This policy explains how DepositBack ("the app") handles information, including the sign and invite pages it creates on sintios.com. DepositBack is made by Sintios ("we", "us"), which is the controller of the data stored on our server as described here.
1. What stays on your iPhone
DepositBack stores what you add: your homes (address, tenancy dates, rent, deposit amount, deposit scheme and reference, landlord or letting agent's name and email), rooms and spots, the photos you take, the time and place each photo was taken, damage marks and notes, meter readings, keys and alarm tests, the seal of each check-in and move-out, your housemates' names, imported inventory PDFs, deductions, reports and letters. All of this is kept in the app's private storage on your iPhone, protected by iOS file encryption, and leaves it only when you share it. Delete a home to delete its photos; delete the app or use Settings → Delete all data to delete everything.
Your iPhone's own backup (iCloud Backup or a computer backup) may include DepositBack's data, as with any app. That backup belongs to your Apple account; we can't access it. The home screen widgets read a small summary (days left, progress) that stays on your iPhone.
2. Camera, location and notifications
- The camera is used only when you take photos in the app.
- Location is requested "while using the app" and read only while you are taking photos, so each photo and the report can show where it was taken. You can say no, or turn off Settings → Location on stamps; photos are then stamped with the time only. Location stays on your iPhone unless it is printed in a report you send.
- Reminders for key dates are local notifications scheduled on your iPhone. They don't go through our server.
3. On-device processing
Sealing (SHA-256 fingerprints of photos and of each finished check-in or move-out), the PDF report, the move-out comparison that suggests what may have changed, deductions and letters are all made on your iPhone. Nothing is uploaded for this.
4. Landlord sign links
If you choose Send to landlord, the app uploads to our server at sintios.com:
- the sealed check-in PDF report you are sending, which contains your photos, marks, notes, meter readings and the address;
- a short summary shown on the page: the address, your name, the landlord or letting agent's name, the move-in date, the number of pages and the seal fingerprint.
The server returns a private link (sintios.com/s/ followed by a random 12-character code) and a secret token that only your app holds. Anyone who has the link can open the page and the report, so send it only to your landlord or letting agent.
When the landlord or agent responds, the server stores their name, their drawn signature and the time, or their name, their comments and the time, and the time the page was first opened. It also creates a signed receipt (PDF) that anyone with the link can download. Your app collects the status, signature and comments with its token so they can go into your dispute pack. If you are a landlord or agent who signed or commented on a DepositBack link, this section also describes what we hold about you.
5. Housemate invites
With Pro, you can invite the people you live with. The app uploads the home's name, your name as the inviter and, if filled in, basic details of the home: address, tenancy dates, deposit amount and currency, deposit scheme and room names. No photos. The server returns a link (sintios.com/h/ followed by a code). A housemate who opens it in DepositBack receives these details; their photos then stay on their own iPhone.
6. How long the server keeps it
- Sign links (report, summary, signature, comments, receipt): deleted automatically 120 days after the link was created.
- Housemate invites: deleted automatically after 30 days.
- Earlier deletion: in the app, Delete link or Delete invite link removes it from the server immediately and the link stops working. A signature already received stays in your app.
- IP addresses are not stored in our database. To limit abuse, the server briefly counts requests under a one-way hash of the address mixed with a secret that changes daily; these counters can't be turned back into an address. Like any website, our hosting provider sees your IP address when you connect and may keep short-lived access logs.
Sign and invite links aren't tied to an account, so we can't look them up by name or email. Codes are random and tokens are stored only as hashes. For web purchases and the optional Sintios account, see section 9.
7. Service providers
- Our hosting provider runs the sintios.com website and the link server, and stores the data in section 4 to 6 for us. It processes data only to host the service.
- Cloudflare, Inc. provides DNS, TLS encryption and network protection in front of sintios.com, so your connection passes through Cloudflare's network, which may process it in data centres outside your country, including the United States, under standard contractual clauses. See Cloudflare's privacy policy.
