sonabeeThe short version
Sonabee is built so that your child’s information stays with you.
- Everything the app remembers is saved on your device only. We do not receive it.
- When your child says a word, it is checked on the device. The sound is never recorded, saved or sent anywhere.
- There are no accounts, no ads, no analytics and no trackers.
- The app works fully offline and does not ask for internet access.
- A grown-up can turn listening off, or erase everything, at any time.
Sonabee (“the app”) is a phonics game for children aged 5 to 9. This policy explains what the app and this website do with information. It is written to be read by a parent or guardian.
Pre-launch notice: the app is not available in the app stores yet. This policy describes how the app is designed to work at launch.
Who we are
Sonabee is provided by DSX Labs, an individual developer based in India (“we”, “us”). You can reach us at diweshsaxena@gmail.com.
Because the app keeps your family’s information on your own device and we never receive it, we generally do not hold personal information about children or parents. The sections below explain exactly what is stored on the device.
What Sonabee stores on the device
The app remembers the following so your child can pick up where they left off and so grown-ups can see progress. All of it stays on the device.
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| Child’s first name, entered by a grown-up during setup | To greet your child. You can use a nickname. |
| Age (5 to 9+) | To choose a comfortable starting level of tracing help. |
| Comfort settings: text size, letter spacing, background colour, voice speed, tracing help, whether instructions are read aloud | So the app looks and sounds the way your child finds easiest. |
| Progress: honey cells earned, jar levels, which lesson is next | To save your child’s place and rewards. |
| Practice results: for each tracing or speaking step, the sound and word, whether it was completed, helped or skipped, the number of tries, and when it happened (the latest 200 steps are kept) | To show the grown-ups dashboard and to decide when to repeat a sound. |
| Practice minutes per day for the last 14 days | To draw the weekly chart on the grown-ups dashboard. |
| Your listening choice (whether you agreed to the app listening) | To respect your decision about the microphone. |
This information is not sent to us or to anyone else. It is not linked to an account, because there are no accounts.
Voice and microphone
In the “say it out loud” step, the app can listen to your child saying a word and respond kindly. Here is exactly how that works:
- Only with your agreement. A grown-up ticks a box during setup to allow listening. You can switch it off at any time in Comfort settings. When it is off, the app never uses the microphone and your child taps an “I said it!” button instead.
- Only when your child taps the microphone. The app does not listen in the background. Your phone will also ask for microphone permission the first time, and you can withdraw it in your phone’s settings.
- On the device. Speech is turned into text by a recognition model that is built into the app and runs on the phone itself. No audio is sent over the internet.
- Never saved. The audio is used while your child is speaking and then discarded. We do not record it, store it, or keep a transcript. The app keeps only the result of the step (for example “said it” or “needed help”).
What we never do
- We do not create accounts or ask for an email address, phone number or home address.
- We do not show advertising, and we do not let advertisers track your child.
- We do not use analytics, crash-reporting or tracking tools inside the app.
- We do not sell, rent or share your child’s information, because we do not have it.
- We do not access your location, contacts, photos or camera.
- We do not build profiles of children, and we do not use their information for marketing.
Children’s privacy
Sonabee is designed for children aged 5 to 9, and it is set up and managed by a parent or guardian. Settings and the progress dashboard sit behind a short “grown-ups only” question.
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. Because the app keeps everything on the device, the information described above is under the control of the parent or guardian who owns the device. By ticking the listening box in setup, a parent or guardian agrees to the app using the microphone as described in this policy.
This approach is intended to be consistent with children’s privacy laws such as the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation, the UK Age Appropriate Design Code and India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. If we ever change the app in a way that sends information off the device, we will update this policy, tell you clearly in the app, and ask for a parent’s permission first.
Your choices
- Turn listening off: Comfort settings, “Let Sona listen to my child say words”.
- Erase everything: Comfort settings, “Reset and start over”. This removes the name, settings, progress and practice results from the device.
- Remove the app: uninstalling Sonabee deletes its saved information from the device.
- Microphone permission: you can allow or deny it in your phone’s system settings at any time.
Keeping data safe
The app’s saved information stays on the device until you reset the app or uninstall it. It is protected by your phone’s own security, so we recommend using a screen lock.
Depending on your phone’s settings, your operating system may include app data in its own device backup (for example a Google or iCloud backup). That is controlled by your phone’s settings and the backup provider’s policy, not by us.
This website
This website does not use cookies, analytics, advertising or social-media trackers, and it does not load fonts or scripts from other companies. It has no forms and does not ask for personal information.
Like any website, the company that hosts it, Vercel Inc., may keep standard server logs (such as IP address, date and the page requested) for security and to keep the site running. If you email us, we will use your email address only to reply to you.
App stores
When you download Sonabee from Google Play or the Apple App Store, that store collects information about you and your purchase under its own privacy policy. We may see anonymous, combined statistics from the store (such as the number of downloads), but not who you are.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights over personal information, such as the right to see it, correct it, delete it or object to its use. Because Sonabee keeps your family’s information only on your device, you can exercise these rights directly in the app (see “Your choices”). If you have questions, or believe we hold information about you that we should not, please contact us. You also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority (in India, the Data Protection Board of India).
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. We will change the “Last updated” date above, and if a change is important we will tell you in the app or on this website. If a change affects children’s information, we will ask for a parent’s permission where the law requires it.
Contact us
Questions about this policy or about privacy in Sonabee? Write to diweshsaxena@gmail.com.