Draft — under review. This page is a draft for GatherRelay’s private beta. It is still being reviewed and may change. Questions: support@gatherrelay.com.
Privacy policy
GatherRelay is a private place for a family to keep care papers and share only what each person needs. This page explains what we keep, why, who can see it, and what you can do about it. “We” means Synergistic Solutions Unlimited LLC, the company that runs GatherRelay.
The short version
- You decide what GatherRelay keeps for you, and who in your family can see it.
- Much of what you keep here is health information. We treat it that way.
- We do not sell your information, show ads, or use tracking or analytics tools. We do not use your information to train AI models.
- Your phone number and email address are stored encrypted.
- Every file you upload is checked for viruses before anyone can open it.
- GatherRelay is not a doctor, hospital or health plan, so the federal health privacy law called HIPAA generally does not cover it. This policy, and the laws described below, do.
- GatherRelay is a private beta for adults in the United States. It is not a medical service.
What we keep
Things you give us
- Your mobile number. It is how you sign in, and how invitations find the right person.
- A recovery email address, if you add one. We use it to help you back in if you lose your phone, to send sign-in codes when texts are not working, and to tell you about important changes to your account’s security.
- Names you enter, such as the name of your family circle and the people whose records you keep.
- Papers you upload, such as powers of attorney, advance directives, health-information authorizations, guardianship papers, do-not-resuscitate or medical-order forms, and insurance cards. Files can be PDF, JPEG or PNG, up to 10 MB each.
- Records you type in: medication lists, allergy lists and emergency contacts.
- Family updates: short notes that you, or a helper you allow, write about a person in the circle, and who each note is for.
- Your choices: what you agreed GatherRelay may keep, what you share and with whom, which groups (such as Family or Friends) people are in, the screen style you picked, and when you changed those choices.
- Invitations: when you invite someone, the mobile number you type for them.
Information about you can also come from helpers you allow to add to or update your records, and from the papers you upload.
Things that are created when you use GatherRelay
- Sign-in security details. For a passkey, your phone keeps the secret part; we keep only the public part. For an authenticator app, we keep its setup key encrypted. Recovery codes are stored only in a scrambled one-way form, so we cannot read them back.
- Sign-in records, such as when a code was sent and how many tries were made, so we can stop people guessing codes or sending floods of texts. This includes a scrambled, one-way form of the general network you connect from, and a random identifier saved in a cookie on your browser.
- An activity record of who did what and when, for example “a document was shared” or “a helper was added.” It does not contain the content of your papers or updates.
- Website logs. Like any website, ours keeps short technical logs, such as which page was asked for and when. GatherRelay’s code does not write phone numbers, codes or the content of your papers into them.
Things we do not collect
- We do not read your phone’s contacts.
- We use cookies to keep you signed in, prevent sign-in abuse and remember your chosen screen style. The screen-style cookie lasts up to one year. We do not use cookies for advertising or analytics.
- We do not take payments during the beta.
How we use it
- To keep your papers and records for you and show them to the people you choose.
- To sign you in, keep your account safe, and stop abuse.
- To answer your questions and requests.
- To fix problems and make the beta work better, without looking at your papers unless you ask us to.
- When the law requires it.
We do not sell your information, use it for advertising, build profiles to make decisions about you, or use it to train AI models. We send no marketing emails or texts. If we ever want to use information you already gave us in a new way, we will ask you first.
How we protect it
- Your mobile number and recovery email are encrypted before they are stored. To find your account, we use a one-way fingerprint of your number, not the number itself.
- Your papers are kept in private storage. They are never public and have no public web address. Each time someone opens one, GatherRelay checks again that they are allowed to.
- Our storage company encrypts everything it stores for us.
- New uploads are held back and checked for viruses before anyone can open them. Until the check is done, the file is not available.
- Seeing care information needs a second check that it is really you: a passkey (Face ID, fingerprint or screen lock) or an authenticator app. A text message alone is never enough.
- Sign-ins end on their own after 12 hours at most, and sooner if you stop using GatherRelay for a while.
- All connections to GatherRelay are encrypted (HTTPS).
No system is perfectly secure. GatherRelay is not “end-to-end encrypted”: GatherRelay’s systems can open your information so they can show it to you and to the people you choose.
Who can see what
- You can see everything you put in for yourself.
- Helpers you choose see only the kinds of information you agreed to share, and only what you then shared with them. A read-only helper can read what you shared. A helper who can update may add, change and delete individual medication, allergy and emergency-contact entries in the categories you allow. They cannot change your consent, delete your account or uploaded papers, or request an account-wide export. Anyone who can read information can save a copy.
- Family updates are seen by the people the writer picks, which can be the whole circle. A helper you share with who is allowed to post updates can write updates about you. You can always see updates about yourself.
- Other people in your family circle. Joining does not automatically give access to someone’s papers or typed records. It can give access to existing updates addressed to Everyone. Updates addressed to Family, Friends or Coworkers follow current group membership, which an authorized circle manager can change. People added later may see earlier updates.
- The person who runs your circle sees who is in it and the state of invitations. Phone numbers are shown masked, like ••• ••• 0123.
- The people who run GatherRelay have technical access to the systems that store your information, because someone has to keep the service working. They use that access only to run and repair the service, to answer a request from you, or when the law requires it.
