theForum » The Criminal Justice System » Police » SHPO Monitoring Software (eSafe) and mobile banking apps

RE: SHPO Monitoring Software (eSafe) and mobile banking apps

Silent Way — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 14:38:42 GMT

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[b]JASB - 13 Sep 26 11:11 AM[/b]

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[b]Silent Way - 12 Sep 26 3:14 AM[/b]

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[b]Richie - 9 Sep 26 3:11 PM[/b]

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[b]Silent Way - 9 Sep 26 9:55 AM[/b]

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[b]Richie - 26 Aug 26 3:10 PM[/b]

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[b]Silent Way - 25 Aug 26 2:55 PM[/b]

I haven't had any issues with banking apps in regards to esafe, i'm currently with santander and monzo.

However i do remember when they installed the app on my phone that they did state some banking apps have issues running with esafe installed.

Hopefully you will be able to find one that works, unfortunately given the response from your officer and their sergeant it's likely going to be a trial and error with the apps. As from my personal experience and information released to me through an FOI the officers know about the same as we do in terms of esafe and esafe staff wont give out information to help in most cases even when such questions are asked with an officer being a middle man. Which makes things more of a burden than is practically necessary in my opinion.

However in terms of applying for a variation the only cost would come from being represented but as other have said there should be legal aid available, especially in the case that your SHPO is relatively new. However if you're prepared to do the work yourself applying for variation whilst self representing is free which is the route i'm currently taking against such monitoring prohibition but for slightly different reasons.

Though good luck with things

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Just be careful with assuming that a SHPO variation will be free. When I did mine last year the police told me at the last possible legal moment that they were going to ask the court to ask me to pay their legal costs if the application was not found in my favour.

Some police force apparently do this.

Whilst my application to discharge was refused the judge did agree to remove the monitoring software prohibition from the SHPO. As a result of this and in his words because I was partly successful he agreed I didn't have to pay the police legal costs.

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Ah thanks for that info, i'll keep it in my for future reference.

So far no one has tried to tell me of any costs, though maybe this differs between forces or because they are attempting to hijack my variation to slip even more restrictive things into the order which gave me a laugh i really needed xD

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They literally only told me about the costs on the Friday my hearing was on the following Tuesday. This was the last possible time they could legally file notice on me of their intention to reclaim costs.

I had a bit of a moan at them about this being unfair as this had been going on for about 6 months at this point and they could easily have mentioned their intention to ask for costs at the outset. Whilst legally they had done nothing wrong as a public body they could have been more open.

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Ah i have my variation hearing on wednesday, so far i haven't heard of any reclaim of costs.

Though i feel you on that, if something's been going on for that long you'd expect them to submit a claim for costs in a more timely manner.

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I had my SOPO conditions reduced in 2016 then fully removed in 2023. Not once did any of my multi OM's did anyone mention it to me. At the time I understood it was aimed at those who didn't have a chance of getting any discharge yet still pursued it so wasted Courts time.

Unless a new tactic to try and stop people trying or clawing back monies to cover what was wasted on No 10 the North

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I think the claim for costs is reasonable if someone pursues something they have nothing to win, however sometimes it could be a tactic to try and force people to drop their applications.

I just had my SHPO varied today since it was relisted due to lack of court time. However with the inaccuracies and factual discrepancies within my OM's witness statement which was dated before the application was even filed with the court. I doubt they would ever try to recover costs.

SHPO Monitoring Software (eSafe) and mobile banking apps

Lanes1980 — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 14:38:42 GMT

Hi All,
I can see these forums don't get as many visitors as I'd like, but I can't think of another resource to use for this question.
I am under a SHPO and due to my offending, the police (PPU) are allowed to install monitoring software on my laptop / mobile. I don't have an issue with this (like it would matter if I did) and I understand why they would want this installing.
The software has only recently been installed on my mobile and I've run into an issue. Whenever I try to open the "First Direct" banking app, it detects eSafe as spyware and refuses to run. This means that I cannot complete any form of banking - the app is used to log into the First Direct website, used to authorise any online purchases, etc.

I went back to PPU and spoke with my officer, who effectively told me "tough" (paraphrasing). I escalated this to a Sergeant who spent longer telling me "tough" - I explained this was having an impact on my day-to-day life, I cannot make any online purchases. I managed to get trapped in an "app only" carpark, as I had no way to authroise the purchase.
I asked PPU for options - none forthcoming. I then said I cannot be the only person who has this software and needs to bank, please can they tell me the name of some banks where this isn't an issue.
"No - we cannot recommend banks".
I told them I wasn't looking for recommendations, I was after an "anecdote" - John Doe banks with Barclays (for example) and doesn't have any issues......no, cannot do that.

I know court is an option, but I don't think I can afford to do this - my criminal trial that led me to this situation cost me a lot and I'm still job seeking at the moment. I know I could represent myself in court, but I'm not sure how successful I'm likely to be - PPU officer said that he didn't consider me not being able to do any online purchases was detremental to my life, I guess I'd need to convice a judge otherwise?

Is there anybody else here who has the eSafe software on a mobile and does use a banking app without issue? Would you be willing to share which bank you are with?
I don't want to go throught the hassle of changing banks, but if that is my only option, I don't want to change to one that also has an issue!

RE: SHPO Monitoring Software (eSafe) and mobile banking apps

JASB — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 11:11:09 GMT

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[b]Silent Way - 12 Sep 26 3:14 AM[/b]

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[b]Richie - 9 Sep 26 3:11 PM[/b]

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[b]Silent Way - 9 Sep 26 9:55 AM[/b]

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[b]Richie - 26 Aug 26 3:10 PM[/b]

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[b]Silent Way - 25 Aug 26 2:55 PM[/b]

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RE: SHPO Monitoring Software (eSafe) and mobile banking apps

Silent Way — Sat, 12 Sep 2026 03:14:10 GMT

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[b]Richie - 9 Sep 26 3:11 PM[/b]

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[b]Silent Way - 9 Sep 26 9:55 AM[/b]

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[b]Richie - 26 Aug 26 3:10 PM[/b]

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[b]Silent Way - 25 Aug 26 2:55 PM[/b]

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RE: SHPO Monitoring Software (eSafe) and mobile banking apps

Richie — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 15:11:21 GMT

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[b]Silent Way - 9 Sep 26 9:55 AM[/b]

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[b]Richie - 26 Aug 26 3:10 PM[/b]

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[b]Silent Way - 25 Aug 26 2:55 PM[/b]

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RE: SHPO Monitoring Software (eSafe) and mobile banking apps

Silent Way — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:55:48 GMT

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[b]Richie - 26 Aug 26 3:10 PM[/b]

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[b]Silent Way - 25 Aug 26 2:55 PM[/b]

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RE: SHPO Monitoring Software (eSafe) and mobile banking apps

Richie — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 15:10:51 GMT

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[b]Silent Way - 25 Aug 26 2:55 PM[/b]

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RE: SHPO Monitoring Software (eSafe) and mobile banking apps

Silent Way — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 14:55:32 GMT

RE: SHPO Monitoring Software (eSafe) and mobile banking apps

xDanx — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 15:37:38 GMT

A SHPO can be varied at any time and with out permission from the Police, you can submit an application to the court at your discretion. I also believe Legal Aid can be claimed in this process too.

You only require Police permission if you are discharging a SHPO under the 5 year mark, once past the 5 year mark. You are free to apply for discharge, which Legal Aid also covers.

RE: SHPO Monitoring Software (eSafe) and mobile banking apps

Richie — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 11:53:19 GMT

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[b]Lanes1980 - 10 Aug 26 5:56 PM[/b]

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[b]Richie - 9 Aug 26 10:39 AM[/b]

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[b]Lanes1980 - 8 Aug 26 12:06 PM[/b]

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When I had it installed on my mobile phone I had so many issues with the application however online banking did work fine for me and I was using First Direct at the time. However this was a couple of years ago and things might have changed.

I successfully argued with my Offender Manager to have esafe removed from my phone. My issue was that it was bring prompts up continually asking me if I would like esafe to record my mobile phone screen. My argument was that this put me at risk as it would only take someone who saw the prompt on my screen to google it and realise what the software was.

Going to court and asking for an amendment of your SHPO is possible if you have had your SHPO for 5 years or more. At less than 5 years you will need the polices permission to vary your SHPO. You would need to ask for the monitoring software to be removed. It costs nothing to represent yourself in court however the police could ask you to pay their costs if you lose(they tried this on with me when I applied for a SHPO discharge)

There is also the police complaints procedure where you can log a formal complaint. At the very least the police should be raising this with esafe as an issue for them to fix in a future version.

