App Privacy Policy | Pill Connect

This privacy policy explains how the Pill Connect app ("the app") handles information when you use it as part of a clinical study. The app is a companion reader for a study medication dispenser: it collects activity from your dispenser over Bluetooth and sends it to your study.

This policy is separate from our website privacy notice, which covers visitors to pillconnect.com.

Who we are and how to contact us

Pill Connect Limited — registered in England and Wales, company number 08719563 — provides the app.

Post: 125 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 2BY, United Kingdom
Email: info@pill-connect.com

We are registered with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as a data controller, registration reference ZB792860.

The two roles this policy covers

The app handles two different kinds of information, and our responsibility is different for each.

Your study data — we handle it for your study

The app records activity from your medication dispenser and sends it to your study's secure platform. We handle this information only on the instructions of your study's sponsor, who is responsible for it (the "data controller"). We identify you only by a study code — we never hold your name, contact details, or date of birth. The link between your study code and your identity is kept by your study site, not by us, so we cannot identify you from the data we hold.

App diagnostics — our own

When the app crashes or has a technical problem, it sends crash and performance information to help us keep the app working and secure. For this diagnostic information, we are responsible (the data controller), and this policy applies in full.

What the app collects

Study data

Medication-device activity — dispenser open and close events with timestamps (used by your study to understand medication adherence)
Device information — the dispenser's serial number, its Bluetooth identifier, and its battery and firmware status
Your study details — your study code and the medication schedule set up for your study

Diagnostic data

Crash and performance reports — error details, the app version, your device model and operating-system version, and technical context, collected through our diagnostics provider (Sentry)

The app does not collect your name, email, address, or date of birth; it uses no advertising identifiers, sets no cookies, does not track your location (on Android, Bluetooth scanning requires a location permission, but the app does not collect or store your location), and does not require you to create an account.

How the app collects information

From your dispenser — over a Bluetooth connection when the app reads the device
At enrolment — you join a study by scanning a QR code issued by your study coordinator; no account or personal details are entered
In the app — diagnostic data is generated automatically if the app has a technical problem

Why we use it

Study data — used only for your study's medication-adherence monitoring, on your sponsor's instructions
Diagnostic data — used only to keep the app stable and secure

We do not use any of this information for advertising, marketing, or profiling, and we never sell it.

Your study's secure platform — your dispenser data is sent to the secure platform for your study, which we operate on your sponsor's behalf. It is used only for your study.
Sentry — our diagnostics provider, which processes crash and performance data on our behalf to help us fix problems.

Any provider we use is bound to protect your information to the same standard set out here and to process it only for these purposes. We do not share your study data or diagnostic data with anyone for advertising.

Storage and security

Study data is stored encrypted on your phone and sent over encrypted, authenticated connections.
Access tokens and encryption keys are held in your device's secure hardware store (Android Keystore / iOS Keychain), never in plain text.
Diagnostic reports are scrubbed of personal identifiers before they are sent, and the app does not attach screenshots in normal use.

Keeping and deleting your information

Study data — how long it is kept is set by your study. Unenrolling in the app deletes all study data from your phone. To have your data removed from the study platform, contact your study team.
Diagnostic data — kept for a limited period (typically up to 90 days) and then deleted.

Your rights and who to ask

You have rights over your personal information under UK data protection law, including rights of access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection, and portability.

For your study data — because only your study team can identify you, they handle these requests. Please contact your study team or site; the participant information they gave you at enrolment explains how your study uses your data and how to exercise your rights. Withdrawing from the study is also arranged through them.
For app diagnostics — contact us using the details above. Our legal basis for diagnostics is our legitimate interest in keeping the app stable and secure, and you can object to it.

If you have concerns about how the app handles your information, please contact us first using the details above. If you remain unhappy, you can also complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Helpline: 0303 123 1113
Website: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

Children

The app is provided to people enrolled in a clinical study. Eligibility — including any involvement of under-18s and any parental or guardian consent — is managed entirely by the study under its ethics approval. The app is not directed at children generally and collects no age information.

Sharing information outside the UK

Your study data is processed in the location set for your study (in the UK or European Economic Area). Our diagnostics provider, Sentry, operates in the United States; where diagnostic data is transferred there, we rely on appropriate safeguards (such as the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and/or Standard Contractual Clauses). For more information, contact us using the details above.

Not a medical device

The app is not a medical device. It does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition, and it does not provide medical advice or dosing recommendations. Follow your study team's and your healthcare professional's instructions.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.