About MateTech and UK Mate
MateTech (matetech.uk) provides UK Mate to help you organise information and practise for tests. Contact support@matetech.uk with privacy questions. UK Mate is independent of the UK government and is not an immigration adviser, an official status-verification service or an approved English test provider.
This policy covers personal information handled by MateTech for UK Mate and direct support requests about it. It describes the app’s processing alongside services you choose, including Apple, iCloud, the App Store and sign-in providers. Those services have their own privacy notices and controls.
Accounts and sign-in
You can explore public information and use independent study features without creating a UK Mate account. Some personal record and account-associated progress features require sign-in. UK Mate uses Google's Firebase Authentication for email/password, Google and Sign in with Apple authentication. Depending on the method you choose, this processes your email address, display name, account identifier, sign-in credentials or provider tokens, and technical information needed to authenticate and secure your account. Sign in with Apple supports Apple's private email option. UK Mate does not receive your Google or Apple account password.
Google provides information about its processing at Firebase privacy and security (https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy) and Google privacy (https://policies.google.com/privacy). Apple's processing is described at Apple privacy (https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/).
UK Mate does not request access to your device’s GPS or live location. Google Sign-In may receive your IP address and use it to estimate a general location for fraud prevention. This is separate from a device location permission. Google describes this processing at https://developers.google.com/identity/sign-in/ios/app-privacy .
Personal records and iCloud
You choose which profile, visa and passport information, travel history, documents, family/dependant details, employment and study evidence, plans, appointments and notes to enter. UK Mate uses these records to provide the features you request, such as a timeline, reminders, calculations, document organisation and preparation checklists. Add another person's information only when you are authorised to do so. Do not enter government passwords or one-time authentication codes.
Records are saved on the device. Where UK Mate opens its iCloud-backed store and iCloud is available, supported records can sync through the private iCloud account currently signed in on that device. UK Mate sign-in and Apple iCloud sign-in are separate: signing in to UK Mate alone does not guarantee cross-device sync. Local-only storage and unavailable iCloud connections are shown in the app. Documents and scanned document text are not uploaded to a MateTech document-hosting or AI service. Specific optional network features are explained below.
National Insurance numbers and saved share-code secrets use this device's Keychain and do not sync as ordinary app records. A record may still contain other sensitive information you choose to enter. Keep your device and Apple account secure.
Study progress, recordings and the assistant
Driving Theory, Life in the UK and English practice keep answers, scores, saved items and study preferences as needed to show your progress. Guest and signed-in storage differ by feature. Guest progress is not automatically attached to a new account. Signed-in progress uses account-associated app records and can sync where iCloud is available. An unfinished Driving Theory practice or mock session belongs to the device where it began. Practice scores are not official test results.
English speaking recordings are made only when you tap Record and grant microphone access. Audio stays on the device, is removed when you leave the task, and is not uploaded for remote marking. The feature also cleans up recordings left behind by an interrupted session. Written reflections or answers you deliberately save are part of your study progress. Listening playback uses the device's speech/audio facilities.
The assistant uses app calculations and, on supported devices where available, Apple's on-device Foundation Models. Relevant saved facts and your question may be supplied to that on-device model to answer your request. The app does not send these questions or your documents to an external generative-AI provider. AI responses can be inaccurate; check official sources before relying on legal, immigration, medical or financial information.
Optional network features
Apple Wallet. If you choose to create a UK Mate Wallet pass, the review screen lists the fields to be sent to MateTech's Cloudflare-hosted signing service at wallet.matetech.uk. Depending on the options you select, these can include your route, visa/passport expiry dates, a milestone, UK journey start date, travel totals, current or upcoming trip dates/destination, and saved flight number/route. The request also contains an opaque pass identifier and Apple App Attest verification. It does not send documents, names, dates of birth, email addresses, passport or visa numbers, National Insurance numbers, share codes, booking references or full travel history. The signing service uses the selected pass details to create the pass without writing the snapshot into its application storage or logs. It separately keeps installation attestation identifiers, public verification keys and replay-protection counters in Cloudflare Durable Object storage. These security records are independent of your UK Mate sign-in account. Installation registrations, public keys and replay counters are removed after 365 days without an accepted registration or pass request. Records created before expiry tracking was introduced receive a start date on their first cleanup sweep. One-time challenges are valid for five minutes and are removed after use or by scheduled cleanup; cleanup is bounded and a backlog may take additional sweeps. The service and its infrastructure process network information, including an IP address, to serve and secure the request. Contact support about these records and their deletion. The pass is a personal planning record, not proof of immigration status.
Council finder. When you ask UK Mate to find a council, it sends the postcode you entered directly to GOV.UK's local-authority endpoint. The saved place contains the council and outward postcode only. The lookup does not request the device's location. GOV.UK processes the request under its own privacy notice.
Residence Map and address search. When you search for address suggestions or ask UK Mate to place an address on the map, the entered search text or selected address is sent to Apple’s Maps service. Suggestions may be requested as you type. Apple returns address details and coordinates, which UK Mate can save with the residence record. The search uses the address you enter or choose, rather than your device’s current GPS location. Apple’s Maps privacy information is available at https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/data/en/apple-maps/ .
Official updates and public data. UK Mate retrieves public GOV.UK feeds/content, checks selected official guidance links and fetches its public fee catalogue from the MateTech website. These requests do not include your stored document or account details. The receiving service receives ordinary network information such as your IP address. Immigration-route filtering and relevance selection run on the device. An external page you open has its own privacy and cookie practices; government sign-in happens in the browser, and UK Mate does not receive government passwords or one-time codes.
