In short
Who we are
BracesHelp is a companion app for people in orthodontic treatment and the practices that treat them. It is published by The Dental Specialists ("BracesHelp", "we", "us"). This policy covers the BracesHelp app for iPhone, iPad and Android, the practice panel at admin.ibraceshelp.com, and this website.
Each patient joins the app through their orthodontic practice, using a code the practice provides. The practice manages its own content and uses the information described below to support your treatment.
What we collect
When you create an account
- Name, email address and, if you add it, your phone number.
- Your password, which is handled by Google Firebase Authentication. We never see it in readable form.
- The practice you joined, from the practice code you entered.
While you use the app
- Treatment dates. The date your braces went on, if you enter it, and the estimated finish date and next appointment, if your practice sets them.
- A compliance summary. Your elastics streak, your average daily wear over the last seven days, your brushing consistency for the week, and when you last wore your elastics. It is calculated on your phone from what you record, sent to your account at most every few hours, and shown to your practice as self-reported. The app tells you this on the Elastics and Brush Timer screens.
- Messages you send to and receive from your practice.
- Referrals. If you enter a friend's referral code, we record which two accounts are linked — no names or messages.
Crash reports
If the app crashes or hits a serious error, Google Firebase Crashlytics sends us a report: what went wrong in the code, the app version, your device model and operating system version. We use it only to fix problems. It does not include your messages, photos or treatment details.
Practice accounts
For practices we also store the practice's name, phone number, address if provided, practice code, and the content the practice adds — doctor bio and photo, About text, videos, reminder wording and links. Images a practice uploads are stored on our own server. Subscription payments are processed by Stripe; we receive confirmation of payment but never card numbers.
What stays on your phone
Some things are kept only on your device and are never sent to us or your practice:
- Smile Album photos. Stored in the app's private storage on your phone. If you share a photo, it goes only where you choose to send it.
- Your detailed elastics and brushing log — every session and time. Only the short summary above leaves your phone.
- Your reminder settings. Reminders are scheduled by your phone itself; we don't use push-notification services.
Because of this, uninstalling the app or switching phones removes these on-device items. Save any photos you want to keep first.
How we use it
- To run the app: sign you in, connect you to your practice, show your progress and deliver messages.
- To let your practice support your treatment, as described in the next section.
- To keep the service secure and to find and fix bugs.
- To answer you when you contact support.
We do not sell your personal information, use it for advertising, or share it with data brokers.
Your choices
- Update your details: tap your name at the top of the menu to edit your name and phone number.
- Delete your account: Menu → Delete account, then confirm with your password. This deletes your account, your profile, your messages with your practice, your compliance summary and treatment dates from our systems, and removes your BracesHelp data and reminders from that phone.
- Notifications: turn reminders on or off in the app, or block BracesHelp notifications in your phone's settings.
- Practice accounts are closed by our support team, because they carry the practice's content and subscription. Email us from the account's address.
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete or receive a copy of your information. Email us and we'll respond within the time the law requires. We won't treat you differently for exercising these rights.
How long we keep it
We keep your account information while your account exists. When you delete your account, it is removed from our active systems straight away. Crash reports are kept by Firebase Crashlytics for up to 90 days. Your practice may keep its own clinical records separately, under its own obligations — deleting your BracesHelp account doesn't change those.
Security
All connections between the app, this website and our servers are encrypted in transit (HTTPS). Access to each practice's data is enforced by server-side security rules, and passwords are managed by Firebase Authentication. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information and will notify you if a breach affects it, as the law requires.
Children
Many people in braces are young. BracesHelp is not meant for children under 13 to sign up on their own: a parent or guardian should create and manage the account for a child under 13. If we learn that we've collected information from a child under 13 without a parent's involvement, we'll delete it. Parents can contact us at any time to review or delete their child's information.
A note on health information
BracesHelp helps you follow your treatment between visits. It is not a medical record and doesn't replace your orthodontist's advice. The compliance numbers come from what you record and aren't a measurement. In an emergency, contact your practice or local emergency services.
This website
ibraceshelp.com uses no advertising or analytics cookies and no tracking pixels. Pages load fonts from Google Fonts, which receives your IP address to deliver them, and the pricing section asks our server for current prices. Our web server keeps standard access logs (IP address, time and page requested) for security and troubleshooting.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. If a change materially affects how we use information you've already given us, we'll tell you in the app before it takes effect.
Contact
Questions, requests or concerns about privacy: support@ibraceshelp.com. You can also reach us through the support page.