Privacy policy
Substrate Sentinel is a service of Substrate Technologies Limited (“we”), a company registered in England and Wales (company number 17374706). This policy explains what personal data the service handles, why, and who else processes it. It covers the website at substrate-sentinel.com, the app at app.substrate-sentinel.com, email to docs@substrate-sentinel.com, and our WhatsApp number.
Who this is for
The service is used by import businesses and the people those businesses allow to send documents or ask for a shipment status. We do not offer the service to the general public, and we do not buy contact lists.
Data we collect
When you message us on WhatsApp we receive the phone number the message comes from, your WhatsApp profile name if WhatsApp includes it, the time of the message, the text you send, and any photo, PDF, or other file you attach.
When you email docs@substrate-sentinel.com we receive the sender address, the message, and the attachments.
Documents typically contain business information: bill of lading and container numbers, vessel names, ports, invoice amounts, and the names of companies and people involved in a shipment. We store the file, the text we extract from it, and the shipment record it is filed against.
The app stores account settings a customer chooses, including which email addresses may send documents, and an event log of what was filed or changed.
This website does not set analytics cookies and does not ask you to create an account.
Why we use it
- To receive, classify, and file the shipping documents you send, and to reply with the result.
- To show shipment status from carrier milestones, vessel positions, and checks a person has logged, and to send that status on WhatsApp when you ask for it.
- To keep a record of what was received and how it was filed, so the customer can review it.
- To limit inbound email to addresses the customer has allowed.
- To operate, secure, and fix the service.
We do not sell personal data. We do not use WhatsApp message content to advertise, and we do not send promotional WhatsApp messages. A reply is either a response to a message you sent or a status you requested.
Where UK or EU data protection law applies, we rely on legitimate interests in running the service our customer has asked us to run, and on the contract with that customer. You can object as described below.
Who processes it
We use these processors to run the service:
- Twilio carries WhatsApp messages between you and us.
- Meta provides the WhatsApp network. WhatsApp and Meta process message data under their own terms to deliver the message. Meta states that message content sent through the WhatsApp Business Platform is deleted from its systems within 30 days of the last status update, except where a longer period is required. See WhatsApp’s business policy and Meta’s note on Cloud API data.
- Cloudflare hosts the service and stores documents and shipment records.
- Anthropic reads document text so we can classify the file and draft a short status line. We send the content needed for that read, not your WhatsApp phone number as a separate marketing profile.
- Carrier, port, and vessel-data providers receive shipment references (such as a bill of lading number or a vessel name) so we can fetch tracking events. They do not receive your WhatsApp messages.
People at the customer business who use the app can see the documents and shipment records for that business. We do not publish those records.
How long we keep it
We keep documents, shipment records, and the message or email that delivered them for as long as the customer uses the service and for a short period afterwards so we can export or delete them on request. We delete or return them when the customer asks us to close the account, unless we have to keep a copy to meet a legal duty.
WhatsApp’s own copy of a message is retained by Meta on the schedule above, which we do not control.
Where it is stored
We host the service on Cloudflare. Processors may store or access data in the United Kingdom, the European Economic Area, and the United States. Where a transfer out of the UK or EEA needs a safeguard, we use the provider’s standard contractual clauses or the UK equivalent.
Stopping WhatsApp messages
Reply STOP on the WhatsApp thread, or email hello@substrate-sentinel.com, and we will stop sending WhatsApp messages to that number. You can still email documents if your address is allowed. Reply START if you want WhatsApp replies again.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you can ask us for a copy of your personal data, a correction, deletion, or a restriction, and you can object to processing based on legitimate interests. Email hello@substrate-sentinel.com. If we are processing the data for a customer business, we may need to refer the request to that customer, and we will tell you when we do.
You can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK (ico.org.uk) or to your local authority. We would like the chance to put a problem right first.
Changes
If we change this policy we will update the date at the top. The current version is always this page.