Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of Beacon — the iOS app and our public website at getbeacon.uk (informational pages and legal documents; the product experience is delivered in the app, not as a web application). Beacon lets you scan and read documents and screens on your iPhone first, with optional signed-in cloud chat (UK public guidance with GOV.UK-linked sources). Optional tools such as map-based exploration of Police UK street-level crime open data are available in Profile (beta). By using Beacon you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the service.

1. The service

Beacon provides:

• A chat interface where you can ask questions about UK government services and related topics. Beacon is intentionally simple: you use one ongoing chat at a time — there is no conversation list, no swipe between multiple chats, and no delete-chat button. Horizontal swiping in the app is for moving between chat and the map (and similar shell navigation), not for browsing past conversations. Each dialogue is limited to a maximum of 30 messages (user and assistant messages counted toward that cap in the app); when the limit is reached, Beacon asks you to start a new chat to continue. Optional longer-running research flows may be available where the app offers them.
• Answers generated using only official GOV.UK pages as document sources, with AI to summarise and explain. We do not use other publishers’ sites or the open web as retrieval sources for those document excerpts. We try to be helpful, but we do not guarantee accuracy; we are not the government and we do not give official legal, immigration, tax, or professional advice.
• Document scanning (including without an account): capture, batch review, and on-device text recognition. Optional on-device overview (beta) and optional on-device scene understanding for photos and video frames (beta). When you choose Ask Beacon from a scan, recognised text (or an on-device overview summary) is sent to our cloud chat service — not the scanned image unless you separately attach a file in chat. Beacon may help explain what a document appears to say, but you remain responsible for reading the original document carefully and checking important steps with official sources or a qualified professional where needed.
• Optional on-device text analysis (beta): after you lock a scan, you may choose what to extract (for example overview, key facts, deadlines, or action steps) generated on your iPhone (sign-in required to download the on-device model). Output is a quick gist only — not the same as chat answers tied to GOV.UK sources, and not official advice. Behaviour and quality may change while the feature remains in beta.
• When you sign in with Google or Apple: profile (bio, Case Vault, document-type preferences), Saved messages (including assistant replies you save and notes you write there; recent lists in the app may show up to 30 items for performance), Deep search reports in Profile (recent lists similarly capped in-app), reminders on these items (similar to Case Vault reminders), and optional push alerts for long-running tasks (e.g. research jobs) where you opt in.
• Message feedback (for example thumbs-up / thumbs-down where the app offers it), plus optional comments.
• Map-based exploration of Police UK street-level open data: a fixed-radius analysis circle on the map (150-metre radius from the map centre), and a calendar month you select for analysis within the archive (or the latest available month). Population-linked rate-style figures use ONS mid-year 2024 population from our database for matched areas in England and Wales (including Wales LSOAs). Street-crime points can appear in Northern Ireland; population-linked area rates from ONS are not shown there (they apply where we match an England or Wales small area). Bands and colours are illustrative; where there are no archive rows in the circle for your window, the app may show neutral styling that is not a placement on the activity scale — not a safety score or police ranking. Neutral presentation may also apply when incidents are visible but ONS-based tiers or rates are not used for that location (see our Privacy Policy).

Beacon is currently offered free of charge. We may introduce optional paid features or subscriptions in the future. There is no obligation to pay unless and until we offer such features and you choose to buy them. If we do, we will update these Terms and our Privacy Policy, notify you in the app (and/or by email where appropriate), and you should read the updated documents before purchasing.

We may change, suspend, or discontinue features with reasonable notice where possible. We do not guarantee uninterrupted access.

2. Not official advice; AI limitations

• Beacon is guidance, not official advice

  We use only official GOV.UK pages as the document sources for chat answers (see our Privacy Policy). Our replies are summaries and explanations, not legal, immigration, tax, or professional advice. For important decisions you should always check the official GOV.UK pages and, where needed, consult a qualified professional.

• AI-generated content may be wrong

  AI-generated answers may be incorrect, incomplete, misleading, or out of date. Always verify critical steps on GOV.UK before you rely on anything from chat; consult a qualified professional where appropriate.

• On-device analysis (beta)

  On-device text and vision analysis (beta) is produced by small models on your iPhone, not by our chat service or OpenAI. You choose the analysis type before it runs. Output may be incorrect or incomplete. Always read the original document or scene and check important steps on official sources or with a qualified professional where needed.

• We are not the government

  Beacon is operated in the United Kingdom by an independent developer (the same operator identified in our Privacy Policy), trading under the name Beacon. Contact: info@getbeacon.uk. See also the Apple App Store listing. We are not part of HM Government or any government body. We do not speak for them and they do not endorse us.

• Use at your own risk

  You use the information from Beacon at your own risk. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we are not liable for loss or damage that results from relying on the app instead of checking official sources or getting professional advice — subject to the Limitation of liability section below.

• Police UK crime map / open data

  Open crime data may be incomplete, delayed, aggregated, anonymised at source, or revised after publication and is not real-time. In-app tiers and colouring are illustrative context based on Beacon’s rules and that data — not police ranking, official “typical” levels for the UK, or proof of how safe a person or place is. Empty or zero-result views use neutral presentation and do not mean a low “activity band” was detected; neutral styling may also appear when incidents are plotted but ONS-based bands do not apply (for example Northern Ireland). The map is not intended to inform decisions about personal safety, relocation, routes, travel, or real-time situations — do not use or rely on it for those purposes or other safety-critical choices. Further detail is in our Privacy Policy under Map and local exploration and on our Licensing & attribution page.

