Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Synapse.exe (the "App," "Site," "we," "us") is operated by SYNAPSE.EXE LLC, a limited liability company registered in the State of Michigan. This Privacy Policy explains what information the App collects, how it is used, and the choices you have, across our website (synapseexe.com) and our iOS and Android apps.

2. Who this policy covers

Synapse.exe is a speech, language, and social-skills practice platform used in two related ways:

• Directly by children and students, who play practice games and exercises (Articulation, Language, Social Skills, Attention, Memory, Puzzles, and similar sections), typically under the supervision of a parent, guardian, or professional.
• By parents, guardians, teachers, and speech-language professionals ("Professional Users"), who score sessions, track progress, and may enter identifying information about a child, student, or client (together, "Client Data") using tools such as the Client Tracker, Session Recorder, and related record-keeping screens.

This policy applies to anyone who uses the App in either capacity.

3. Information we collect

We collect information in three ways:

• Information stored only on your device — practice progress, game settings, selected sounds/skills, session notes, and any Client Data a Professional User enters (see Section 4).
• Account information, if you create a sign-in (email address, a password or PIN you choose, and optionally a phone number and display name) — see Section 5.
• Basic technical information your browser or device sends automatically to load the App (such as general device/browser type), which we do not combine with any account or Client Data.

4. On-device (local) data

Most of what the App remembers — game progress, selected sounds and skill areas, session scores, and records created in the Client Tracker or Session Recorder — is saved directly on your device, in your browser's or app's local storage. This information is not automatically uploaded to us or to any server. We do not have access to it unless you choose to export or share it yourself.

Because this data lives on the device, it is only as secure as the device itself. If a device is shared, lost, or unlocked by someone else, anyone with access to that device may be able to view locally stored records. We recommend using a device passcode and, where the App offers one, its own PIN/password lock.

The App also caches practice-activity content (word lists and pictures used in games) on your device after first use, purely so activities load quickly and work offline. This cache contains only public practice content — never your account, client, or session data.

5. Account & sign-in data

If you create a sign-in for the App, we store your email address (and, if provided, a phone number and display name) so we can verify your identity and help you recover access if you forget your password or PIN. Passwords and PINs are stored as one-way cryptographic hashes, not as plain text.

To deliver "forgot password" and "forgot PIN" verification codes, we use a companion account service that sends a one-time code to your email (and, only if you've enabled it, by text message through our SMS provider). That service stores your email/phone, a hashed and time-limited verification code, and delivery timestamps — nothing else. Codes expire automatically (currently within 10 minutes) and cannot be reverse-engineered back into your password or PIN.

6. Client, student & session data entered by professionals

If you are a Professional User, you may enter names, initials, session notes, scores, or other information about a child, student, or client into the App (for example, in the Client Tracker or Session Recorder). This information is stored locally on your device as described in Section 4.

You, the Professional User, are responsible for this Client Data. That includes making sure you have the right to collect and record it, that your use complies with any laws, employer policies, or professional/ethical obligations that apply to you (for example, school-privacy laws like FERPA, or health-privacy obligations that may apply to your practice), and that the device you use it on is reasonably secured. SYNAPSE.EXE LLC does not access, review, or store this Client Data on our servers unless you affirmatively export or transmit it yourself using a feature that does so.

If your organization requires a Business Associate Agreement, data processing agreement, or similar arrangement before you can use a tool like this with protected health information or protected student records, contact us before entering that data — see Section 17.

7. Children's privacy

Synapse.exe's practice games are designed to be used by children, but accounts, sign-in, and any submission of personal information are intended to be created and managed by a parent, guardian, or the supervising professional — not by a child independently.

• We do not knowingly allow a child under 13 to create their own account or submit their own personal information without a parent, guardian, or professional's involvement.
• Gameplay data (scores, progress, selected practice sounds) is stored locally on the device and is not sold or used to build a behavioral profile of the child.
• Advertising shown while a child is likely to be the one playing is served under Google AdMob's child-directed treatment settings, which restrict it to non-personalized, contextual ads rather than interest-based or cross-app tracking — see Section 10 for details.
• Links out of the App to any external website, and access to Settings or account areas, are protected by a parental gate (a simple age-screening step) so a young child cannot leave the App or change account settings without an adult's involvement.
• If you believe a child has independently provided personal information to us in a way that is not consistent with this policy, contact us (Section 17) and we will address it, including deleting information where we control it.

Parents and guardians can review, request deletion of, or ask questions about any information associated with their child by contacting us or by clearing the App's local storage on the device used.

8. How we use information

• To operate the App's practice tools, games, and record-keeping features.
• To create and secure an account, and to verify your identity for password/PIN recovery.
• To send you a verification code you request (email or SMS), and nothing else — we do not send marketing email.
• To maintain the security and integrity of the App (for example, detecting abuse of the reset-code system).
• To comply with legal obligations.

