Privacy Policy

SpeechLime handles information about children, including developmental answers and, if you choose, short voice recordings. This policy explains exactly what we collect, who can see it, how long we keep it, and how to get it back or delete it. It is written to be read, not to be survived.

Who we are

SpeechLime is operated from Kerala, India. For any privacy question, or to exercise any right described here, contact privacy@speechlime.in. We are the data fiduciary for the information described below.

Consent, and who gives it

The account holder is the parent or legal guardian. The child is never the user. By starting a screening you confirm you are the child's parent or guardian and that you consent on their behalf.

We record each consent separately, with a timestamp and the version of this policy in force at the time: consent to the screening itself, to voice recording, to sharing with a clinician, and to general processing. You can withdraw any of them at any time in the app under Settings, which stops the related processing from that point forward.

What we collect

• Your account: email address, name, phone number, and optionally your city, state, relationship to the child and a profile photo.
• Each child's profile: name or nickname, date of birth, gender, languages spoken at home, the concerns you tell us about, and optionally a photo.
• Screening answers: every response you give in the questionnaire, and the report generated from them.
• Voice recordings: optional short clips of your child speaking, only when you have given recording consent.
• Clinical records: where a Speech-Language Pathologist reviews a screening, their verdict, observations, goals and the home practice they assign.
• Messages: what you and your clinician write to each other.
• Usage: which features you open, and basic device information. On the website we use Google Analytics with IP anonymisation.

We do not collect an advertising identifier, precise location, contacts, calendar, SMS, or financial information. We do not track you across other apps or websites, and we never sell data.

Why we collect it

To run the screening and produce your report, to let a clinician review it and set home practice, to let the two of you communicate, to send you the emails you have asked for, and to keep the service secure. That is the entire list.

Voice recordings, specifically

• Recording is optional. The screening works fully without it.
• Nothing is recorded until you have separately agreed to it.
• Recordings are stored encrypted and are never publicly accessible. There is no shareable link.
• Only you and the clinician assigned to your child can play them. Every playback is logged.
• They are never used for advertising, never published, and never used to train third-party models.
• You can delete any recording at any time, and deletion removes the audio file itself, not just the record of it.
• Recordings are automatically deleted after the retention period below, whether or not you ask.

Who else processes your data

We use a small number of service providers. Each one receives only what it needs.

Because these providers operate internationally, some processing happens outside India. We use providers that offer appropriate contractual safeguards.

Who can see your child's records

Only you, and the specific Speech-Language Pathologist assigned to your child. Other clinicians on the platform cannot see them. Our administrators can access records for support and safety purposes, and every access to a child record is written to an audit log.

How long we keep it

• Voice recordings: deleted automatically one year after they are made.
• Screenings, reports and clinical records: kept while your account is open, because they are what makes progress over time meaningful.
• Your account: kept until you delete it.
• Backups: rotate out within 30 days of deletion.
• Security audit logs: retained with your identifier removed, so they no longer relate to you personally.

Getting your data, and deleting it

Export: sign in and use Settings to download everything we hold as a single file, including profiles, screenings, reports, messages and practice history.

Deletion: you can permanently delete your account and all associated data from inside the app, or from speechlime.in/account/delete, which works even if you have already uninstalled the app. Deletion is immediate and irreversible: profiles, screenings, reports, recordings, messages and downloads are all removed, and the audio files are deleted from storage as well as from our database. We cannot restore any of it afterwards, so export first if you want a copy.

Security

Data is encrypted in transit over HTTPS and encrypted at rest. Sign-in uses a one-time code that expires after ten minutes and is stored only as a hash. Access is role-based and enforced on the server, not just hidden in the interface. Voice recordings are stored privately and served only after an authorisation check.

Children and age

The app is intended for parents and guardians aged 18 or over. It is not directed at children as users, and children should not create accounts. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will remove it.

This is a screening tool

SpeechLime is an AI-assisted screening service. It is not a medical diagnosis and is not a substitute for assessment by a qualified professional. Results can be affected by recording quality, language, your child's age and how willing they were on the day.

Changes

If we change this policy in a way that materially affects you, we will tell you in the app and ask for fresh consent where the law requires it. The date at the top always reflects the current version.

Contact

privacy@speechlime.in for any privacy request, or see our contact page. If you are not satisfied with our response you may complain to the Data Protection Board of India.