TinyBear Privacy Policy
In short: TinyBear has no accounts, no ads, no analytics and no tracking. Your word sets, pictures and your child's practice history stay on your device. Only two optional features send anything over the internet: picture search sends the word you type, and sharing a set can upload your own photos, which are deleted after 14 days. We never sell data.
Who we are
TinyBear is an app that helps young children learn English words, made for parents to use with their children. It is developed by Van Khanh Nguyen in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam ("we", "us"). Questions: khanhnv285@gmail.com.
What stays on your device
The following is stored only in the app's private storage on your phone or tablet. We cannot see it, and it is not sent anywhere:
- Word sets and the words in them
- Pictures you take with the camera, choose from your photo library, or pick from picture search
- Your child's practice history and progress (which words are learning or mastered, streaks, results)
- Settings, such as the reminder time and theme
Deleting a set removes its words. Uninstalling the app removes everything.
Picture search (optional)
When you add a word, TinyBear can look up pictures for it. To do this, the app sends only the word you typed to third-party picture libraries, with their "safe for all ages" filters on. No name, account, device ID or location is sent. Like any website, these libraries can see the IP address the request comes from; their use of it is covered by their own privacy policies (see Service providers). Pictures you pick are downloaded and kept on your device.
Sharing a set (optional)
A parent can share a word set with another family using a QR code or share code, which is created on the device. If the set contains your own photos, the app asks first whether to include them. If you agree:
- each photo is shrunk to a small picture and its hidden information, including GPS location, is removed
- it is uploaded over an encrypted connection (HTTPS) to our secure cloud photo storage
- it can only be opened by someone who has your share code (there is no public list or search)
- it is deleted automatically after 14 days. The receiving family's app keeps its own copy.
We do not store who uploaded a photo. Our hosting provider briefly uses the IP address of each upload to limit abuse; we do not keep it. If you would like a shared photo deleted sooner, email us the share code.
Sharing a progress card uses your device's normal share sheet. It goes only where you choose to send it.
Purchases
TinyBear Pro is bought through Google Play or the Apple App Store. They handle payment; we never see your card or payment details. The app only receives confirmation that Pro was bought, so it can unlock it.
Reminders, speech and permissions
- Daily reminder: scheduled on your device. No push server is involved.
- Pronunciation: uses your device's built-in text-to-speech voice.
- Camera and photos: used only when you choose to take or pick a picture for a word, or to scan a share QR code.
- Notifications: used only for the daily reminder, if you turn it on.
Children
TinyBear is designed for parents and children to use together. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. There are no accounts, chat, ads, analytics or links out of the app for children to follow. Adding or editing words, sharing, deleting and purchases are behind a grown-ups-only check. We follow Google Play's Families Policy and aim to comply with COPPA (United States) and GDPR (European Union).
What we do not do
- We do not sell or rent data.
- We do not show ads or use advertising IDs.
- We do not use analytics, crash-reporting or tracking tools.
- We do not create accounts or profiles.
Your choices and rights
You are in control. You can use TinyBear without picture search or sharing. You can delete any word or set, and uninstall the app to remove all data. Because we hold no account or profile about you, there is nothing else stored for us to look up. For shared photos, see above, or contact us.
Service providers
Picture libraries: Pixabay and Pexels. Cloud hosting for shared photos: Cloudflare. They only process data to provide these features.
Changes
If this policy changes, we will update this page and the date at the top. For important changes we will also mention it in the app's release notes.
Contact
Van Khanh Nguyen · Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
khanhnv285@gmail.com