SoloBayPrivacy Policy
Last updated: 29 August 2026
Who we are
SoloBay is operated by Solo Bay Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales.
| Company number | 17415499 |
| Registered office | Unit A, 82 James Carter Road, Mildenhall, IP28 7DE |
| Contact | hello@solobay.co.uk |
| ICO registration | Registration pending |
We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy. That means we decide what information is collected and why.
What we collect, and why
Your account
| What | Why | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Name, email address | To create and secure your account | Performance of a contract |
| Password (stored only as a cryptographic hash) | To keep your account secure | Performance of a contract |
| Preferences and settings | To make the app work the way you set it | Performance of a contract |
Your vehicle
| What | Why | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle registration mark (number plate), make and model | To buy parking sessions, and so enforcement officers can confirm you've paid | Performance of a contract |
Where you are
| What | Why | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Device location, precise where you allow it | To show nearby bays and car parks and route you to them | Your consent, given through your device's permission prompt |
You can withdraw location permission at any time in your device settings. The app will still work; it just won't know where you are, so you'll need to search manually.
If you allow background location, we use it only to support features you've switched on, such as reminding you when a session is about to expire. We do not track your movements for advertising or profiling.
When you pay for parking
| What | Why | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Amount, time, location, vehicle registration, session duration | To buy your parking and prove it was paid | Performance of a contract |
| Payment card details | We never see or store these. They go directly to our payment provider | Performance of a contract |
Card payments are handled by a payment service provider certified to PCI DSS Level 1. Your card number never touches our systems. We hold only a meaningless token that lets us charge the same card again if you ask us to.
Advertising
The free version of SoloBay is funded by advertising.
| What | Why | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising identifier, approximate location, ad interaction data | To show ads and measure whether they worked | Your consent |
On iOS you'll be asked whether SoloBay may track you across other companies' apps and websites. If you say no, we don't, and you'll see less relevant ads rather than fewer ads. You can change your answer at any time in your device settings.
How the app is used
| What | Why | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Crash reports, feature usage, device type and OS version | To fix bugs and improve the app | Our legitimate interests in maintaining a working product |
Bays you tell us about
If you submit a bay we've missed, we keep the location and link it to your account so we can follow up. Shared or published bay data is aggregated and stripped of anything identifying you.
Who we share it with
Parking operators, councils and enforcement systems. When you pay for a parking session, we pass the details - your vehicle registration, the location, and the start and end time - to the parking operator and, where relevant, to the enforcement system their officers use. This is the entire point: it is how a warden's handheld device knows you have paid. Without it you would get a penalty charge notice.
Our payment provider, to take payment.
Our technology suppliers - cloud hosting, mapping, crash reporting, push notifications - who process data only on our instructions under written contracts.
Advertising partners, where you have consented.
Anyone we're legally required to share with, such as a court order or a lawful request from a public authority.
We do not sell your personal information.
Sending data outside the UK
Some of our suppliers are based outside the UK. Where personal data leaves the UK we rely on UK adequacy regulations, or on the International Data Transfer Agreement or UK Addendum, so that your data keeps equivalent protection.
How long we keep it
| Account information | While your account is open, then 12 months |
| Parking transactions | 7 years - we're required to keep financial records |
| Location history | Not kept in a form that identifies you beyond your session, unless you save a place |
| Crash and usage data | Up to 24 months |
| Marketing consent records | While consent stands, then 3 years as evidence it was given |
Keeping it safe
We encrypt data in transit and at rest. Access to systems holding personal data is limited to named people who need it, protected by multi-factor authentication, and reviewed regularly. We do not store payment card numbers.
No system is perfectly secure, but if a breach happens that puts your rights at risk, we will tell the Information Commissioner's Office within 72 hours, and we will tell you directly if the risk to you is high.
Your rights
You can ask us to:
- give you a copy of the personal data we hold about you
- correct anything that's wrong
- delete your data, where we don't have to keep it
- restrict or object to how we use it
- hand it over to another provider in a portable format
- withdraw consent at any time, where consent is what we relied on
Email hello@solobay.co.uk. We'll reply within one calendar month. It's free, and we won't treat you any differently for asking.
We don't make any decisions about you by purely automated means that have legal or similarly significant effects.
Children
SoloBay is not intended for under-18s and we do not knowingly collect their data. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we'll delete it.
Cookies and similar technologies
SoloBay uses only strictly necessary cookies and local storage. We do not use analytics or advertising cookies on this website or in the web app, so we do not show a cookie consent banner. Here is exactly what we store and why:
Website (solobay.co.uk)
The marketing pages set no cookies and use no local storage at all.
Web app (solobay.co.uk/app)
| What | Why | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Firebase Authentication (Google) | Keeps you signed in to your account between visits | Browser storage (IndexedDB, "firebaseLocalStorageDb"), strictly necessary |
| Your preferences and saved data | Remembers your theme, saved bays and labels, onboarding progress, current parking session and tips, so the app works the way you left it. It stays on your device (keys beginning "solobay_" and "motobay_") | Local storage, strictly necessary |
None of this is used for analytics or advertising, and none of it is shared for those purposes. Signing out or clearing your browser data removes it. The mobile app stores the same kinds of information on your device, for the same reasons.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy materially we'll tell you in the app or by email before the change takes effect. The date at the top always shows the current version.
Complaints
Please come to us first at hello@solobay.co.uk - most things are quicker to fix directly.
You also have the right to complain to the UK's data protection regulator:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
0303 123 1113 · ico.org.uk