Withdrawing document-and-record sharing stops access that depends on that permission. It does not stop access to family updates posted to circle groups. The writer can still see their own update. Only the writer can delete an update in the app. Copies someone already downloaded or printed are outside GatherRelay and cannot be taken back. We are building changes so that family updates follow withdrawal and have their own permission; this page will say so when they are live.
We may share information if the law requires it, or to protect someone’s safety. We do not sell it.
Companies that help us
GatherRelay uses a few service providers. Each gets only what it needs to do its job for us.
- Cloudflare runs the GatherRelay website and delivers its pages. Like any web host, it handles your internet address and the pages you ask for, including what is on them.
- Supabase stores GatherRelay’s database and your uploaded files, in the United States.
- Twilio sends sign-in codes by text message. It receives your mobile number and the code. Message and data rates from your phone company may apply.
- Resend sends GatherRelay’s emails: email codes and security notices. It receives your email address and the message.
Texts and emails carry only codes and short account notices. They never contain your papers, records or updates.
Virus checks on uploaded files run on a computer that the person who runs GatherRelay keeps and looks after, using open-source virus-scanning software. Each new file is sent to that computer for the check. Files are not sent to an outside scanning company.
How long we keep it
- Sign-in codes stop working after 10 minutes.
- Your papers and records. You can delete typed record entries in the app. There is no uploaded-paper delete button yet. Hiding an uploaded paper does not permanently erase its stored file. Full account deletion and permanent file removal are not ready. Email support@gatherrelay.com to request help; we will confirm what has actually been completed. Withdrawing your consent stops helpers’ access to papers and records but does not, by itself, erase what is stored.
- Family updates can be deleted by the person who wrote them. The words are removed straight away; a note that an update was deleted stays.
- Backups. An automated backup schedule and removal of old backup copies have not been verified for this beta. Keep your own copies of important papers. We will publish a confirmed backup-retention period after the schedule and removal controls have been tested.
- The activity record cannot be edited. It keeps no content from your papers.
Exact keeping periods for some security records are still being decided during the beta. We will update this page when they are set.
Your choices and how to get help
- Change what you share at any time from the “Sharing and consent” part of GatherRelay.
- Withdraw consent from the consent screen for your own records. Wait for the confirmation on screen.
- See or correct your information. Most of it is on your own screens. Email us for anything else, or for the actual recipients of your health information.
- Get a copy of your information. You can download individual available papers in GatherRelay. An account-wide export is not ready. After signing in, use “Request my data or delete my account”, or email support@gatherrelay.com, to request a copy of your information; we will confirm the scope and secure delivery method.
- Turn off your account. Email us to turn off your account. After we confirm and process your request, sign-ins end and pending invitations you sent or received are cancelled. Your information, memberships and existing sharing choices remain. Turning off your account does not delete information or end other people’s access. Stop sharing first, or contact us if you cannot.
- Delete your account and papers. Full account deletion and permanent file removal are not ready; they are being built. After signing in, use “Request my data or delete my account”, or email support@gatherrelay.com. We record the request, tell you what we can complete now, and confirm what has actually been completed.
Email support@gatherrelay.com to exercise your privacy rights, or use “Request my data or delete my account” after signing in. We will complete valid requests within the applicable legal deadline and explain any lawful extension. You may request the actual recipients of your health information and their contact details. To appeal a refusal, email the same address with “Privacy appeal” in the subject. We will give a written decision within 45 days for Washington or Nevada appeals, or 60 days for Connecticut appeals. If we deny an appeal, we will provide the applicable Attorney General’s complaint route. Asking costs nothing, and you will not be treated differently for asking. We may check with you through another way we already know before acting on a request. We will never ask for a sign-in code, recovery code or password.
If you email support, your address, message and attachments pass through our email-forwarding and mailbox providers to the owner’s mailbox. Please do not email care papers or medical details; ask how to send any needed information securely.
Health information and state laws
Our separate Consumer health data privacy policy explains the health information we collect, its sources, purposes and recipients, and how to exercise your rights.
- What health information we keep: the papers, medication lists, allergy lists, emergency contacts and family updates described above, and the fact that you keep care papers here.
- Where it comes from: you, helpers you allow, and the papers you upload.
- Why: We use health information to store and show the records and updates you request, operate and secure the service, respond to your requests, and meet applicable legal obligations. Any safety-related disclosure must be permitted by applicable law.
- Who we share it with: the helpers you choose; the people a family update is addressed to, which can be a whole circle group whose membership can change; and the service providers listed above, who store and deliver it for us. We do not sell it.
- Your consent: GatherRelay asks for your agreement to keep it, and separately to share it. You can withdraw either at any time. Withdrawing sharing does not yet stop access to family updates already posted to circle groups (see “Who can see what”).
- Your rights: to know whether we keep it, to see it and a list of who we shared it with, to have it deleted, and to withdraw consent. Use the choices above.
If something goes wrong
If a breach requires notice, we will notify affected people without unreasonable delay and within the time required by law. We will use the legally required contact and delivery methods. The notice will explain the incident, relevant dates, affected information, known recipients, protective steps, our response and how to contact us.
Children
GatherRelay is for adults 18 and over. Please do not use it if you are under 18. If we learn that a child under 13 has given us information, we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will update this page and its date, and tell beta testers by email before a significant change takes effect. We will not use information you already gave us in a new way without asking you first.