Privacy policy
Last updated 11 October 2026
This explains what personal data FoneScope handles, why, and your rights under the GDPR. Sligo Fones & Tech Limited (“we”) runs FoneScope from Ireland.
Two roles
- We are the controller for account and billing data: the account owner’s name, email, phone, business details, invoices, and how the service is used.
- We are a processor for the data your shop puts into FoneScope: phones and their IMEIs and serial numbers, test results, staff names, and certificates. Your business is the controller of that data, and we only process it on your instructions to provide the service.
What we collect and why
- Account data — to create and run your account, bill you, and contact you about it (contract).
- Phone data — device identifiers, hardware details, test results and IMEI check results, to provide checks and certificates (on your behalf). FoneScope doesn’t read photos, messages, contacts or other personal content on phones being tested.
- Location during the GPS test — the phone’s position is shown to your staff to confirm the GPS works, and the result saved is the accuracy and nearest address.
- Usage and security logs — sign-ins and errors, to keep the service secure and fix problems (legitimate interests).
- Test diagnostics — when a phone is tested with the Windows app, technical details of how each hardware test went (which checks were detected automatically, the phone’s system log lines during each test, model and software version) are sent to us so we can improve how reliably FoneScope detects hardware. IMEIs, serial numbers, device names, phone numbers, email addresses and other identifiers are removed on your PC before anything is sent, and the diagnostics are kept for at most 120 days (legitimate interests).
FoneScope Tester app (iPhone and Android)
The FoneScope Tester mobile app is published by Fone 4 U Limited (registered in Ireland, company no. 700077). It runs the hands-on hardware tests on the phone being checked and sends the results to the shop’s FoneScope account.
- What it uses, only while a test is running: the camera (to check the front and rear cameras — the live preview is shown on screen and is never saved or uploaded), the microphone (to check the microphones and speakers), location (for the GPS test — only the accuracy and nearest address are saved, as above), and the motion and orientation sensors (to check the gyroscope, accelerometer and compass). It also reads basic device information — model, operating-system version and screen size — to label the report.
- What it never does: it does not read your photos, messages, contacts, call history or any other personal content, and it does not track you or show adverts. The camera and microphone are used live for the test only — nothing from them is recorded or kept.
- Permissions are asked for on the phone the first time a test needs them. You can decline or turn any of them off in the phone’s Settings; a test that needs a permission is then simply skipped or marked not tested.
- Results (which tests passed or failed, plus the device details above) are saved to the shop’s FoneScope account, where the shop is the controller of that data as described above.
- Signing in: staff sign in with their FoneScope email and password; the app keeps only a sign-in token on the device so they stay signed in, and no personal content leaves the phone.
Who we share it with
Only service providers who help run FoneScope, under contract: our hosting provider (EU), Stripe (card payments), imei.info (IMEI checks — only the IMEI is sent), OpenStreetMap / Nominatim (map and address for the GPS test — only coordinates are sent), and Anthropic (AI analysis of the de-identified test diagnostics, to find and fix detection problems — no shop names, IMEIs or serial numbers are sent). We never sell data or use it for advertising.
Where it’s stored and how long
Data is stored in the EU. Each shop’s data is kept in its own separate database. We keep shop data while your account is active and for 90 days after it ends, then delete it. Invoices are kept for 6 years to meet tax law.
Security
Connections are encrypted, passwords are stored as one-way hashes, each shop’s data is isolated, and backups are taken regularly.
Cookies
We use only essential cookies: one to keep you signed in, and one to remember which shop a device belongs to. No tracking or advertising cookies.
Your rights
You can ask to access, correct, export or delete your personal data, or object to how we use it, by emailing support@fonescope.com. If a shop’s customer or staff member asks about data held by that shop, we’ll help the shop answer. You can also complain to the Data Protection Commission (dataprotection.ie).
Data processing terms
Where we process data for your shop, we: act only on your documented instructions (these terms and your use of the service); keep it confidential; secure it appropriately; use only the sub-processors listed above (with notice before adding new ones); help you meet data-subject requests and breach obligations; tell you without undue delay about a personal data breach; delete or return the data when your account ends; and give you the information needed to show compliance.
Contact
Sligo Fones & Tech Limited, The Canopy Shopping Centre, O'Connell Street, Sligo, Ireland · support@fonescope.com