Privacy Policy

The short version

Steppe to Screen is a Kazakh-language learning app used by families and classrooms. Learners can play without an email account. We do not sell personal information, show advertising, or track people across other companies' apps or websites. The app creates a random learner ID, keeps a working copy of progress on the device, and—when online—syncs learner progress and game activity to our service so it can be recovered and used to improve the lessons.

Please use a nickname rather than a child's full legal name, and do not put private or sensitive information into drawings, homework notes, feedback, or shared artwork.

Information the app handles

• Learner profile: a random learner ID, an optional nickname, language preference, recovery information, points, badges, and chosen artwork or settings.
• Gameplay and learning activity: games played, scores, vocabulary and letters practised, answers selected or typed, whether an answer was correct, response time, hints used, audio replays, and learning progress. When online, this information is automatically sent to our hosted service and associated with the random learner ID.
• Workshop activity: a session code, table number, attendance, and live-game progress if the learner joins a supervised online workshop.
• Photos, drawings, and other creations: artwork, characters, backgrounds, homework images, titles, labels, dates, and notes that a user chooses to create or select. These items are kept on the device and are also uploaded when online so they can be restored. If a user taps Share to gallery, the character and nickname enter a staff review queue and may become visible to other users only after approval.
• Speech: after microphone permission is granted and a pronunciation feature is started, short audio clips are sent through our server to ElevenLabs and, when needed, Groq for transcription. We do not store learner microphone clips or their transcripts in our own database. The speech providers may retain request data under their own terms and account settings. The random learner ID is used by our server for rate limiting but is not sent to the speech provider with the clip.
• Feedback and support: a message, feedback type, the screen it came from, the random learner ID, and an optional image or screenshot when a user chooses to send feedback. Email sent to support also contains the sender information supplied by the email service.
• Team accounts: email address, display name, role, authentication records, and review or moderation activity for authorized educators, researchers, and developers.
• Technical service data: hosting and security providers may process IP addresses, browser or device information, timestamps, and request or error logs needed to deliver and protect the service.

Why we use this information

We use it to run the games, remember and restore progress, provide optional speech and creative tools, support supervised workshops, moderate shared artwork, answer support requests, prevent misuse, and understand which learning questions are working well. We do not use it for targeted advertising or cross-app tracking.

Local and online storage

The app is local-first: a working copy of the learner profile, progress, and recent creations is stored on the device. When an internet connection and our online service are available, the app automatically syncs the learner profile, learning progress, answer activity, game results, and uploaded creations to Supabase. Deleting the app, clearing its website data, or using the profile reset removes the local copy; it does not by itself delete an existing server copy. A parent, guardian, or account holder can request server-side deletion using the instructions below.

Service providers

We use the following providers to operate Steppe to Screen:

• Vercel for web hosting, server requests, and operational logs.
• Supabase for database, authentication, realtime features, and file storage.
• ElevenLabs and Groq for optional speech-to-text processing.
• Resend for team sign-in and operational email.
• Maze for research on the public website. Maze is not loaded inside the iOS or Android app.

These companies process data only to provide their services to us and under their own privacy, security, and retention terms. Information may be processed in Canada, the United States, or other countries where a provider operates. We require providers to protect data consistently with this policy and applicable law.

Children and family choices

Steppe to Screen is designed for families and supervised educational settings. We do not ask a child for an email address, phone number, exact location, contacts, or payment information in order to play. A parent, guardian, or supervising educator should decide whether a child uses optional microphone, camera, photo, homework-upload, feedback, or gallery-sharing features. Permission can be refused or withdrawn in the device settings; pronunciation games retain on-screen controls when microphone access is unavailable.

Retention and deletion

Local information remains until it is deleted or the app's data is cleared. Server-side learner profiles, progress, creations, and associated activity are kept while the profile or educational program is active and until they are deleted or de-identified. Feedback, support, moderation, and security records are kept for as long as reasonably needed to resolve the matter, protect the service, and meet legal obligations. Service-provider logs and backups expire according to the provider's retention controls.

To request access, correction, export, or deletion, email dshakimov@gmail.com. Include the learner recovery code or random profile ID, or the team-account email, so we can locate the correct record. Do not send a child's full legal name if the recovery code is enough. We may need to verify that the requester is authorized before releasing or deleting information.

Security

We use encrypted network connections, access controls, randomized learner identifiers, and staff-only review tools to protect information. No system is perfectly secure, so we collect less information from children where practical and do not use advertising identifiers.

Contact and policy changes

For privacy questions or requests, email dshakimov@gmail.com. We may update this policy when the app or its providers change. The effective date above identifies the current version.