Privacy Policy Speak Write Learn App

Effective date: 16 September 2026
App: Speak Write Learn (com.speakwritelearn.app)
Developer: Hark Studios
Contact: harkstudios@gmail.com

This policy covers the Speak Write Learn Android app only. Other Hark Studios apps are covered by their own policies.

The short version

Speak Write Learn is built for young children. It does not collect personal information, it has no advertising and no accounts. Everything the app remembers — your child's name, their stars, and any word lists you create — is stored only on your device and is never sent to us or to anyone else.

The one thing that does leave the device is technical: Google's handwriting component sends Google a random identifier for this installation and some diagnostic information, described under Handwriting below. It contains nothing your child writes, says or types.

We cannot see your child's data. There is no server to see it on.

What the app stores on your device

All of the following is kept on your device only, and none of it is transmitted anywhere:

• The first name you type at setup — so the app can greet your child by name.
• The boy / girl avatar choice — so the app shows the right character.
• Levels completed and stars earned — so your child can carry on where they left off.
• Word lists you create in the Parents area — so your custom lessons stay put.
• Whether the full version has been unlocked — so you are never asked to pay twice.
• Music and sound on/off — so your preference is remembered.

Uninstalling the app deletes all of it.

We ask for a first name only, and you may type anything you like — a nickname, an initial, or nothing at all. If it is left blank, the app simply calls your child “Friend”.

The microphone

The app asks for microphone permission so your child can practise saying a word out loud and be told whether it sounded right.

• Speech is recognised entirely on the device, by a speech model that is installed as part of the app itself.
• No audio is recorded to a file, stored, or sent anywhere — not to us, not to Google, not to any third party. The sound is analysed as it arrives and then it is gone.
• If you decline the microphone permission, the app skips the speaking step and everything else keeps working.

Handwriting

When your child traces a letter, the strokes are read by Google's ML Kit Digital Ink Recognition, which also runs on the device.

The first time this is used, the app downloads the handwriting recognition model from Google. This is a one-off download of the recognition software itself — your child's writing is not part of it and is not uploaded. After that download, the feature works offline.

ML Kit also sends Google a small amount of technical information so Google can keep the feature working:

• a random identifier created for this installation of the app — it is not the advertising ID and does not identify your child or you;
• the device model, Android version and app version;
• the handwriting language in use, how long recognition took, and any error codes.

Your child's writing is never part of it. Google collects this for analytics and diagnostics, does not share it with third parties, and sends it encrypted. It is required for handwriting recognition to work and cannot be switched off. It is described in Google's ML Kit data disclosure and covered by the Google Privacy Policy.

When the app uses the internet

The app works offline. It connects only for:

1. The one-time handwriting model download described above.
2. ML Kit's diagnostic information, sent to Google as described above.
3. Purchases, handled by Google Play (see below).
4. Opening this privacy policy, if a grown-up chooses to — and only after solving the grown-up gate.

There is no other network activity of any kind.

Purchases

The app is free to try. A single optional one-time purchase unlocks all of the content. There is no subscription and nothing recurring.

Payment is handled entirely by Google Play Billing. We never see, receive or store your card number, billing address, or any other payment information — Google tells the app only whether the purchase succeeded. Google's handling of your payment is covered by the Google Privacy Policy.

Purchases sit behind a grown-up gate — a simple arithmetic question a young child cannot solve — so a child cannot reach the buy button on their own.

No advertising, no tracking, no accounts

• No adverts. There are none in this app, of any kind, from any network.
• No tracking by us. We do not measure how your child uses the app, and there is no advertising ID, device fingerprint, or profile of your child. The only analytics are Google's technical diagnostics for handwriting, described above.
• No accounts and no sign-in. There is nothing to register for.
• No social features. No chat, no messaging, no user-generated content that anyone else can see, and no links out of the app except this policy — which sits behind the grown-up gate.

Children's privacy

This app is designed for children, and we treat that seriously.

We do not collect personal information from children — or from anyone else. The only data that leaves the device is ML Kit's technical diagnostics, which contain nothing your child writes, says or types. This is intended to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the UK Age Appropriate Design Code, GDPR including Article 8, and Google Play's Families policies.

We receive none of it ourselves, so there is nothing for us to disclose, sell, share, or hand to a third party — and no personalised advertising is possible, because there is no advertising.

Data we do not collect

To be explicit, the app does not collect, store or transmit: names or contact details, email addresses, phone numbers, location of any kind, contacts, photos, camera images, audio recordings, advertising identifiers, browsing history, or payment details. The only identifier involved is ML Kit's per-installation one, which goes to Google, not to us.

Deleting your data

Everything the app remembers lives on your device:

• In the app: Settings lets you change your child's name and avatar at any time.
• On the device: Android's Settings → Apps → Speak Write Learn → Storage → Clear data removes all progress, names and custom word lists.
• Uninstalling the app removes everything.

Because ML Kit's identifier belongs to this installation, uninstalling the app or clearing its data starts a new one. Because we hold no data about you, there is nothing for us to delete at our end and no request you need to send us. If you would like to confirm that, write to harkstudios@gmail.com and we will answer.

Third parties

The app includes software from Google — Google Play Billing for purchases, and ML Kit for on-device handwriting recognition. ML Kit sends Google the technical diagnostics described under Handwriting. We ourselves share no data with Google or anyone else. These components are covered by the Google Privacy Policy.

We have no advertising partners for this app.

Changes to this policy

If the app changes in a way that affects this policy, we will update this page and change the effective date at the top. If a future version ever collects anything, we will say so here clearly and in advance.

Contact

Questions, concerns, or anything at all about your child's privacy:

harkstudios@gmail.com

We answer every message.