Privacy Policy

1. About this policy

Coach HQ (“Coach HQ”, “we”, “us” or “our”) provides tools for grassroots football coaches, team staff and parents. For personal data processed to operate Coach HQ accounts and the service, Coach HQ acts as the data controller for the purposes of UK data protection law.

Coaches and team administrators decide what team and player information to enter and share with authorised team members and linked parents. They should only add information they are authorised to manage and should keep it accurate and relevant.

This policy applies to the Coach HQ website and mobile applications. It does not apply to websites or services operated independently by third parties.

2. Personal data we handle

Account and authentication data

We process account details such as email address, display name, account role, password authentication records, email confirmation status, session information and account timestamps. Parent accounts may also provide a name and phone number. Passwords are handled by our authentication provider and are not available to Coach HQ in readable form.

Coach, parent, player and team data

Depending on how the service is used, this may include team and club names, age group, season, venue and kit details; membership roles and permissions; player names, squad numbers, playing positions, initials or profile image; parent-player links; and secure team or player access codes.

Coaches may record private player information including a parent or guardian name and phone number, emergency contact information and medical notes. This information is subject to more restrictive access controls and is not intended for general team sharing.

Fixtures, training, attendance and matchday data

We process fixtures, training sessions, locations, times, attendance and availability responses, line-ups, tactical plans, match events, substitutions, scores, completed-match records, clean sheets, season archives and offline match actions awaiting synchronisation.

Ratings, progress, awards and notes

Coaches may record match ratings, training check-ins, player progress, awards, coaching notes, debrief information and voice-to-text notes. Coach-only ratings, medical information and private notes are not made available to parents or players unless an authorised coach deliberately shares appropriate information through a parent-facing feature.

Team Hub, chat and communications

Team Hub features may process posts, comments, votes, notifications, communication drafts and follow-ups. Team Chat stores the team, author identity and display name, message text, replies and timestamps. It may also process reactions, read status, notification preferences, short-lived typing status, moderation reports, blocked-user records and chat controls.

Team Chat is restricted to authorised coaching staff and eligible linked parents. Coaches can moderate team communications.

Push notification and device data

If you enable push notifications, we process a device push token, your account identifier and role, device platform, notification preference, enabled status, last-seen time and, where supplied by the device, a device identifier. Notification records can include a title, message, delivery status and related team or event.

Subscriptions and payments

Where subscription features are used, we process plan, platform, subscription status, renewal or expiry information and external customer, checkout, subscription or transaction identifiers. Card and bank details are collected and processed by the payment provider, not stored by Coach HQ.

For mobile purchases, Apple or Google handles payment and supplies purchase or receipt information needed to validate entitlement. For web purchases, Stripe handles checkout, billing and payment method details.

AI feature data

If an authorised coach chooses to use an AI-assisted feature, the prompt and relevant content selected for that request may be sent securely to our AI service provider to generate the requested output. AI features are optional. Coaches should not include unnecessary medical, emergency-contact or other highly sensitive information in an AI request.

Analytics and technical data

Where enabled on the website, Coach HQ uses limited, privacy-conscious analytics events to understand use of key features, such as setup and subscription journeys. We also process ordinary technical and operational information needed to serve requests, diagnose errors, protect the service and prevent misuse, such as request time, route, response status and operational identifiers. We do not use advertising trackers or sell analytics profiles.

3. How and why we use personal data

We use personal data to:

• create, authenticate and secure accounts;
• provide team, player, training and matchday tools;
• link parents to the correct player and team;
• deliver Team Hub, chat, notifications and communications;
• provide optional AI-assisted features when requested;
• manage subscriptions and confirm payment entitlement;
• provide support, investigate faults and maintain service reliability;
• detect misuse and protect users, children and the service; and
• meet legal, accounting and regulatory obligations.

Under UK GDPR, our lawful bases depend on the activity. They generally include performing our contract with account holders, our legitimate interests in operating and securing Coach HQ, compliance with legal obligations and, where required, consent. Where health or medical information is entered for safeguarding purposes, the person entering it must have an appropriate basis and authority to do so.

4. Children, parents and safeguarding

Coach HQ is designed for use by adult coaches, authorised team staff and parents or guardians. It is not intended for children to create and manage accounts independently.

A coach or authorised adult may enter information about junior players for legitimate team administration and safeguarding purposes. Parents gain access through secure linking and only see information made available to their role. Medical notes, emergency details, private coaching notes and coach-only ratings are subject to restricted access.

Adults using Coach HQ must minimise children’s data, avoid unnecessary sensitive detail, keep records accurate and only share information with people who are authorised to receive it. If you believe a child’s information has been entered or exposed inappropriately, contact us promptly.

5. Service providers and data sharing

We do not sell personal data. We share data only where needed to provide, secure and support Coach HQ, including with:

We may also disclose information where required by law, to protect users or the service, or as part of a business reorganisation subject to appropriate safeguards. Within a team, data is shared according to roles, permissions, parent-player links and deliberate publishing choices.

6. International data transfers

Some service providers may process data outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area. Where required, transfers are protected using recognised safeguards such as adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, approved addenda or standard contractual clauses.

7. Data retention and deletion

We retain personal data for as long as needed to provide the account and team service, maintain legitimate records, resolve disputes, prevent fraud and meet legal obligations. Different records may be kept for different periods depending on their purpose. Short-lived operational data, such as typing status, is not intended to be retained as a permanent team record.

Account deletion is available from the app’s Settings. When an account owner deletes their account, Coach HQ deletes teams owned by that account and associated team records through the application’s deletion process, then deletes the authentication account. Data connected to another team owner, records required for security or legal purposes, payment-provider records and limited backup copies may be retained where necessary before deletion or expiry.

You can also ask us to delete or correct information. We may need to verify your identity and authority over the relevant team or child record before acting.

8. Security

Coach HQ uses authentication, encrypted connections, role-based permissions, team membership checks and database access policies intended to restrict data to authorised users. Sensitive server credentials are not included in the mobile or browser application.

No online service can guarantee absolute security. Users should protect their sign-in details, avoid sharing access codes unnecessarily and tell us promptly if they suspect unauthorised access.

9. Your data protection rights

Depending on your circumstances and location, you may have the right to:

• ask for access to your personal data;
• ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data;
• ask us to erase data in certain circumstances;
• restrict or object to certain processing;
• receive certain data in a portable format;
• withdraw consent where processing relies on consent; and
• complain to a data protection authority.

In the UK, you may complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk . We would appreciate the opportunity to address your concern first.

10. Your choices and controls

• You can turn device push notifications off in device settings.
• Team Chat notification and communication preferences can be managed in the app where available.
• You can choose whether to use optional AI-assisted features.
• Coaches control whether appropriate line-ups, updates and match content are published to parents.
• You can delete your account from Settings or contact us for help.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as Coach HQ changes or to reflect legal and regulatory requirements. We will publish the current version at this URL and update the effective date. Where appropriate, we will provide an additional notice in the app.

12. Contact us