CV-Record · An Innovate UK co-funded research project
CV-Record lets survivors of online and domestic abuse create a visual record of what's on their phone at a moment in time. Once it's made, it can't be changed, and only they decide who sees it.
Phones now hold the evidence
From the moment it exists, it's at risk.
More and more evidence of online and domestic abuse, especially coercive control, lives on the survivor's own phone. From the moment it exists, it's at risk. Messages can be deleted, accounts wiped remotely, and phones lost, damaged or taken.
Getting that evidence in front of a court often means handing the phone over for forensic extraction. That can take months, and leave someone without the device they rely on to stay safe and connected. What comes back is robust, but it often captures far more of their private life than the case needs, and it loses what the survivor actually saw on their screen.
For many survivors, that cost is too high. They lose control, trust is strained, evidence is lost, and too many cases never reach court.
CV-Record is designed to change that.
What CV-Record does
No diary to keep, no case to build. It preserves what's on the phone, as it appeared.
Proof that nothing has changed since then, designed to be court-admissible.
You decide whether, when and with whom it's shared.
It reduces the need to hand a phone over just to keep the evidence safe.
For police and services receiving evidence
Evidence that's trustworthy from the start.
The chain of custody starts at capture, in the hands of the person experiencing the abuse, before anyone reports and without the device being handed over.
Evidence is tamper-evident from that moment and can be checked without the original phone. Threats, disappearing messages and deepfakes sent to someone stay provable once captured, even if they're later deleted.
CV-Record works alongside existing reporting routes, forensic extraction and evidence systems, not instead of them. It's UK sovereign by design.
Built with survivors
Survivors are the experts on this project.
CV-Record is being co-designed through trauma-informed sessions with specialist domestic abuse services, including by-and-for organisations. The work includes clinical oversight and accessibility testing with disabled users.
What survivors share with the project stays within the project.
The project
CV-Record is a £750,000 research and development project, co-funded by a £612,000 Innovate UK award through the Secure Software for Resilient Growth competition.
It runs from August 2026 to January 2028, in partnership with London South Bank University, Newcastle University Open Lab and Lyva Labs, and is being built in line with the UK Government's Software Security Code of Practice.
Research and delivery partners: London South Bank University · Newcastle University Open Lab · Lyva Labs
Get involved
We're looking for design partners: police forces, specialist services and legal organisations who can help shape how CV-Record works for survivors and for the people who receive their evidence.
We're not asking for funding at this stage.
Partner with usIf you're in danger, call 999.
For free, confidential support, 24 hours a day, call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
CV-Record isn't available to download yet. If you support survivors and would like to hear when it is, please get in touch.