Privacy Policy

At Tandem, we prioritise your child’s privacy and well-being. Guided by the UK ICO’s Children’s Code (Age Appropriate Design Code), we design our services to protect your child’s rights and support their development. Our goal is simple: to provide a safe, transparent, and enriching experience for your family. 

Last Modified: 18 March 2026 

Effective Date:  1 April 2026 

 

Our 5 Key Pledges 

  1. Your Data, Your Control: You control what data we collect, how long we keep it, and when it’s deleted. 

  2. We Protect What Matters: High-privacy settings are the default. We use encryption and conduct regular security audits. 

  3. No Data for Sale — Ever: Your data is never sold. We use it only to improve your experience and support your child’s growth. 

  4. Open Conversations: Clear, honest communication and regular updates about your data. Feedback is always welcome. 

  5. Beyond Compliance: We go beyond legal requirements to ensure your child’s best interests guide everything we do. 

 

About Us (Data Controller) 

Tandem is a brand name of Early Ideas Limited, the data controller responsible for your personal data. 

  • Registered Company Name: Early Ideas Limited 

  • Company Registration Number: [ADD COMPANY NUMBER HERE] 

  • Registered Address: [ADD REGISTERED ADDRESS HERE] 

  • Email: help@playtandem.com 

  • Data Protection Officer: Claire Champion Clark, Head of Operations,  dpo@playtandem.com  

 

Age Range and Audience 

Tandem is designed for children aged 2 to 8, used under the supervision of a parent or guardian. Our services are not intended for use by children without parental involvement. We have designed our platform with the needs of this age group in mind, in accordance with the ICO’s Children’s Code. 

 

Parental Consent and Age Verification 

Because our service is directed at children under 13, we require verifiable parental consent before collecting any personal data relating to your child. When you create an account, we verify parental status through parental self-declaration and email confirmation. Only a verified parent or guardian can create an account and add a child profile. 

We use parental self-declaration to establish that the account holder is an adult and that child users fall within our target age range. 

 

What Data We Collect and Why 

At Tandem, we collect and process specific types of information to provide the best possible experience for you and your child while ensuring we meet our legal obligations: 

Data Collected Directly From You 

  1. Personal identifiers and contact information such as your name and email address. Why? To create your account on our platform, stay in touch with you, and comply with legal obligations. 

  2. Your child’s information such as first name or nickname, age in years and months, and gender. We also allow you or your child to, optionally, share more information about their interests or characteristics. Why? To personalise the experience and provide age-appropriate content. We collect the minimum amount of information necessary. 

  3. Story choices and preferences such as book selections, ratings, and device preferences. Why? To offer a consistent experience on different devices and tailor our services to your family’s needs. 

Data Collected Automatically 

  1. Usage data including when you log in, how long you stay, features used, and interactions within the app. Why? To help you manage your child’s screen time, to help us improve our service and to personalise the app based on your preferences. 

  2. Device and technical data such as device type, operating system, app version, and device id. Why? To ensure the app functions correctly on your device and to diagnose technical issues. 

  3. Cookies and similar technologies. We do not use cookies for advertising or tracking, only those strictly necessary for the site to function.  

Data We Do NOT Collect 

We want to be transparent about what we do not do: 

  • We do not collect precise geolocation data from you or your child; you can share a snapshot of an approximate location or choose from a map, but this is never precise, and nor is your location stored. 

  • We do not engage in behavioural profiling of children for advertising or commercial purposes. 

  • We do not use children’s data for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects. 

 

How We Use Your Data 

Most of the data we collect comes directly from you when you register or use our services. We use it to: 

  • Create and manage your account 

  • Deliver, personalise, and improve our services 

  • Provide reading feedback and coaching (where you have opted in) 

  • Communicate with you about updates, support, or service changes 

  • Monitor and manage screen time 

  • Meet our legal and contractual obligations 

 

Our Legal Basis for Processing Your Data In compliance with UK GDPR, we process your data under the following lawful bases:

Contractual Necessity Required to provide our core services:

  • Account Management: Creating and managing your user account.
  • Core App Features: Delivering stories, preferences, and screen time tracking.
  • Service Communications: Essential updates like password resets or policy changes.