3. Not for emergencies

Beacon is not an emergency service. Do not use it to report crimes in progress, immediate danger, or life-threatening situations. Use the emergency and police contact routes published for your area (in the UK this includes 999 for emergencies and 101 for non-emergency police matters, subject to official guidance).

4. Third-party services and links

Beacon chat is designed to cite pages retrieved only from GOV.UK for your questions. On-device text and vision analysis does not use OpenAI or our chat servers for the generated analysis (see our Privacy Policy). Other parts of the app use separate official open data for specific features (for example map layers built from Police UK data or population context from ONS in our database). If we link you out to a third-party site, we do not control that site and are not responsible for its availability, accuracy, or content; its terms and privacy notices apply when you use it.

5. Your use of the service

You agree to:

• Use Beacon only for lawful purposes and in line with these Terms.
• Not use the service to harass, abuse, or harm others, or to distribute illegal, offensive, or misleading content.
• Not attempt to break or bypass our security, reverse engineer the app except where applicable law permits, circumvent usage limits or quotas we apply, or use automated means (including bots or scrapers) to extract data from Beacon or overload the service without our permission.
• Not resell, rent, or provide Beacon as a service to others (for example as part of a paid product) without our written permission.
• Not impersonate another person or deliberately submit false or fraudulent information through the service.

Ordinary personal use (including copying short excerpts or links for your own records) is fine. Systematic automated extraction or scraping of Beacon is not allowed.

6. Fair use and technical limits

To protect service stability and prevent abuse, we apply technical limits. Chat is currently capped at 30 messages per conversation, after which you must start a new chat. We may also apply limits on message frequency, single-message length, upload size or counts where uploads exist, usage caps on certain features, reminders, or heavier flows such as deep search or long-running research. Limits may change over time and may differ by feature.

7. Suspension and enforcement

We may suspend or terminate your access, or restrict features, if we reasonably believe you have breached these Terms, abused the service, or pose a risk to security or other users. We will try to give notice where reasonable and lawful.

8. Account and data

Account — You sign in with Google or Apple to use chat and related features. Other features may prompt for permissions (e.g. notifications) where relevant. You are responsible for keeping your device and account access secure.

Your data — Our Privacy Policy explains what we collect and how we use it. This includes operational and safety telemetry needed to run and protect the service (for example response type, policy or error codes, timing, and retrieval or tool traces). Profile personalisation controls are available in app settings (one setting controls whether your situation summary and Case Vault topic context are used in chat). By using Beacon, you agree to our Privacy Policy.

Deletion — You can delete your account in the app (Profile) to disable access. This action cannot be undone in the app. You can contact info@getbeacon.uk to request data erasure where applicable under law (see our Privacy Policy). Signing out only ends the session on your device. The app does not offer deleting individual chat threads; starting a new chat begins a fresh dialogue. Server-side handling of conversation data is described in our Privacy Policy.

9. Intellectual property

Our rights — The Beacon app (software, UI, and branding we create), marketing materials, and other original content we own are protected by intellectual property laws. You may not copy our software, branding, or UI for your own commercial purposes without permission. This does not claim ownership of GOV.UK text, Police UK open data, or other third-party or licensed public-sector material we display or process.

GOV.UK, Police UK, and open data — Official and open data are subject to their licences. Much public-sector information is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright. Some content may be subject to different copyright notices on the source page. Further detail is on our Licensing & attribution page.

Your content — You keep ownership of what you submit. You give us the rights we need to run the service (e.g. to store, process, and show your messages and to use AI to answer you).

10. Disclaimer of warranties

Beacon is provided “as is” and “as available”. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties and conditions whether express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

Map and open-data views (including Police UK-derived street-level crime layers) are compiled from third-party sources and may be inaccurate, incomplete, out of date, or unsuitable for a particular purpose, time, or location. Neutral or “empty” presentations do not confirm that an area had no crime in reality — they may reflect gaps in the dataset, your chosen window, how the archive matches a location, or that population-normalised tiers are not shown for that spot. They are not verified for your personal circumstances. Map and open-data views are not intended to inform decisions about security, relocation, childcare routes, travel, or any matter where harm could follow from error — do not use or rely on them for those purposes.

11. Limitation of liability

You are responsible for how you use the information Beacon provides.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law:

• We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive loss or damage, or for loss of profits, data, goodwill, or business, arising from your use of Beacon or reliance on its content.

For any claims where liability cannot be excluded but can be capped, our overall liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.

We do not limit our liability to you in any way where it would be unlawful for us to do so. Nothing in these Terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer (including rights that cannot be limited by contract under applicable UK law).

12. Age and eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use Beacon. If you are under 18 you should have a parent or guardian’s permission. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13; see our Privacy Policy.

13. Termination

• You may stop using Beacon at any time and delete your account from Profile, or contact us as described in our Privacy Policy.
• We may suspend or terminate your access if you breach these Terms, misuse the service, or for operational or legal reasons. We will try to give notice where reasonable.
• On termination, your right to use the service ends. Provisions that by their nature should survive (e.g. liability, intellectual property) will continue to apply.

14. General

Governing law — These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Beacon is aimed at users in the UK.

Entire agreement — These Terms and our Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and us about the service.

Severability — If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

Changes — We may update these Terms. We will post the new version with an updated “Last updated” date. Continued use of Beacon after changes means you accept the new Terms. We may also notify you in-app for material changes where appropriate. If you do not agree, you must stop using the service.