I built Spell Champion for kids, so I've tried to keep it simple: the app keeps as little as possible, and nothing about your kids is ever sold or used for ads. Here's exactly how it works.
You say yes first
The first time the app opens, a parents-only check comes up, then a short notice of what the app keeps. Your kids can start only after you agree. If the notice ever changes, the app asks you again.
Your child's voice
- The microphone is on only while it's your child's turn to speak. (You'll see iPhone's orange dot at the top of the screen when it is.)
- Speech is turned into text on the phone itself, using Apple's built-in speech recognition. The app is set to never send audio to Apple's servers for this. If a phone can't do it on the phone itself, the app won't listen at all.
- No recordings of your child's voice are kept or sent anywhere: not to me, not to Apple, not to anyone.
- When you first start, iPhone shows Apple's standard permission message, which says speech data may be sent to Apple. Apple shows that same wording for every app and I can't change it. Spell Champion is set to recognize speech only on the phone.
What the test version writes down test version only
To help me find mistakes, this test version keeps a simple text list of each turn: what the app heard (for example "cat, C A T, cat"), the word, whether it marked it right or wrong, and how long things took. No audio, ever. The list:
- may contain whatever your kid says while the mic is on, including names (kids chat and joke, and a brother or sister may talk in the background),
- stays on your phone (it isn't even included in your iCloud backup) and never leaves the phone unless you share it: tap Share test log and send it to me yourself, by email or text, if you'd like to help. Please glance at it first,
- can be erased anytime with Clear, or by deleting the app,
- is removed from the version that goes in the App Store.
Your kids' profiles and progress
- Each kid gets a nickname, an avatar and a starting level. No last names, no birthdays.
- Progress (scores, practiced words, trouble words) stays on your phone and in your family's own iCloud, so both parents' phones can see it. I can't see what's in your iCloud.
- No accounts: no sign-up, no email, no password. Your phones are linked by a random family code kept in your iCloud. It isn't your name or email.
No ads, no ad trackers
- No ads, and no outside analytics or tracking tools in the app. I don't follow your kids around the app or across other apps.
- No chat. No one can contact your child through the app.
- Purchases and links that leave the app are behind a parents-only check.
- Because this is a test through Apple's TestFlight, Apple shares a few things with me: the email I invited, your phone model and iOS version, how often the app was opened, and crash reports. If you send a screenshot or comment through TestFlight, I get that too. (So please check that it doesn't show anything private.)
New words
The app checks now and then for new words and downloads them like any other file. Nothing about your family or kids is sent with that request. The service that stores the files (Google's Firebase) sees the phone's internet address in order to deliver them, as with any download; I don't keep download logs.
Coming soon: your own word lists not in this test version
You'll be able to type in your kids' own spelling words (for example, this week's list from school). So that every word is spoken in the app's voice, the words you type will be sent to our word service, with your family code but not your name or email. Words the app doesn't already know are checked by a person on our team and recorded in the app's voice. Because a real person reads them, please type only spelling words, never names or anything personal. I'll update this note before it arrives.