ScopeCoach ("we", "us", "our") is an educational companion app and website, operated from Queensland, Australia, designed to help people stay organised before a colonoscopy. It provides reminders, checklists and general educational information. It does not provide personalised medical advice or replace your healthcare team's instructions.
We take your privacy seriously. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. It applies to the ScopeCoach mobile app (the "App") and the ScopeCoach website at scopecoach.com.au (the "Website").
We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), which are the laws that govern the handling of personal information by private organisations in Queensland and throughout Australia. This policy is also designed to meet the requirements of the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. Where this policy refers to "personal information", it has the meaning given in the Privacy Act, and includes "sensitive information" such as health information.
1. Our privacy-first approach
ScopeCoach is designed to collect as little information about you as possible. You never need to create an account, and we never ask for your name, email address, phone number or any other contact details to use the App.
| What | Our approach |
|---|---|
| Sign-up or registration | Not required. You never provide your name, email address or phone number to use the App. |
| Anonymous identifier | When you first open the App, a random anonymous identifier is created automatically so the App can save your preparation information. It is not linked to your name or contact details. |
| Health or medical information | The information you enter (such as your procedure date and checklist progress) is stored securely against your anonymous identifier only, and is used solely to provide the App's features to you. |
| Selling or sharing data | We do not sell, rent or trade your information, and we do not use it for advertising. We disclose information only to service providers needed to operate ScopeCoach, as described below. |
| Advertising | ScopeCoach does not show third-party ads and does not use your data for advertising. |
| Tracking | The Website does not use advertising trackers or social media pixels. The App uses technical diagnostics and notification services described below; these are not used for advertising. |
We do not "trade in personal information", and even where the Privacy Act's small business provisions might otherwise apply, we voluntarily hold ourselves to the standard of the Australian Privacy Principles in full.
2. Information the App collects and stores
Anonymous account. When you first open the App, we use Google's Firebase Authentication service to create an anonymous account for you automatically. This generates a random unique identifier (an anonymous user ID) that lets the App save and retrieve your preparation information. You are never asked for — and we never collect — your name, email address, phone number or password. As part of providing this service securely, Google temporarily logs technical details such as your IP address and device user-agent for security and abuse prevention; Google retains logged IP addresses for a few weeks.
Your preparation information. To provide your preparation timeline, reminders and checklists, the App stores the information you enter — such as your procedure date, the preparation stage you are up to, your reminder settings, and which checklist items you have ticked — in Google Cloud Firestore, a secure cloud database operated by Google. This information is stored against your anonymous identifier only. It is not linked to your name, email address or phone number, because we never collect those details.
We recognise that your procedure date and preparation progress relate to your health, so we treat this information with the care the Privacy Act requires for sensitive information. By entering this information into the App, you consent to us collecting and storing it for the sole purpose of providing the App's features to you. We do not use it for any other purpose, we do not analyse it for marketing, and no person routinely views it — it exists so the App can show you your own timeline and reminders.
Why cloud storage? Storing your preparation information in Firestore means your progress is not lost if your phone restarts or the App is reinstalled during your preparation week. Your data is encrypted in transit and encrypted at rest on Google's infrastructure.
Notifications. If you allow notifications, ScopeCoach uses Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) to deliver preparation reminders. The App receives an FCM registration token for your app installation and stores that token, basic device type information and a creation time against your anonymous account. Reminder records, including scheduled send times derived from your procedure date, are stored in Cloud Firestore and processed by a Firebase Cloud Function. The system may record whether a reminder was sent successfully or whether an error occurred. We use this information only to provide and troubleshoot the reminder feature.
3. Other information we collect
Email correspondence. If you email us at scopecoach.app@gmail.com, we will receive your email address, your name if you include it, and the contents of your message. We use this information only to respond to your enquiry, provide support, and improve ScopeCoach. We do not add you to any marketing list without your clear consent. Please do not include health or medical details in your emails — we do not need them to help you with the App, and if an email contains health information we do not use it for any purpose other than answering your message.
Basic technical information (Website). Our website hosting provider may automatically log basic technical data such as IP address, browser type and pages visited, for security and to keep the Website running. This is standard for almost every website. We do not use this data to identify you.
Crash and stability diagnostics. The App uses Firebase Crashlytics to help us identify and fix crashes. Crashlytics may automatically receive technical diagnostic information such as a Firebase/Crashlytics installation identifier, crash stack traces, device model, operating-system version and app version. We use this information only to investigate stability problems and improve ScopeCoach; it is not used for advertising.
Performance diagnostics. The App includes Firebase Performance Monitoring, which may automatically collect technical performance information such as app start time, screen-rendering and network-request performance, together with device, operating-system, app-version and broad network/location attributes such as country or carrier. Google may process IP addresses to provide geography-based performance information. We use this information only to understand and improve app performance.