We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it for behavioral advertising.

9. Third parties & service providers

We use a small number of service providers strictly to operate the App:

• Google AdMob — serves the advertising that keeps the App free; see Section 10 for what it collects.
• Google Fonts — delivers the typefaces used in the App's design.
• jsDelivr (a content delivery network) — delivers the open-source three.js graphics library used by some games.
• An email delivery provider — sends account verification codes on our behalf.
• Twilio (optional) — if SMS verification is enabled, delivers verification codes by text message.

These providers process the minimum information needed to perform their function (for example, the email delivery provider sees the email address and code needed to send your message) and are not permitted to use that information for their own unrelated purposes. We do not sell or rent personal information or Client Data to third parties, and we do not otherwise share it except as described in this policy.

10. Advertising & third-party ad networks

Synapse.exe has no subscriptions and no in-app purchases. The App is supported entirely by advertising, delivered through Google AdMob, which is why an interstitial ad may appear at certain natural breakpoints (for example, after finishing and saving a recorded session, or generating a report or printable sheet) rather than during active gameplay.

What the ad network can collect. To select and measure ads, AdMob and Google's advertising partners may collect a device advertising identifier (Android's Advertising ID or Apple's IDFA, where permitted), general device information (device model, operating system version, language, and screen size), approximate location derived from IP address, and ad-interaction data such as impressions, clicks, and the ad unit shown. This is handled directly between your device and Google's advertising infrastructure — we do not receive or store this information ourselves, and it is never linked to any account, Client Data, or session record you create in the App.

Ads shown to children. Because children directly use the App's practice games, we configure AdMob to request ads under Google's child-directed and "tag for under the age of consent" settings wherever a child may be the one interacting with the screen. In practice, this means ads shown in those contexts are limited to non-personalized, contextual advertising rather than ads based on interest profiling or cross-app/cross-site tracking, consistent with COPPA and Google Play Families Policy / Apple's requirements for kids' content.

Your choices. You can limit ad personalization at the device level at any time:

• iOS: Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking, or Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Advertising → turn off Personalized Ads.
• Android: Settings → Google → Ads → Opt out of Ads Personalization (wording varies by device/OS version).

Turning these off does not stop ads from appearing (the App still needs ad revenue to remain free) but limits them to non-personalized, contextual ads. Google's own use of data collected through AdMob is governed by the Google Privacy Policy and, for the advertising product specifically, the How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services page — we encourage you to review them, since Google, not Synapse.exe, controls how that data is processed.

11. Data security

We use reasonable technical safeguards appropriate to a locally-stored application, including one-way hashing of passwords and PINs and time-limited, hashed verification codes. No method of storage or transmission is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You play an important role in protecting your data by keeping your device and any account credentials secure.

12. Data retention & deletion

• Locally stored data (progress, scores, Client Data) remains on your device until you delete it, clear the App's storage, or uninstall the App.
• Account data (email, hashed password/PIN, optional phone) is retained for as long as your account is active, and for a limited period afterward solely to prevent fraud and comply with legal obligations, after which it is deleted.
• Verification codes expire automatically and are marked unusable after a single use or after 10 minutes, whichever comes first.
• Advertising identifiers collected by Google AdMob are retained and eventually deleted according to Google's own data-retention schedule, not ours — see Section 10.

Requesting deletion. You can request deletion of any account data we hold at any time, free of charge, using either method below:

• In the App: open Settings → About & Legal → Request My Data Deletion, which opens a pre-filled request to our support address; or
• Email us directly at the address in Section 17 with the subject line "Data Deletion Request" and the email or phone number on your account.

We aim to complete verified deletion requests within 30 days. Because most gameplay progress and Client Data lives only on your own device, deleting it yourself (in-App, or by clearing the App's storage/uninstalling) is the fastest way to remove that portion immediately.

13. Your rights & choices

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, export, or delete personal information we hold about you, and to object to certain processing. Because most data lives on your own device, you can exercise many of these rights yourself by using in-App deletion features or clearing your device's storage. For anything we hold on our servers (account email/phone, verification records) or for advertising-related choices, see the deletion process in Section 12 and the ad-personalization opt-outs in Section 10.

14. Not a medical record system

Synapse.exe is an educational practice and record-keeping tool. It is not a certified medical device, electronic health record (EHR) system, or diagnostic tool, and it is not a substitute for professional clinical judgment, evaluation, or treatment. Decisions about a child's or client's care should be made by a qualified professional.

15. International users

Synapse.exe is operated from the United States. If you use the App from outside the United States, you understand that any information transmitted to our service providers (such as account email for verification, or advertising data handled by Google AdMob) may be processed in the United States or other countries where our providers operate.

16. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date above and, where appropriate, provide additional notice in the App. Continued use of the App after a change becomes effective means you accept the updated policy.

17. Contact us