Privacy Notice

1. Who we are

McKenzieFriend.ai is operated by MCKENZIEFRIEND AI LTD("we", "us"), the data controller for the personal data described in this notice.

• Registered address: 64 Lincoln Street, Birmingham, B12 9EX
• Company number:17362145 (registered in England & Wales)
• ICO registration reference: ZC207595
• Contact for privacy matters: info@mckenziefriend.ai

2. What this service is

McKenzieFriend.ai helps litigants-in-person in England and Wales organise and prepare their own court cases. It is not a law firm, does not provide regulated legal advice, and does not represent you. Its AI features are for preparation and organisation only, can be inaccurate, and must be checked by you.

3. The data we collect

• Account data: your email address and password (passwords are handled by our authentication provider and are not visible to us).
• Case data you enter: case details, chronologies, witness statements, calendar entries, bundle items, and messages you send to the AI assistant.
• Documents you upload: court orders, letters, evidence, screenshots, images.
• Analytics data: if you consent, basic usage analytics via Google Analytics (see our Cookie Notice).

Sensitive information. Case material often includes special category data (such as health, religious belief or sexual life) and information about alleged criminal conduct, and may include information about children and other people. Only include what you need for your case. By entering it, you understand it will be processed as described in this notice, including being sent to our AI provider (see section 5).

4. Why we use it, and our legal basis

• To provide the service (create your workspace, store your case, generate drafts): our legal basis is performance of a contract (UK GDPR Art. 6(1)(b)).
• For special category and criminal-allegation information within your case content: we rely on your explicit consent (Art. 9(2)(a)) and, where relevant, that processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims (Art. 9(2)(f) and Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018).
• For analytics: our legal basis is consent (Art. 6(1)(a)), which you can withdraw at any time.

5. Who we share it with (our processors)

We do not sell your data. We share it only with service providers who process it on our instructions:

AI processing (important). When you use the AI assistant, the relevant case content is sent to OpenAI to generate a response. This is necessary to provide the feature. OpenAI processes this in the United States under a data processing agreement that includes approved UK international transfer safeguards.

6. International transfers

Your case data and uploaded documents are stored within the European Union, which the UK recognises as providing an adequate level of protection. Some providers (such as OpenAI, and Google Analytics where you have consented) process data outside the UK, including in the United States. Where they do, we rely on appropriate safeguards, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

7. How long we keep it

• Case data and uploads: kept until you delete them or close your account; deleted within 30 days of account closure.
• Account/login data: kept while your account is active; removed when you delete your account.
• Analytics data: retained for 14 months.

8. Your rights

Under UK data protection law you can: access your data; correct it; delete it; restrict or object to processing; request portability; and withdraw consent at any time. To exercise any right, email info@mckenziefriend.ai. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk), though we would appreciate the chance to help first.

You can delete your case data and your account yourself from within the app at any time.

9. Security

Data is stored with access controls so that only your account can reach your cases, and files are held in private storage. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information.

10. Children

The service is intended for adults (18+) preparing their own cases. It is not directed at children. Case content may refer to children as subjects of proceedings; that information is processed as part of your case as described above.

11. Changes

We may update this notice from time to time. Material changes will be reflected here with a new "last updated" date.