Privacy policy

Last updated: 4 November 2026

This policy covers the Codeshed website (codeshed.app), the Codeshed apps for iPhone, iPad and Android, and our tracked-code service (cshd.app).

The short version

• Codes you make on the Codeshed website are created on your own device. What you type, your logo, and any list or spreadsheet you use for a batch are never sent to us, unless you choose to save a code to your own app.
• You don’t need an account. We never ask for your name, email address or a password, on the website or in the apps.
• The apps keep your codes on your phone. Our servers only hold what a tracked code needs to work, and designs you send to your own app, which are end-to-end encrypted.
• When someone scans a tracked code, we count the scan. We never keep their IP address, and nothing is stored on their phone.

Who we are

Codeshed is a trading name of Third Coffee Studio Ltd, 128 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX, United Kingdom. We are the data controller for the information described here. For anything about your data, email privacy@thirdcoffeestudio.com.

The website

• Website statistics. We use Cloudflare Web Analytics to count visits and see which pages are used, in total, so we can improve Codeshed. It doesn’t use cookies or build a profile of you. Our reason: legitimate interests in running and improving the site.
• Google Analytics. To understand how people find and use Codeshed: pages viewed, how you arrived, and your country and type of device. It uses cookies and a random ID, never what you type or upload. In the UK, EU and Switzerland it only runs if you agree. Our reason: your consent there, and legitimate interests elsewhere.
• Advertising. The Codeshed website is free because it shows ads. When ads are switched on, Google and its partners may use cookies to show and measure ads, but only after you agree. Our reason: your consent, which you can change at any time in Cookie settings.
• Messages you send us. If you email us, we use your message and email address to reply. Our reason: legitimate interests in answering you.

The Codeshed apps

• Your codes stay on your device. My codes, designs, templates and settings are stored in the app, and in your iCloud or Google backup if you have backup turned on. We can’t see them.
• A key instead of an account. The app makes a private key on your device. It stays on your device and in your iCloud Keychain or Google backup. Our servers keep only its public half, which lets us check that a request really comes from your app. It doesn’t tell us who you are.
• Ads in the free app. The free app shows a small number of ads from Google AdMob. In the UK, EU and Switzerland, Google’s consent form asks you first, and you can change your choice at any time in the app’s settings. On iPhone and iPad, Apple’s tracking question is asked too; if you say no, the ads aren’t personalised. To show and measure ads and to prevent fraud, Google may use your device’s advertising ID, your approximate location from your internet connection, and how you interact with ads. We never pass anything you type, any web address or any code content to Google. Codeshed Plus subscribers see no ads, and the ad software isn’t started at all. Our reason: your consent where the law asks for it, and legitimate interests in paying for the free app.
• Codeshed Plus. Apple or Google takes the payment; we never see your card details. The app sends us the store’s purchase record (Apple’s signed transaction or Google’s purchase token), and we check it with Apple or Google to confirm the subscription and when it ends. We keep the store, the plan, its status and its end date with your app’s public key. Our reason: providing the subscription you bought.
• Scan alerts. If you turn on scan alerts, we keep your device’s notification token (from Apple’s or Google’s notification service), your alert settings, your time zone and your language, so we can send the alerts. Turn the alerts off, or delete the app, and they stop. Our reason: providing the feature you asked for.
• The camera. The app uses the camera only to scan a link code from codeshed.app or a transfer code from your other phone. The picture is read on your phone and never sent anywhere.
• Anonymous usage counts. To learn which parts of the apps are used, the apps send us counts of actions from a fixed list, for example “a Wi-Fi code was made” or “a PNG was saved”. Each count holds only the action, the app’s language and whether it’s iPhone or Android; our server adds the country and keeps daily totals, with no IP address. Never what you type, make or scan, no code ids and no device or advertising ID. You can turn this off in the app: Settings → Your data → Count how I use Codeshed. Our legal basis: legitimate interests in improving the apps.
• No crash-reporting tools. We don’t add crash-reporting tools to the apps. If you have agreed to share crash reports in your phone’s settings, Apple or Google may pass them on to us.

Tracked codes

A tracked code (Codeshed Plus) points to a short address on cshd.app, which forwards to the address you choose. You can change where it goes after printing, and see its scans.