- Apple processes App Store purchases. See Apple's privacy policy.
- Stripe (Stripe Payments UK Ltd and its affiliates) processes payments for purchases made on sintios.com: your card or wallet details, billing details and email go to Stripe, never to us. Stripe acts as an independent controller for its own legal and fraud-prevention duties. See Stripe's privacy policy.
The sign and invite pages load no third-party scripts, fonts or trackers, and send no referrer.
8. Things you send yourself
When you share a PDF report, a ZIP, original photos or a letter by email or another app, it goes only where you send it (for example to your landlord, letting agent or deposit scheme), using your own apps. We don't receive a copy.
9. Purchases and your Sintios account
In the app: the Move pass and DepositBack Pro are sold through Apple. Apple processes the payment; we receive no card details. The app checks your purchases with Apple on your device and keeps a record of your Move passes on your iPhone.
On sintios.com: you can also buy them on our website (DepositBack on the web). The seller is KAVIO LABS SOFTWARE LIMITED and Stripe processes the payment. For these purchases we keep a small Sintios account:
- your email address (the one you gave at checkout or used to sign in);
- what you bought, its status and dates (for example "Pro yearly, renews 3 Nov 2027"), Stripe's reference numbers for the purchase, and when you ticked the box to start access straight away;
- for each Move pass you use, an opaque code for the home it unlocks. The code is made on your iPhone from a random id; it contains no address or name. It lets your other devices unlock the same home without using another pass;
- sign-in links (single use, valid 15 minutes) and sign-ins, stored only as hashes.
You sign in to the app or to sintios.com/account with a link we email you; there is no password. Sign-in emails are sent from our own server. We don't use the account for marketing.
Deleting your account: in the app or at sintios.com/account. Any web subscription is cancelled, and your email, purchase list, home codes and sign-ins are deleted from our server straight away. Payment and invoice records are kept by Stripe, and by us in our accounts, for as long as tax and accounting law requires (in the UK, generally six years); they are used for nothing else.
10. Crash reports and diagnostics
We don't add crash reporting or analytics tools. If you choose to share diagnostics with app developers in iOS settings, Apple may share anonymous crash reports with us.
11. What we don't do
- We don't show ads, and we don't sell or rent your information.
- We don't require an account, we don't build profiles, and we don't track you across apps or websites. The optional Sintios account in section 9 exists only if you buy on sintios.com.
- We don't look at your reports or links, except where needed to keep the service running or secure, or where the law requires it.
12. Why we may use it (legal bases)
Where the UK GDPR, the EU GDPR or similar laws apply, we rely on performance of our contract with you to host the sign and invite links you ask us to create and to provide web purchases and your Sintios account, on legal obligations to keep payment and accounting records, and on our legitimate interests in keeping the service secure (for example, rate limits), balanced against your privacy through short retention. For a landlord or agent who signs or comments, we rely on our and the tenant's legitimate interest in recording that response with the report.
13. Your choices and rights
Data on your iPhone is under your control: you can view, export (Settings → Export all data) and delete it in the app. You can delete a sign or invite link at any time in the app. Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to processing of your data, to data portability, and to complain to your data protection authority (in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office). For a sign or invite link, please include the link code (for example 7KQ2-M4XD-P9RT) when you contact us, so we can find the data. Contact [email protected].
If you email us for support, we use your email address and message only to reply, and keep them only as long as needed for that purpose.
14. Children
DepositBack is for tenants renting a home. It isn't directed at children, and we don't knowingly collect data from children.
15. Security
All connections use HTTPS. Link codes are long and random, tokens are stored only as hashes, the pages are hidden from search engines, and data is deleted on a fixed schedule so there is little to lose. No system is perfectly secure, so please keep your iPhone locked with a passcode and share links only with the people they are meant for.
16. Changes and contact
If we change how DepositBack handles data, we'll update this policy and its date and, for significant changes, tell you in the app or release notes.
Sintios · [email protected] · DepositBack support