Privacy Policy

Last updated: 7 October 2026

This explains what information Talk a Little collects, why, and what your rights are. We've tried to write it in plain language rather than legal boilerplate, because that's the whole spirit of this app.

Who we are

Talk a Little (talkalittle.com / talkalittle.co.uk) is a small, independently run app helping parents and carers build short, everyday moments of talking, reading, and rhyming with their children. It's run by two people — a parent and a qualified teacher — not a separate company. For the purposes of data protection law, we are the "data controller" responsible for the information described in this policy. If you have any questions about this policy, you can reach us at support@talkalittle.co.uk.

What we collect

Your account details — your email address, and if you sign in with Google, the name and email address Google shares with us.
Family information you choose to add — a child's first name and age range, plus choices you make about them (such as a favourite category, favourite cards, or whether they're included in the Together view). We never ask for a surname, date of birth, photo, or any other identifying detail about a child.
Activity history — which cards you've marked as done, and when, so we can show you your recent moments together.
Anything you submit yourself — cards you create, and any feedback you send us.
Some things never reach our servers — which tips you've dismissed, which view of Today you used last, and when you last visited are remembered only in your own browser, not in our database (see "What we keep on your device" below).

On children's data specifically: Talk a Little is built to be used by parents and carers, not by children directly — nothing in the app is designed for a child to interact with themselves. Any information about a child is provided by their parent or carer, about their own child, for their own use of the service. We do not knowingly collect information directly from children.

How we use it, and our legal basis for doing so

UK data protection law requires us to have a specific legal reason ("lawful basis") for each way we use your data. Here's ours:

To run the core service — showing you fitting activities, remembering your family, and tracking your moments together. Basis: performance of our contract with you — this is what you signed up for.
To send account-related emails — confirming your sign-up, and helping you reset your password if you need to. Basis: performance of our contract with you, since these are necessary to provide the service.
To send the optional weekly digest email, if you've turned it on. Basis: your consent — it's off by default, and you can turn it off any time.
To respond if you send us feedback. Basis: performance of our contract with you, or our legitimate interest in improving the service if you're not yet a registered user.
To review any card you submit, if you choose to share it with other families. Basis: performance of our contract with you.
To keep the service secure and prevent misuse. Basis: our legitimate interest in protecting the app and everyone using it, balanced against your rights.

Who we share it with

We never sell your data, and Talk a Little shows no third-party adverts, so we never share your data with advertisers. The only commercial links are our optional, clearly labelled links to Bookshop.org, explained under "Book links" below. We do use a small number of service providers to actually run the app:

Supabase — our database and account-login provider. All account and app data is stored here.
Vercel — hosts the website itself.
Google — only if you choose "Sign in with Google," to handle that sign-in.
Our email provider — sends account emails (confirmation, password reset) on our behalf.

Book links

Some of the book links in Talk a Little go to Bookshop.org, and they're labelled as affiliate links. If you buy a book after clicking one, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops. Clicking one takes you to their website: the link carries our affiliate number so they know to credit us, and we don't send them your name, email or anything from your account. From there, Bookshop.org's own privacy policy applies.

What we keep on your device

Talk a Little has no analytics or tracking tools, and shows no third-party adverts. It does keep a few small things in your browser's own storage, on the device you're using, so the app works the way you'd expect:

Your sign-in, so you stay signed in between visits.
Hints and prompts you've dismissed, including whether you've seen the walkthrough, so they don't keep coming back.
Which view of Today you used last (one of your children, or Together), so the app opens where you left off.
When you last visited, so the Idea Box can show you what has been added since then.
A copy of the app's own files, if you install it or use it offline, so it opens quickly and keeps working without a connection. This contains no information about your family.

Apart from your sign-in — which is how the app proves to our database that it's you — none of this is sent anywhere, and we don't use it to track you or show you adverts. You can switch off the saving of your dismissed hints, last view and last visit at any time with "Remember my choices on this device" in the Account menu — turning it off also clears what was saved, the hints will then appear each time you visit, and the Idea Box can't show what's new since your last visit. Your sign-in is separate: signing out removes it. You can also clear this site's data in your browser's settings, after which the app will forget everything and you'll be asked to sign in again.

Cards you submit

If you create your own card and submit it, and it's approved, its content becomes visible to every family using the app. We show it as "Created by a parent like you" — we never display your name or email alongside a card you've written.

How long we keep it

We keep your data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, your data is deleted along with it — see below.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the right to access, correct, delete, and export the data we hold about you. In practice:

You can view and correct your family's information any time in the Family tab.
You can delete your entire account and all associated data at any time from within the app, or by emailing us.
You can ask us for a copy of your data by emailing support@talkalittle.co.uk. We'll normally respond within a month.
If you're ever unhappy with how we've handled your data, you're welcome to raise it with us directly first — but you also have the right to complain to the UK's data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), at any time.

Security

We use reasonable technical measures to protect your data, including row-level security on our database (meaning your data is only ever accessible to you, not to other users) and encrypted connections. No method of transmission or storage is ever 100% secure, but we take this seriously given the trust involved.

Children

Talk a Little is not directed at children and is not intended to be used by children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information directly, rather than a parent or carer adding it on their behalf, please contact us and we'll delete it.

Changes to this policy

If we make changes, we'll update the date at the top of this page. Continuing to use Talk a Little after a change means you accept the update.

Contact

Questions, requests, or concerns about your data: support@talkalittle.co.uk.