Sponsor Checker. Public register search uses the bundled UKVI register and, where applicable, public CloudKit register data. Saved sponsors, watches, sponsor snapshots, notes and search history are separate records in the current Apple account's private CloudKit database. These are associated with that iCloud account, rather than with a Firebase sign-in. They can remain available when you switch UK Mate accounts on the same Apple account. To remove this feature's saved data, open Tools → Sponsor Checker → Sponsor data & privacy → Clear sponsor data from iCloud. The confirmation explains that the deletion applies to the current Apple account across its devices and UK Mate sign-ins. It removes saved sponsor choices, watches, sponsor snapshots, recent searches and this feature's watch subscriptions. If removal cannot finish, the app reports the failure so you can retry. You can also remove individual items or use Apple storage controls; contact support for help. Watching a sponsor may create a CloudKit push subscription. An imported register snapshot is not a live status guarantee.
Travel requirements. This release has no configured live travel-requirements backend. Public guidance links and saved travel planning remain available. If a future version adds a provider that receives personal travel-check data, this policy and the feature's notice must be updated before that processing begins.
Permissions, notifications and outside-app surfaces
Camera access supports document scans, which are read on-device. Microphone access supports the optional English recording feature. Calendar access allows events you choose to add and, for supported appointments, update/remove. You can decline optional permissions and manage them in iOS Settings.
UK Mate uses Apple notifications and Firebase Cloud Messaging. Firebase Messaging handles an app-installation identifier/APNs registration token and technical information used to deliver and operate notifications. Notification permissions control visible notifications; turning them off does not delete existing account or app data.
This release does not link a standalone Google Analytics or advertising SDK product. Google Sign-In, Firebase Authentication, Firebase Messaging and their supporting SDKs can still process identifiers and technical, diagnostic or usage information to operate, secure, measure and improve their services. Some information can be linked to an account or installation. This service processing does not upload speaking recordings or document contents for analytics. Google and Firebase describe their processing at https://developers.google.com/identity/sign-in/ios/app-privacy and https://firebase.google.com/docs/ios/app-store-data-collection .
Widgets, Live Activities and device search can display selected app information outside UK Mate. Use the app's privacy controls to limit what appears. An unlocked widget/notification surface can be visible to others with access to the screen.
Sharing and exports
When you export a document or summary, check the included information before sending it. Copies are handled by the service and recipient you choose and cannot be recalled by deleting the source in UK Mate. Sharing an invitation to the app uses a branded image and App Store link, without your personal records. The optional sharing invitation uses a small device-local record of first use, up to three active-day markers and whether it has been shown; it does not send referral analytics, access contacts or unlock features in return for sharing.
Why information is used
Information is used to provide requested app features and account access, secure the services and prevent misuse, and respond to support. Depending on the processing, the legal basis is providing a service/contract, your consent for an optional feature or permission, or legitimate interests in proportionate service security and support. UK Mate does not sell your personal records or use them for unrelated advertising.
Some information is processed by Apple, Google and Cloudflare under their service and data-protection terms. Provider privacy information: https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/ ; https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy ; https://policies.google.com/privacy ; https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/ . These services may process information outside the UK. Contact support for details of the safeguards and processors applicable to your request. This does not replace MateTech's responsibility for the information it controls.
Retention and deletion
Personal records and saved study progress remain in the applicable device or supported iCloud storage until you remove them through the relevant record, reset or account-deletion controls. An unfinished theory practice or mock-test session stays on the device until it is completed, discarded or replaced. Account sign-in information is retained to maintain your account until account deletion, subject to provider security and legal retention. iCloud synchronisation and device backups can affect when deleted information disappears from other copies.
You can delete app records using their available controls. To delete your UK Mate account, open Profile → Delete account. The app verifies the account, removes the supported account-associated records and signs the account out after deleting the Firebase identity. Sign in with Apple deletion also revokes the Apple authorisation. If verification or removal fails, the app tells you to retry. Supported iCloud record deletions propagate when sync is available; they may not be immediate on an offline device. Deleting the app or signing out alone does not necessarily remove iCloud records or backups.
Separate iCloud Sponsor Checker records use the Clear sponsor data from iCloud control described above; deleting a UK Mate sign-in account does not silently erase shared Apple-account sponsor data. Exported/shared copies, Wallet passes already added to Apple Wallet, device-local guest study records and infrastructure/provider records may require separate controls or a support request. Apple or Google may retain information under their own policies. This release contains no Premium subscription or in-app purchase flow. If you hold an Apple subscription from another release, manage it in Apple’s subscription settings; deleting an app account does not cancel Apple billing.
For information MateTech controls, contact support@matetech.uk to request access, correction or deletion, or ask about retention. We may verify your identity before acting. We retain direct support correspondence only as needed to address the request and meet applicable obligations. Wallet attestation records follow the 365-day inactivity lifecycle described above. They are not tied to your Firebase identity, so deleting a UK Mate sign-in account does not identify or automatically delete these separate security records. Contact support if you need help with deletion. Uninstalling the app does not immediately erase those server records. The signing service does not store pass snapshots or generated pass files. Cloudflare operates the service infrastructure and processes request/security metadata. Its standard Workers Logs have a maximum seven-day retention; separately operated Cloudflare security/network services and Apple/Google services have their own retention policies. We do not promise that deleting an app record deletes every provider security record or backup immediately.
Your rights and changes
Depending on the circumstances, UK data protection law provides rights of access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection and portability. You can withdraw optional consent through the relevant control without affecting the lawfulness of earlier processing. Contact support@matetech.uk; where UK law applies, we normally respond within one month. You may also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/).
We update this policy when the app’s processing materially changes and publish the revised policy before those changes take effect. The date above identifies this version.