading level and whether you have seen a tip.
• When your account was made and last used.
• A token from Apple, encrypted, kept only so we can end Wellhow’s sign-in with Apple when you delete your account.

We use these only to give you the same reading on each device. The legal basis is that you asked for this service.

Limiting misuse

To stop anyone flooding the service, we count requests from each network address. We keep only a keyed hash of the address, made with a secret key, never the address itself, and delete it within 2 days. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in keeping the service working.

Who else handles it

Cloudflare, our hosting provider, stores and processes account data for us; the database is in Western Europe. Expo delivers app updates. Apple handles sign-in. Cloudflare and Expo are US companies, so some data may be handled outside the UK. We don’t sell data, show adverts, use analytics or track you across other apps and websites.

Each explainer links to the sources its facts come from. Opening one loads that website, which has its own privacy policy.

How long we keep it

• Your account and reading: until you delete your account, or after 2 years without signing in, when we delete it.
• Sign-in on a device: it ends after 180 days, or when you sign out.
• Hashed network addresses: up to 2 days.

Deleting your account

In the app, go to Topics, then About and sources, then Account, then Delete account. Your account and reading are deleted from our server straight away, and we ask Apple to end Wellhow’s sign-in. If Apple can’t be reached then, we keep only the encrypted Apple token and try again once a day for up to 10 days. What is on your phone stays until you delete the app.

Your rights

You can ask for a copy of your data, ask us to correct or delete it, or object to how we use it, by writing to support@velberget.com. If you are unhappy with our answer, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.