Privacy Policy

Who we are

Beacon is operated by Oliver Bullivant, trading as Beacon, based in the United Kingdom. Our website is lifebeacon.co.uk.

For the purposes of UK GDPR, we are the data controller for information collected through this website. To contact us about your data: hello@lifebeacon.co.uk

What we collect and why

Waitlist sign-ups: When you register your interest via our form, we collect your name and email address. We use this only to notify you when early access opens. Our lawful basis is consent, which you give by submitting the form, and you can withdraw it at any time by emailing us.

Account information: If you are given access to Beacon, we collect your name, email address, and the information you choose to add, such as policies, pensions, documents and other financial details. We process this to provide the service you have signed up for. Our lawful basis is contract.

Document scanning: If you upload a document, its contents are sent to Anthropic's API so that details such as the provider, policy number and renewal date can be filled in for you automatically. This happens only for documents you choose to upload, and Anthropic does not use the content to train their models. The file itself is stored encrypted in your own private area of our storage, readable only by you. Our lawful basis is contract. If you would rather not use this, you can enter records manually instead.

Usage information: Where you have consented to analytics cookies, we collect basic information about how Beacon is used, such as pages visited and features used, to improve the product. We do not use it to identify you, though analytics services do assign a random identifier to your browser. You can decline this via the cookie banner without any loss of functionality. Our lawful basis is consent.

Error diagnostics: When something goes wrong, technical details about the error are sent to our monitoring provider so we can fix it. This covers the error itself, the page it happened on and your browser type, together with your account identifier so we can tell how many people were affected. Personal and financial details are removed before anything is sent, and we never record your screen. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interest in keeping Beacon working and secure.

Who we share data with

We do not sell your data. We share it only with the following services that help us operate Beacon:

• Supabase: our secure database and authentication provider. Your account data is stored encrypted on Supabase infrastructure.
• Vercel: hosts the Beacon website and application. Vercel processes web requests and server logs, which include IP addresses.
• Anthropic: powers the document scanning feature, which is switched off unless you turn it on in your account settings. When it is on and you upload a document, the whole file is sent to Anthropic's API so the details can be extracted — including anything on the page you did not need extracted, such as the transactions on a bank statement. Anthropic have confirmed to us that they do not use this content to train their models. Anthropic store this data in the United States, so a document you scan leaves the UK. Anthropic have told us that the processing itself may happen in the United States, Europe, Asia or Australia, and that restricting it to the UK or EEA is not something they currently offer. This only ever happens to a document you upload yourself, one at a time, and you can turn scanning off again whenever you like — everything in Beacon can be typed in instead.
• Sentry: error monitoring, so we find out when something breaks. Sentry receives technical diagnostic information only: the error, the page it occurred on, and browser type. We strip out personal and financial details before anything is sent, and we do not record your screen. Sentry data is stored in the EU.
• Resend: sends the reminder emails, if you have them switched on. Resend receives your email address and the text of the reminder, which names what is due and when, such as an MOT or an insurance renewal. It does not receive amounts, account numbers or any of your records. You can turn reminders off at any time in your account settings, or from the link at the foot of any reminder, and nothing else about your account changes if you do.
• Tally: the form provider used for waitlist sign-ups. Tally processes your name and email when you submit the form.
• CookieYes: manages your cookie consent preferences.
• Google Analytics: usage statistics to help us understand how people use the site. Only used where you have consented, and never linked to your Beacon account.

Reminder emails: if you have reminders switched on, we email you before dates you have recorded — an MOT, a passport, an insurance renewal, a mortgage deal ending. These emails name what is due and when; they never contain amounts, account numbers or the contents of your records. Our lawful basis is legitimate interests, being the reason you keep these dates in Beacon at all. You can stop them at any time in your account settings or from the link at the foot of any reminder.

We do not share your policy, pension, investment or estate records with any third party for marketing, profiling or any purpose other than operating Beacon.

All providers are selected for strong data protection practices and, where applicable, are GDPR compliant. We hold a data processing agreement with each provider that handles personal data on our behalf.

Sharing your account with someone you trust

Beacon lets you give another person, such as a partner, an adult child or an executor, read-only sight of your account. This only ever happens because you set it up, and it is worth being clear about what it means.

