FutureCitizen Privacy Policy

Who we are

FutureCitizen is an independent study website that helps people prepare for the Life in the UK test (required for British citizenship and settlement). We are not part of the UK Home Office. If you have questions about this policy, use the contact page.

What we collect

We keep data collection small. Depending on how you use the site, we may collect:

• Account data (email address, sign-in provider ID) if you create an account.
• Progress data (answers, results, mistakes, daily limits, and session state) to provide the practice, mistakes, and mock test features.
• Payment data if you purchase a plan. Payments are processed by Stripe and we do not store full card details on our servers.
• Technical data (for example request logs, device/browser details, and error/performance data) used to keep the service stable and secure.

Local storage and session data

If you use practice mode without an account, your progress may be stored locally in your browser (for example using localStorage). This stays on your device unless you clear your browser storage. If you later sign in, some local progress may be migrated to your account so you can continue across devices.

How we use your data

• To provide the service (practice, mistakes, mock tests, and the study guide).
• To sync progress across devices when you sign in.
• To handle billing and access for paid plans.
• To maintain and improve the website.
• To respond to support requests you send to us.
• To help prevent abuse and protect the service.

Session recording and error monitoring

To detect and fix problems, we use error-monitoring and session-replay tools (currently Sentry). We do not record normal browsing. When an error occurs, we may capture a masked replay of the session around that error to help us diagnose it — the text you type, form inputs, and images are hidden by default and are not recorded. We use this only to fix issues and keep the service stable, and we retain it for a limited period.

Legal bases

Where UK GDPR applies, we process personal data based on consent, contract (for account and paid features), legitimate interests (service security and improvement), or legal obligation.

Cookies and similar technologies

We use cookies and similar browser storage for two purposes:

• Essential — needed for core functionality such as sign-in, security, saving your preferences, and remembering your progress. The service cannot work properly without these.
• Analytics — we use Google Analytics to understand how the site is used so we can improve it. These are optional. You can control non-essential cookies through your browser, and we are adding a cookie-preferences control so you can accept or decline analytics.

We do not sell personal data.

Sharing

We share data only when needed to run the service, for example with:

• Firebase (authentication and data storage).
• Stripe (payments and billing portal).
• Google Analytics (usage analytics).
• Sentry (error monitoring and session replay).
• Hosting and infrastructure providers used to deliver the site.

International processing

Some service providers (for example hosting, email, or payments) may process data outside the UK. Where this happens, we use appropriate safeguards.

Retention

We keep personal data only as long as needed for the purposes above, or as required by law. Local browser data remains until you clear it. Synced account data remains until you delete your account or request deletion, subject to legal/financial retention requirements.

Your rights and choices

You may have rights to access, correct, delete, or restrict processing of your personal data. You can also withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

You can request deletion via the account page when signed in, or by contacting us.

Security

We use reasonable measures to help protect personal data. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure.

Children

This service is intended for people preparing for the Life in the UK test and is not designed for children. If you believe we collected personal data from a child in error, contact us so we can review and remove it where appropriate.

Complaints

If you are not happy with how we handle your data, you may complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Contact

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The effective date at the top will show the latest version.