Information about privacy of Tracy service

Page last reviewed 6.9.2023

The Tracy service has been developed to make it possible to report exposure to a sexually transmitted disease anonymously.

Notification of exposure to infection is done with a code that is given only when a person is diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease. With the help of the code, an attempt has been made to prevent misuse of the service.

The service should not be used for purposes for which it was not designed, such as bullying or making false reports. The reporting service is intended to promote sexual health and prevent new STD infections. Intentionally making a false declaration is a crime.

I have received a notification of exposure to a sexually transmitted disease by e-mail or text message. What does it mean?

If you have received a notification by e-mail or text message that your recent sexual partner has been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease, the purpose of the information is to enable you to get tested. All STDs can be asymptomatic and they can also be transmitted in an asymptomatic phase during sex.

It’s pointless to blame anyone for a sexually transmitted disease or exposure to a sexually transmitted disease, and in the end, it doesn’t matter which or which party had the infection first. The most important thing is to inform, as far as possible, all those who may be exposed to the infection and seek tests and, if necessary, treatment.

And there is absolutely no need to worry – all sexually transmitted diseases are treatable and most of them can be cured. However, it is important to get tested if you have been exposed to a sexually transmitted disease. All STDs can be asymptomatic. The most common sexually transmitted diseases are chlamydia and gonorrhea. Less common sexually transmitted diseases are syphilis and HIV.

We recommend making an appointment for STD tests at Hivpoint’s Checkpoint STD clinic, your own health center or STD clinic. When making an appointment, tell us that it is infection tracking.

Privacy aspects of Tracy:

Data processing: Tracy collects the contact information in the form of phone number and/or email address of individuals who are supposed to be sent a notification. The contact information is needed in order to send a notification.

Storage: Tracy stores the phone numbers and email addresses in Google cloud platform until a notification is sent. Once the notification sent to the intended recipient, their phone number and/or email address is removed from Tracy’s database. 

The phone number and email address is however, stored by third parties for a limited time as described below. 

Third parties: 

* To send SMS notifications, Tracy uses a third party service called Twilio. Twilio has been configured to store the phone number of the intended recipient for 7 days after which it will delete the data. 

* To send Email notifications, Tracy uses a third party service called Sendgrid. Sendgrid will delete the email address after a maximum of 37 days.

Both Twilio and Sendgrid are owned by Twilio. The full data retention policy is explained on the website – https://support.twilio.com/hc/en-us/articles/4410585868443-Data-Retention-and-Deletion-in-Twilio-Products.