• What we keep for each code: its short address, the address it forwards to, the name you give it, its campaign tag setting and whether it’s in use.
• What each scan records: the time; the country, region and city, from our network provider Cloudflare; the city’s position, rounded to about 10 km; the type of device, its system and browser; and the phone’s language. This is how we count scans and show the code’s statistics to its owner.
• What we never record: the IP address of the person scanning, their precise location, or anything that identifies them. No cookies and nothing else is stored on their phone. We don’t count unique or repeat scanners.
• Robots: link previews (for example in WhatsApp or Slack) and search robots still reach the destination, but they aren’t counted as scans. Only how many there were is shown.
• Recent scans: while the owner’s subscription is active, we also keep a list of recent scans (time to the minute, approximate city and position, type of device) for the live feed and map. Each entry is deleted after 90 days.
• Safety checks: new and changed destinations are checked with Google Web Risk, and codes in use are checked again about once a week, to protect people from scams, phishing and malware. Only the destination address is sent to Google.
• Campaign tags: if the owner turns them on, we add tags (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign) to the address when someone scans. The website a code opens is responsible for its own analytics and cookies.
• Reports: if you report a code to abuse@thirdcoffeestudio.com, we use your message and email address to look into it and reply.

Our reasons: providing tracked codes to their owners; and legitimate interests in counting scans for the owner without identifying anyone, and in keeping the service safe.

Linking a computer

• You can link the Codeshed website on a computer to your app. Nothing is sent until you ask for a link code.
• When you ask for one, our server notes the browser and system (for example “Chrome on macOS”) and the approximate city, so your app can show you which computer is asking. An unused link code is deleted after 5 minutes.
• When you approve it in the app, the website receives a computer token and keeps it in your browser’s storage. The token can only send designs to your app and check whether your app has Codeshed Plus. We keep only a scrambled (hashed) copy, with the computer’s name, its approximate city and when it was last used.
• “Save to my app” sends that one design to your app, end-to-end encrypted: it’s locked on your computer with a key only your app holds. We only ever have the locked copy, and we delete it as soon as your app collects it, or after 30 days.
• A link ends when you unlink it in the app or on the website, or after 90 days without use.

Moving to a new phone

The app can move your codes and key to a new phone. Your old phone locks them with a code shown on its screen, and we pass on the locked copy without being able to open it. It’s deleted once your new phone has it, and after 1 hour at the latest.

Information stored only on your device

Your language, light or dark appearance, saved style and print settings are kept in your browser’s storage on your own device, because you asked for them to be remembered. If you link a computer, its computer token is kept there too. If you install Codeshed as an app, its own files are saved on your device so it works offline. You can clear all of this in your browser at any time. See the cookie policy for the full list.

Who we share it with

• Cloudflare: hosting for the website and the tracked-code service, and website statistics.
• Google: website analytics and ads, ads in the free Android and iPhone apps (AdMob), Google Play purchases, Android notifications (Firebase Cloud Messaging) and destination checks (Web Risk).
• Apple: App Store purchases and iPhone and iPad notifications.

They act under their own terms and data protection commitments. Some processing may happen outside the UK; where it does, it’s covered by legal safeguards such as UK adequacy regulations or approved contract clauses.

How long we keep it

• Emails: 24 months. Website statistics: in total form only. Google Analytics data: 14 months.
• Single scans: up to 3 months, then only as hourly and daily totals for each code. Recent-scan list: 90 days.
• Tracked codes and their totals: while they’re in use, so a printed code keeps working.
• Link codes: 5 minutes. Computer links: until unlinked, or 90 days without use. Designs sent to your app: until your app collects them, or 30 days. Phone transfers: 1 hour at most.
• Notification tokens: until you turn alerts off, or Apple or Google says the token no longer works.
• Backups of our service’s database: 90 days.

Your rights

You can ask to see, correct or delete information about you, ask us to stop or limit using it, object to how we use it, and take it elsewhere. Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time. Email privacy@thirdcoffeestudio.com and we’ll reply within one month. Because there are no accounts, we may ask you to show us a request from your app, so we know a code is yours.

If you’re unhappy with how we handle your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk). If you’re in the EU, you can also contact your local data protection authority.

Children

Codeshed is a general tool and isn’t aimed at children. We don’t knowingly collect information about children.

Changes

If we change this policy, we’ll update the date at the top and, for important changes, say so on the home page and in the apps.

Codeshed is a trading name of Third Coffee Studio Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 17517422.