Privacy
This page explains what this website collects, why, and what we do with it. It covers the website, the earlier waitlist, the free lesson, recordings you choose to give us, and profile names in the app. The app's Privacy & data screen has details about family data and optional recording sharing.
Last updated 17 October 2026
The short version
- If you joined our waitlist before the app opened, we keep your email address and whether you're a parent or teacher, so we can tell you about Say Alif. The waitlist is now closed.
- If you try the lesson, your recording is sent to our pronunciation checker, checked, and thrown away. We don't keep it.
- If you choose to lend your voice, we keep those recordings to teach the app to hear children better. A person checks each one, and you can delete them all yourself at any time.
- If you send us a story, we only show it on the site after we've read it, and only because you said we could.
- No cookies, no advertising, no tracking, and we never sell anything about you.
The earlier waitlist
When you joined, we stored your email address, the role you picked (parent, teacher or other) and the date. We use them only to email you about Say Alif, and to understand whether families or teachers are interested. The list is stored with our database provider, Supabase. Only we can read it.
Every email we send has a way to leave the list. You can also ask us to delete your address at any time.
The free lesson and your child's voice
The microphone only turns on when you tap Say it, and only if you allow it in your browser. It stops when you finish speaking.
The recording goes to our pronunciation checker, which works out which sound it heard and compares it with the sound on the screen. The audio is not saved, and it isn't linked to you or your child. We do keep short text notes of what the checker heard (for example "expected ب, heard ج") to make it better. These contain no audio and nothing that identifies anyone.
The lesson is meant to be used by a child with a parent nearby. We don't ask for a child's name, age or any other details here.
Recordings you choose to give us
On the Lend your voice page, anyone can record the letters and words from the book to help the app learn to hear children read Arabic. It's optional and needs no account. For anyone under 18, a parent or guardian agrees and helps them record.
For each recording we keep the audio, the word that was read, the age group, the home language if you chose one, and the kind of device and browser (for example "iPhone, Safari"). We also keep a random code made on your device, so one person's recordings stay together, and the version of the wording you agreed to. We don't ask for a name, email, birthday or location, and we don't keep your IP address with a recording.
A person on our team listens to each recording to check it matches the word before it's used. The recordings are used only to teach and test the app's checker. They're stored with Supabase in Sydney, Australia, in private storage only we can reach. On the way there they pass through Modal in the United States, which doesn't keep them. We delete recordings after two years at the latest.
The page keeps a copy of your last recording of each word in your own browser so you can play it back. On the same page, Voices on this device → Delete this voice removes everything that voice has sent, from our storage and from your browser. You can also email us to delete them.
Profile names in the app
You can give each child an optional name or nickname to tell their profiles apart. It stays in your browser and, if you sign in, in your private family account with Supabase. You can change or clear it in Settings → Children. Names aren't sent with recordings or used for training or analytics.
Stories you send us
If you share a story, we keep the name you chose to show, whether you're a parent or teacher, your message and the date. Nothing appears on the site until we've read it, and only because you ticked the box saying we could. Please don't include a child's full name. To change or remove your story, email us and we'll take it down.
Things we don't do
- We don't use cookies or analytics, and there are no adverts or third-party trackers.
- The fonts and sounds are served from our own site, so loading the page doesn't send your details to anyone else.
- Your choice of light or dark mode is remembered in your own browser only.
Who helps us run the site
- Cloudflare hosts the website. It handles your IP address to deliver the page and to stop the lesson being overused, and keeps basic request logs for a few days for security.
- Modal runs the pronunciation checker. It processes recordings and doesn't keep them.
- Supabase (Sydney) stores the earlier waitlist, the stories you send, and recordings you choose to give us.
Your rights
You can ask to see, correct or delete what we hold about you. Email us at hello@sayalif.com and we'll reply within 30 days. If you're in Australia and unhappy with how we handled your information, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.
Changes
If we change how we handle your information, we'll update this page and the date at the top. If the change matters to people who joined the waitlist, we'll email them.