• You choose who. You invite someone by email address. They must create their own Beacon account using that same address before they can see anything.
• You choose what they see. Before sending the invitation, and at any time afterwards, you control three separate settings: whether they can see financial values, whether they can see your personal details (date of birth, address, National Insurance number, next of kin), and whether they can see your expression of wishes.
• They cannot change anything. Access is read-only. A viewer cannot add, edit or delete your records, cannot see your uploaded documents, and cannot invite anyone else.
• You can revoke at any time. Removing someone takes effect immediately.

Anything you hide stays hidden at the database level, not merely on screen. A viewer cannot retrieve it by any means.

If someone has invited you to view their account, we process your email address to match you to that invitation. The account owner can see the email address they invited and whether you have accepted.

Where your data is stored

Your records and uploaded documents are stored on servers in the European Union.

Some of the providers listed above are based outside the UK, which means limited transfers of personal data take place:

• Anthropic (United States): receives document contents when you use the scanning feature.
• Resend (United States): receives your email address and reminder text if reminders are switched on.
• Vercel (United States): processes web requests and server logs.

Where data is transferred outside the UK, we rely on the safeguards permitted under UK GDPR, such as the International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses. These are included in our agreements with these providers.

Sentry stores our error diagnostics in the EU. Supabase stores your account data on AWS infrastructure in the EU.

How long we keep your data

• Waitlist emails: until early access opens and we have notified you, or until you ask us to remove you.
• Account data and uploaded documents: for as long as your account is open. If you delete your account, your records, files and login are removed from our database and storage immediately. Copies may persist briefly in our provider's routine backups before those are overwritten in the normal cycle.
• Sharing records: deleted when you revoke access or close your account.
• Error diagnostics: retained by our monitoring provider for 30 days, then deleted automatically.
• Cookie preferences: stored in your browser for up to 12 months.

You can delete your account yourself at any time from your account settings. It is immediate and cannot be undone.

Your rights under UK GDPR

You have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Correct any inaccurate data
• Delete your data (“right to be forgotten”)
• Restrict how we process your data
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Portability: receive your data in a machine-readable format

To exercise any of these rights, email hello@lifebeacon.co.uk. We will respond within 30 days.

If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

Security

We take the security of your data seriously. Beacon is built on infrastructure and practices consistent with those used by financial services:

• Encryption at rest: All data is encrypted using AES-256, the same standard used by banks and financial institutions.
• Encryption in transit: All data is transmitted over HTTPS using TLS 1.2 or higher. HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) is enforced, preventing any unencrypted connections.
• AWS infrastructure: Data is stored on Amazon Web Services (AWS) EU infrastructure via Supabase, which holds SOC 2 Type 2 certification, an independently audited security standard.
• Row Level Security: Access controls are enforced by the database itself, not just the app. Each user can only read or write their own records. The single exception is where you have deliberately granted someone view access, as described above. Those permissions, including anything you have chosen to hide from a viewer, are enforced at the database level too.
• Two-factor authentication (2FA): You can enable two-factor authentication on your account, requiring a code from an authenticator app in addition to your password. We recommend it, and you can turn it on from your account settings.
• Secure session management: Authentication uses signed, short-lived tokens (JWT) that expire automatically. Sessions are managed securely and can be revoked at any time.

We review our security practices regularly. In the event of a breach affecting your personal data, we will report it to the Information Commissioner's Office within 72 hours of becoming aware, as UK GDPR requires. Where a breach is likely to put you at risk we will tell you directly and without delay. In practice we would rather tell you about a breach that turns out to be minor than leave you in the dark.

If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately at hello@lifebeacon.co.uk.

Cookies

We use cookies to keep you logged in and to remember your preferences. For full details, see our Cookie Policy. You can change your preferences at any time using the Cookie preferences link at the foot of the home page, or the small icon in the corner of our public pages. Analytics does not run once you are signed in, so neither appears inside your account.

Changes to this policy

If we make significant changes to this policy, we will notify users by email or via the Beacon app. The date at the top of this page reflects when it was last updated.

Contact

For any questions about this policy or your data: hello@lifebeacon.co.uk