What we collect, and what we don't
Our users are children, so this is written to be read rather than to protect us. If anything here is unclear, ask and we'll explain it in plain words.
The short version
- We do not use analytics, advertising or tracking of any kind.
- We do not set advertising cookies, and we don't sell or share anything with data brokers.
- Your child's lesson progress never leaves their device.
- Accounts belong to the parent or guardian, never the child.
- We ask for a child's first name only — never a surname, a date of birth, an address, or a photo.
- Ask us to delete something and we will, without asking why.
Who we are
LinguaLane is run by Nellie G, the data controller for everything described here. Write to hello@lingualane.co.uk about anything on this page.
What we collect, and why
1. When you book a 1-2-1 lesson
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| Your child's first name and year group | So the teacher knows who they're teaching and at what level |
| The unit they're stuck on (optional) | So the teacher can prepare the right material |
| Your name and email address | To confirm the booking, send the video link, and reply to you |
| Anything you type in the notes box | Only what you choose to tell us |
| Your confirmation that you're the parent or guardian | We can't teach a child without it |
Lawful basis: performing a contract with you (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(b)). Your child's data is provided by you, as their parent or guardian, so that we can teach them at your request.
The booking form currently sends the booking to us by email, from your own email program. Nothing is submitted to a database.
2. When you leave a review
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| Your name, your rating and your review | So we can read it and, if you agree, publish it |
| Your child's year group (optional) | Context for other parents |
| Your email (optional) | Only so we can reply |
Lawful basis: your consent (Article 6(1)(a)). You tick a box before sending, and you can withdraw it whenever you like — email us and the review comes down.
If we publish your review it appears as a first name and initial only. We never publish a child's name, a surname or a photograph. We don't edit what you said beyond trimming for length, and we don't delete reviews for being critical.
3. When your child uses the lessons
Nothing is sent to us at all. Lesson progress, quiz scores, game scores
and the day streak are saved in your browser's own storage on that device, under
lingua-lane-progress-v1. We cannot see it, and it never reaches a server.
The trade-off is that it doesn't follow your child to another device, and clearing your browser data clears it. That is the cost of not collecting it, and we think it's the right way round.
If you set up more than one child, each keeps their own separate record, tagged with
that child's id — lingua-lane-progress-v1::<id>. The list of children
is stored under lingua-lane-children-v1 and holds only what you typed: a
first name, and a year group if you chose one. It never leaves the device either, and
removing a child deletes their progress along with them.
Four other items are stored the same way: lingua-lane-session-v1, your
sign-in session, and lingua-lane-account-v1, which remembers whether
you're signed in when there is no account to check against;
lingua-lane-bookings-v1, a copy of bookings made on that device; and
lingua-lane-access-v1, your reading and display settings. All stay on the
device, and signing out clears the session.
4. When you simply visit
Our host, Netlify, keeps standard server logs including IP addresses, to deliver the site and protect it from attack. Lawful basis: our legitimate interests in running a secure website (Article 6(1)(f)).
Cookies and storage
We set no cookies. No analytics, no advertising, no tracking pixels, no social media buttons, nothing that follows you to other sites.
We do use your browser's local storage, for the three items listed above. Those exist purely to make features you asked for work — remembering where your child got to. You can wipe them at any time by clearing site data in your browser, or with the Clear saved progress button on the For parents page.
Who else is involved
| Who | What they handle |
|---|---|
| Netlify — hosting | Serves the site; keeps server logs; receives review-form submissions |
| Google Fonts | Serves the site's typefaces. Your browser requests them from Google, which means Google receives your IP address |
| Stripe — payments | Takes card, Apple Pay and Google Pay payments. We never see or store card details |
We do not sell your data, share it for advertising, or give it to anyone else except where the law requires it.
Some of these companies are based outside the UK. Where data is transferred, it relies on the UK's adequacy regulations or on Standard Contractual Clauses with the UK Addendum.
Children's privacy
This site is designed for children aged roughly 7 to 11, and we follow the ICO's Age Appropriate Design Code. In practice that means:
- The account is the parent's. Children never create one, never sign in and never enter an email address.
- We collect a first name and a year group, and nothing more. No surname, no date of birth, no address, no photograph, no voice recording.
- Nothing is public. There are no public profiles, no leaderboards, no messaging, and no way for a child to be contacted through this site. Where a household has more than one child you can name each of them so they keep separate progress, but that list lives in your browser, is visible only to you, and is never sent to us.
- No profiling and no nudge techniques. Streaks and scores exist to show progress, never to pressure a child into using the site for longer.
- No advertising, of any kind, ever.
The audio in the lessons is a set of recordings we made ourselves, served from this site as ordinary sound files. Playing one sends nothing anywhere and tells us nothing about who played it. If a word ever has no recording, your device's own built-in speech function reads it instead; depending on the browser and the voice installed, that word may then be sent to the browser maker's servers, which is a function of the device rather than something we control or receive.
How long we keep things
| What | How long |
|---|---|
| Booking emails and lesson notes | Up to 2 years after the last lesson, then deleted |
| Payment records | 6 years, because HMRC requires it |
| Reviews | Until you ask us to remove them |
| Progress on the device | Until you clear it. We never had a copy |
| Server logs | As long as our host keeps them, typically weeks |
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you can ask us to: show you what we hold, correct it, delete it, restrict what we do with it, hand it over in a portable form, or object to us using it. Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time.
Email hello@lingualane.co.uk. We'll reply within one month, and it's free. You never have to give a reason.
You can exercise these rights on your child's behalf. If you'd like your child's data erased, say so and we'll do it — we won't ask you to justify it.
If you're unhappy
Tell us first and we'll try to put it right. If you're still not satisfied, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint, or on 0303 123 1113. You can go to them directly at any point.
Changes
If we change how we handle your data we'll update this page and change the date at the top. If the change is significant and we hold your email, we'll tell you directly.