Feedback forms. If you choose to send feedback or report an issue through a Google Form linked from the App, the information you type into that form is provided to Google and made available to ScopeCoach for the purpose of reviewing your feedback. Using the form is optional. Please do not include personal health details or other sensitive information that is not needed to explain your feedback.
App store information. Google and Apple may also provide aggregated statistics through their developer consoles, such as download, installation and stability information, under their own privacy terms.
Apart from the technical information automatically generated by the services described above, we collect personal information only when you provide it to us or when it is necessary to deliver a feature you choose to use. We do not collect personal information by unlawful or unfair means (APP 3).
4. How we use information
We use the information described above to provide the App's features to you (your timeline, reminders and checklists), to respond to your enquiries and feedback, to fix bugs and improve the App and Website, and to meet our legal obligations. We only use personal information for the purpose for which it was collected, or a directly related secondary purpose you would reasonably expect (APP 6). We do not use your information for profiling, automated decision-making, direct marketing or advertising, and we do not sell or trade personal information to anyone.
5. When we might disclose information
We disclose information only in limited circumstances: to service providers needed to operate ScopeCoach — principally Google services including Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Firebase Cloud Messaging, Firebase Crashlytics, Firebase Performance Monitoring and Google Forms — together with our email provider and website host; where disclosure is required or authorised by Australian law or a court or tribunal order, or is otherwise permitted under the Privacy Act; or if ScopeCoach is ever transferred to a new owner, in which case users will be notified and privacy protections will continue to apply.
Overseas disclosure (APP 8). ScopeCoach uses Google services that may process or store information in Australia and overseas, including in the United States. This can include preparation information held in Cloud Firestore, notification tokens and reminder-delivery records, crash and performance diagnostics, and information you voluntarily submit through Google Forms. Our email provider and website host may also process data outside Australia. We take reasonable steps to use reputable providers and to ensure overseas handling is consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles.
6. Data security and retention
We take reasonable steps to protect the information we hold from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure (APP 11). Your preparation information is encrypted in transit and encrypted at rest in Google Cloud Firestore, and access to it is restricted by security rules so that each anonymous account can only access its own data. The Website is served over HTTPS.
We keep your preparation information only for as long as needed to support your preparation. You can delete it at any time as described in section 7, and when an anonymous account is deleted, the associated data is removed from Google's live and backup systems within 180 days. Email correspondence is retained only as long as needed to handle your enquiry and for a reasonable follow-up period, after which it is deleted or de-identified.
If we ever experience a data breach involving personal information that is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme under Part IIIC of the Privacy Act.
The security of the App on your phone also depends on your device's own protections (such as your passcode). We encourage you to keep your device software up to date.
7. Access, correction and deletion
Your preparation data. You can view and change your preparation information (such as your procedure date and checklist progress) in the App at any time. You can delete your preparation data using the App's delete/reset option, or by emailing us at scopecoach.app@gmail.com from any address — tell us you would like your data deleted and, if the App displays one, include your anonymous identifier so we can locate your record. Please note that simply uninstalling the App may not delete the data already stored in the cloud, so if you want your data removed, use the in-app option or contact us.
Other information. You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of any other personal information we hold about you (in most cases, only email correspondence) by emailing scopecoach.app@gmail.com (APPs 12 and 13). We will respond within a reasonable time, usually within 30 days, and we do not charge for making a request.
Because your preparation data is stored against an anonymous identifier rather than your name, we may not be able to link it to you unless you can provide the identifier from your device — a deliberate design choice that protects your privacy.
8. Children
ScopeCoach is intended for adults preparing for a colonoscopy and for their carers. It is not directed at children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.
9. Third-party links
The Website and App may link to external resources, such as hospital websites or health information services (for example, healthdirect.gov.au or Queensland Health). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites, and we encourage you to read their privacy policies. For clarity, the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld) applies to Queensland government agencies such as public hospitals — not to ScopeCoach, which is governed by the Commonwealth Privacy Act as described above.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example when we add new features. The current version will always be available at scopecoach.com.au/privacy, with the "Last updated" date shown at the top. If we make significant changes, we will highlight them on the Website or in the App before they take effect.
11. Complaints and contact
If you have a question, concern or complaint about how we handle your information, please email us at scopecoach.app@gmail.com. We will acknowledge your complaint promptly, investigate it, and aim to resolve it within 30 days.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), GPO Box 5288, Sydney NSW 2001, at www.oaic.gov.au, or by phone on 1300 363 992.
ScopeCoach — a registered business name of Belinda Quakawoot (), Queensland, Australia. Email: scopecoach.app@gmail.com.