Legitimate Interest Purposes that do not override your or your child’s rights:

  • App Improvement: Developing new features and improving the app.
  • Audience Segmentation: Grouping parent accounts by engagement or subscription status to improve how we communicate.
    • Note: This uses parent data only; children’s profile data is never used for this.

Consent

  • Marketing Communications: Sending promotional updates. You must opt-in and can unsubscribe at any time.

Legal Obligation

  • Compliance: Meeting requirements for tax or fraud prevention.

Where we rely on legitimate interest, we carry out a Legitimate Interest Assessment and ensure the processing is proportionate and does not adversely affect your child’s rights or well-being, in line with the ICO’s Children’s Code. 

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time by updating your preferences in the app settings or contacting us at help@playtandem.com. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal. 

 

Automated Decision-Making and Profiling 

We do not use automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you or your child. While we use your preferences to recommend stories, this personalisation is based on simple preference matching and does not involve profiling as defined under UK GDPR. 

 

Who We Share Your Data With 

We may share your data with carefully vetted third-party service providers who are contractually obligated to maintain strict data privacy standards. We only share the minimum data necessary to perform specific services. We never share children’s data with third parties for their own marketing purposes. 

1. Cloud Hosting (Azure)

  • Purpose: Storing and serving app data securely.
  • Data Shared: All user data (fully encrypted).

2. Payment Processors (Stripe & RevenueCat)

  • Purpose: Processing subscription payments.
  • Data Shared: Parent’s name, email, and payment details.

3. Email Services (Mailgun & Craft CMS)

  • Purpose: Sending transactional and service emails (like password resets or weekly updates).
  • Data Shared: Parent’s name, email address, and weekly reading summaries or certificates.

4. Analytics (Amplitude)

  • Purpose: Understanding how the app is used to help us improve features.
  • Data Shared: Anonymized or pseudonymized usage data only.

All third-party providers are bound by data processing agreements that require them to process data only on our instructions and to maintain appropriate security measures. 

 

No Data Sales — Ever 

We have made a simple, unwavering promise: your data will never be sold. 

Tandem exists to support families, not to profit from your personal information. We do not share your data with advertisers or sell it to third parties. In line with the ICO’s Children’s Code, we ensure that your child’s data is never used in ways that could be detrimental to their well-being. Your data is used solely to enhance your experience and improve our app for all families. 

 

International Data Transfers 

Some of our third-party service providers are based outside the United Kingdom. Where we transfer personal data internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place The countries to which data may be transferred include: the United States.  

 

Data Retention 

We keep your data only for as long as necessary to provide our services and fulfil the purposes described in this policy. Our specific retention periods are: 

1. Account Information & Child Profiles

  • Data: Names, email addresses, and child profile details.
  • Retention: These are kept while your account is active. All such data is deleted within 30 days of you deleting your account.

2. Usage Data

  • Data: Information on how you interact with the app.
  • Retention: This is kept for 12 months, after which it is fully anonymized.

3. Payment Records

  • Data: Records of subscriptions and transactions.
  • Retention: We are legally required to keep this for 7 years to comply with UK tax and accounting obligations. 

When data is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to you or your child. 

 

Your Privacy Rights 

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data. You can exercise any of these rights by contacting us at help@playtandem.com, or where indicated, through the app itself. 

  • Right of access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and your child. 

  • Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete data. 

  • Right to erasure (deletion): You can ask us to delete your data. You can also do this directly through the app (see “How to Delete Your Data” below). 

  • Right to restrict processing: You can ask us to temporarily stop processing your data in certain circumstances. 

  • Right to data portability: You can request your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format so you can transfer it to another service. 

  • Right to object: You can object to our processing of your data where we rely on legitimate interest as our legal basis. 