In my opinion not being able to do any form of banking online in a digital world is detrimental to your life and your PPU is wrong.

As an aside have you tried talking to First Direct. When I was released from prison I didn't have a smart phone and First Direct gave me a calculator type thing to log onto Online Banking on a PC. If you tell them you don't have a smart phone and ask them how you can log onto PC version of online banking they may be able to do something to help you out.

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Hi,

Thank you for your reply.
My SHPO is only a month old. My barrister and I successfully managed to argue against a lot of the proposed clauses in it (to give you a rough idea, the initial proposed SHPO was nearly 4 pages long and would have made me completely unemployable for its duration). My barrister argued the vast majority of them away.
The Judge at the time described the proposed SHPO as "Mostly over restrictive, in some cases wholley overrestrictive and in two cases draconian.
I had no idea I'd need the police's permission to ask for this final SHPO to be varried - I mean, there is absolutely no advantage to them agreeing to that.

I did speak with First Direct and yes, they do offer a "dongle". 6-8 week wait, however, that only fixes the logging onto my account issue.
It cannot be used to approve online purchases nor can those be approved via the website - that can only be done via the mobile app.
So although the dongle would allow me to actually access my money, I'd still be unable to:
Make any online purchases - even an Amzon purchase now and again asks me to confirm the payment
Make any parking/toll payments where it is "app only" - the anecdote I listed in my original post, I had to wait 45 minutes until my wife was free, so she could login on her phone and pay for my parking!

It looks like I'm going to have to try the switch bank option. Of course it's a shot in the dark - always the chance I'l hit another bank that has the same issue. I do see that Co-Operative currently have a £200 switch bonus and as a Coventry Build Society customer, that becomes £300 - which would be useful for someone currently unemployed.

Thanks again.

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It is strange how different police force interpret these things. As I said when I got released from prison I didn't have a mobile phone but I did have a tablet. They installed esafe on that tablet but my PPU removed it as it stopped some streaming services from working. She wasn't happy with esafe as their response was to get Now TV to change their software to work with esafe.

If you feel up to I would look at the police complaint route as they shouldn't have software which stops essential apps from working. I can understand why it would be quicker to change bank accounts but that comes with all the hassle of having to deregister the old one and register the new one with the police.

RE: SHPO Monitoring Software (eSafe) and mobile banking apps

AB2014 — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 08:34:21 GMT

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[b]Lanes1980 - 10 Aug 26 5:57 PM[/b]

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[b]AB2014 - 10 Aug 26 10:11 AM[/b]

This may well be a First Direct thing, as my bank's app has no problems with the monitoring software. It has to be worth following the advice above and telling them you don't have a smartphone.

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Thank you for taking the time to reply.
I think I'm gonna have to try switching banks. I can get £300 by switching to Co-Operative, which of course would be handy for someone currently unemployed, so I'll give it a try with fingers crossed!

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Well, I'm with Lloyds and their app plays nicely with eSafe, so that could be Plan B if you need it.

RE: SHPO Monitoring Software (eSafe) and mobile banking apps

Lanes1980 — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 17:57:41 GMT

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[b]AB2014 - 10 Aug 26 10:11 AM[/b]

This may well be a First Direct thing, as my bank's app has no problems with the monitoring software. It has to be worth following the advice above and telling them you don't have a smartphone.

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RE: SHPO Monitoring Software (eSafe) and mobile banking apps

Lanes1980 — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 17:56:36 GMT

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[b]Richie - 9 Aug 26 10:39 AM[/b]

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[b]Lanes1980 - 8 Aug 26 12:06 PM[/b]

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RE: SHPO Monitoring Software (eSafe) and mobile banking apps

AB2014 — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 10:11:55 GMT

This may well be a First Direct thing, as my bank's app has no problems with the monitoring software. It has to be worth following the advice above and telling them you don't have a smartphone.

RE: SHPO Monitoring Software (eSafe) and mobile banking apps

Richie — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 10:39:13 GMT

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[b]Lanes1980 - 8 Aug 26 12:06 PM[/b]

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