🔒 Privacy Policy

Last Updated: January 21, 2025

1. Information We Collect

We do not collect any personal information.

SpellFlare stores only the following data locally on your device:

• Child's First Name: Used only to personalize greetings within the app (e.g., "Hi, Emma!")
• Grade Level: Used to provide age-appropriate spelling words
• Game Progress: Completed levels, current progress, and earned points/score
• Voice Preference: Selected text-to-speech voice (including Lisa AI voice option)
• Input Mode: Preferred spelling input method (voice or keyboard)

This data is stored locally on your device using Apple's secure UserDefaults storage and is never transmitted to any server.

2. Data Storage & Security

• Local Storage Only: All user data (name, progress, scores) remains on your device
• No Cloud Sync: Data is not synced to iCloud or any cloud service
• No Analytics: We do not use any analytics or tracking services
• Apple Watch: Progress syncs between iPhone and paired Apple Watch via WatchConnectivity (local only)

3. Platform Permissions

The app requests the following permissions on iOS and watchOS to provide its core functionality:

Permission	Purpose	Data Handling
🎤 Microphone Access	To listen when children spell words using voice input	Voice data is processed in real-time on-device and is never recorded, stored, or transmitted
🗣️ Speech Recognition	To convert spoken letters into text for spelling validation	Uses Apple's on-device speech recognition; no data is sent to external servers

Important: Both permissions are optional. Children can type their spellings using the keyboard instead of voice input.

4. Advertising

• Ads are never shown during active gameplay (while spelling words)
• Brief, non-personalized ads may appear before or after completing a spelling test
• All ads are age-appropriate and comply with Apple's Kids Category guidelines
• No behavioral tracking or personalized advertising is used
• Parents can remove all ads with a one-time in-app purchase
• Ad Networks (iOS only): We use Google AdMob with AppLovin as a mediation partner to serve non-personalized, age-appropriate ads
• watchOS: The Apple Watch app displays minimal static ads with no third-party ad networks

5. In-App Purchases

• The app offers a single optional purchase: "Remove Ads" ($0.99)
• A parent verification gate (math problem) prevents accidental purchases
• All purchases are processed securely through Apple's App Store
• We do not receive or store any payment information

6. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

SpellFlare is designed for the Apple App Store Kids Category and complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA):

• ❌ No personal information is collected from children
• ❌ No account creation or login required
• ❌ No external links to websites or social media
• ❌ No behavioral tracking or profiling
• ❌ No user-generated content or social features
• ❌ No push notifications

7. Third-Party Services

The app uses the following services:

Apple Services:

• AVSpeechSynthesizer: Apple's built-in text-to-speech for pronouncing words
• Speech Framework: Apple's on-device speech recognition for voice input
• StoreKit: Apple's framework for in-app purchases
• AVFoundation: For playing pre-generated Lisa AI voice audio files

Advertising Services (iOS only):

• Google AdMob: Serves non-personalized, age-appropriate ads. Configured for child-directed treatment (COPPA compliant). No personal data is collected or shared.
• AppLovin: Used as a mediation partner for ad serving. Configured for age-appropriate content only. No behavioral tracking.

No third-party analytics or data collection services are used. Ad networks are configured to serve only non-personalized, contextual ads appropriate for children.

8. Data Deletion

All app data can be deleted at any time by:

• Using the "Reset Progress" option in the app's Settings
• Deleting the app from your device (removes all associated data)

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

10. Contact Us