  • Right to withdraw consent: Where we process data based on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time. 

  • Rights related to automated decision-making: You have the right not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing that significantly affect you or your child. 

We will respond to all rights requests within one month. In complex cases, we may extend this by a further two months, but we will let you know if this is necessary. 

We will never charge a fee for exercising your rights unless a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive. 

 

Your Privacy Choices 

At Tandem, we believe you should have full control over your data. Here is how we make that possible: 

  • Personalised Data Control: From the moment you sign up, you can decide what data you want to share with us.  

  • Data Deletion on Demand: You can delete your data at any time through your Tandem profile. We will remind you periodically to review your choices, so you remain in control. 

  • Age-Appropriate Information: We provide age-appropriate explanations to help children understand privacy choices where relevant. 

  • Tailored Notifications: Prefer fewer updates? You can customise how and when we contact you. 

  • Default High-Privacy Settings: All optional data sharing features are turned off by default. You choose what to enable. 

 

How We Protect Your Data 

Your trust is our top priority, and safeguarding your data is a responsibility we take seriously. In line with the Children’s Code, we design our services with security and privacy in mind from the outset. Here is what we do to keep your information secure: 

  • Advanced Encryption: All personal data is encrypted in transit and at rest, protected from unauthorised access. We use industry-standard encryption protocols (TLS 1.2+). 

  • Secure Storage: We store your information on highly secure servers that are monitored 24/7. 

  • Regular Security Audits: Our systems undergo frequent independent security audits to identify and fix any vulnerabilities. 

  • Limited Access: Only authorised personnel with strict confidentiality agreements can access your data, and only for essential purposes. 

  • Incident Response Plan: In the rare event of a data breach, we have a robust plan to notify affected users and the ICO within 72 hours where required, and to minimise impact. 

  • Privacy by Design: We conduct Data Protection Impact Assessments for new features and ensure privacy is built into every stage of development. 

 

Children’s Code Compliance 

We are committed to meeting the standards set out in the ICO’s Age Appropriate Design Code. In practice, this means: 

  • Best interests of the child guide all design and data decisions. 

  • High privacy by default - we do not require children or parents to weaken privacy settings to access our service. 

  • No detrimental use - children’s data is never used in ways that could cause them harm, including through targeted advertising, behavioural profiling, or nudge techniques. The only ‘nudge’ techniques that we use are directed to parents/adults, to encourage more shared reading/play.  

  • No location tracking - we do not collect or use precise geolocation data from children. 

  • Transparency — we provide clear, age-appropriate information about how data is used. 

  • Data minimisation — we only collect what is strictly necessary to provide the service. 

  • Parental controls — parents have full visibility and control over their child’s data and usage. 

 

Cookies and Similar Technologies 

What are cookies? Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website or use an app. They help the site or app remember your preferences and understand how you use the service. 

We do not use cookies for advertising or tracking, only those strictly necessary for our website  to function. 

 

Changes to This Policy 

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we make changes: 

  • We will update the “Last Modified” date at the top of this policy. 

  • For significant changes, we will notify you by email, or a prominent notice on our website at least 14 days before the changes take effect. 

  • For minor changes (e.g. typographical corrections), we may update the policy without individual notice. 

We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Your continued use of Tandem after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy. 

 

How to Delete Your Data 

To delete your data, go to your Tandem app profile and select “Delete my account.” If you encounter any issues, email us at help@playtandem.com. 

Please note: 

  • This action is permanent and cannot be undone. 

  • All data associated with your account, including your child’s profile and any associated data, will be deleted as per the schedule laid out above. 

 

We Value Your Feedback 

If you have any questions about our use of your personal information, you can contact us at help@playtandem.com. We also run regular user surveys and feedback sessions. 

 

How to Complain 

We are committed to resolving any concerns quickly and transparently. If you are unhappy with our response or how we have used your data, you can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office: 

  • Website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint 

  • Helpline: 0303 123 1113 

  • Address: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF