Privacy Policy

Summary

We collect as little as we can. To make a personalised book we need a child's first name only - never a surname, address, school, photo or date of birth. We never sell data, and we never use your child's details for advertising.

In plain English:

• What we ask for about your child: a first name, the phonics phase or book band they are working on, and whether the illustrations should show a boy or a girl. That is all. No surname, no birthday, no photo, no school, no location.
• What we do with the name: it goes into the story text so your child is the hero, and it is sent to OpenAI as part of the writing prompt. It is stored with the book in your account so you can read it again.
• Who can see the book: only you, unless you choose to share it. Sharing creates a secret link - anyone with that link can read that one book, so only send it to people you trust.
• How long we keep it: until you ask us to delete it. There is no automatic expiry, and there is no self-service delete button yet.
• How to delete it: email hello@lindophonics.com and we will delete your account, your books and your child's name within 30 days.
• Advertising: we never use a child's name or their books for advertising. We do use ordinary website analytics and a Meta advertising pixel, which measure visits and purchases. None of it loads unless you agree to it first - see Cookies below.

Who is responsible

Lindo Phonics is the data controller for personal data processed through https://lindophonics.com. Contact: hello@lindophonics.com.

What we collect

• Account: your email address and a securely hashed password. We never store your password itself.
• Books: the child's first name, the story setting and reading level you choose, and the generated text and illustrations.
• Payment: handled entirely by Fungies. We receive a customer reference and subscription status - never your card details.
• Feedback: anything you submit through the feedback form.
• Technical: basic server logs and, if enabled, privacy-respecting analytics about page usage.

Children's data

Accounts are held by adults, not children. We ask only for a child's first name so the story can star them. Please don't enter a surname or any other identifying detail - the first name alone is all the service needs. If you'd prefer, use a nickname; it works just as well.

Why we process it (lawful bases)

• Contract - to create your account, generate your books and provide the service you've paid for.
• Legitimate interests - to keep the service secure, prevent abuse, and improve story quality.
• Legal obligation - to keep records required for tax and accounting.
• Consent - for optional analytics, where required.

Who we share it with

We use a small number of processors, and only send them what they need:

• OpenAI - story text and narration audio. The prompt includes the child's first name.
• ImageRouter - illustration generation from the scene description.
• Fungies - payments and billing (merchant of record).
• Resend - sending account emails such as confirmation and password resets.
• Our hosting provider - storing the site, database and generated images.
• Google Analytics - how many people visit, which pages they see and which steps they complete. We do not send it a child's name.
• Microsoft Clarity - session recordings and heatmaps showing how visitors move through the site, so we can find where people get stuck.
• Meta (Facebook and Instagram) - an advertising pixel that records visits and purchases so we can measure and target our own advertising.

Some of these providers are outside the UK/EEA. Where that's the case, transfers are covered by appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses.

How long we keep it

• Account and books: until you ask us to delete them. There is no automatic expiry.
• Deleted books: removed from your library immediately; illustrations are deleted when you choose that option.
• Payment records: as long as tax law requires (normally six years).
• Webhook and server logs: routinely purged after 90 days.

Your rights

You can ask us to give you a copy of your data, correct it, delete it, or restrict how we use it, and you can object to processing based on legitimate interests. Email hello@lindophonics.com and we'll respond within one month. To delete everything - your account, your books and your child's name - email that address and we will do it within 30 days. There is no self-service delete button at the moment, so this is the route. You can also complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.

Cookies

We use a strictly necessary cookie to keep you signed in; the site cannot work without it.

We also use analytics and advertising cookies set by Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity and Meta. These record how the site is used and, in Meta's case, let us measure and target our advertising. They are never used to profile children, and a child's name is never sent to them.

None of the three load until you say yes. On your first visit a short bar appears at the bottom of the page asking whether that is alright. Until you answer, none of them are on the page at all. If you decline, they stay off and we do not ask you again.

Your answer is kept in a cookie of ours called ph_consent. It holds one word, either "all" or "none", and lasts about six months. It is a preference you asked us to remember, so it is set whichever way you answer. To change your mind, delete that cookie in your browser settings and the bar will appear again on your next visit.

The site works normally either way, and equally if you block cookies with your browser settings or an ad blocker.

Security

Data is sent over HTTPS, passwords are hashed with bcrypt, and books are only accessible to the account that created them. No system is perfectly secure, but we take this seriously - if a breach affects you, we will tell you.