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Privacy policy

Sayella is used by children and by people who are nonverbal, so we hold ourselves to a high standard on privacy. This page explains what we collect, why, and the control you have. It is written in plain English on purpose.

Last updated 2 July 2026.

Who we are

Sayella provides an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) app and this website. In this policy, "we" and "Sayella" mean the company that operates Sayella, acting as the data controller for the personal data described here. Our registered details will be confirmed before launch.

Data we collect

We try to collect as little as we can. Where we do collect data, it falls into these groups:

  • Account data. If you create an account, your email address and a hashed password, plus any team or licence details.
  • Vocabulary and board data. The boards, words, symbols and photos you create. If you turn on cloud sync, an encrypted copy is stored so it can sync across your devices. With sync off, this stays on your device only.
  • Usage and diagnostic data. Limited, aggregated information to keep the app reliable, such as crash reports, plus a small set of anonymous product events (for example that the app was opened, onboarding was completed, or a first message was spoken), processed in the EU. These events are never linked to you or your account, carry no message content, no vocabulary and no names, and are never used for advertising or tracking. We do not track the content of what a person says with Sayella, ever.
  • Payment data. Handled by our payment provider. We receive confirmation of a purchase, not your full card details.

How we use your data

  • To provide the app and your account, including syncing your boards across devices when you ask us to.
  • To keep Sayella secure, reliable and working, and to fix problems.
  • To respond to you when you contact support or report an accessibility barrier.
  • To meet our legal and accounting obligations.

We do not sell personal data, and we do not use a child's communication content to train advertising or unrelated products.

Under UK GDPR we rely on: performance of our contract with you (to provide the app and account), our legitimate interests (to keep the service secure and improve reliability, balanced against your rights), your consent (for anything optional, which you can withdraw), and legal obligation (for example, financial records).

Children and vulnerable users

The account holder must be an adult (18 or over): a parent, carer, teacher or therapist setting Sayella up on behalf of the person using it. Accounts and payment are managed by that adult. We design with the UK Age Appropriate Design Code (the Children's Code) in mind.

We minimise the data we collect, default to keeping data on the device, and do not profile children. We use no third-party advertising and no third-party tracking. For everyday use, a child's photos, voice recordings, message history and usage insights stay on the device and are not uploaded to us.

There is one clear exception, and it is always the adult account holder's choice. If that adult uses the optional AI symbol feature, the specific word they type or the specific photo they pick is sent to a third-party AI service to create a symbol, as described in the AI section below. This is never operated by the child: it sits behind the adult's account and the paywall. It is off unless the adult chooses to use it, and it only ever sends the single word or photo they select for that symbol, nothing more.

Your rights under UK GDPR

You have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you.
  • Correct data that is wrong or incomplete.
  • Erase your data ("the right to be forgotten"), subject to legal limits.
  • Restrict or object to certain processing.
  • Withdraw consent at any time, where we relied on consent.
  • Data portability: receive your data in a usable, machine-readable format.
  • Complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you are unhappy with how we handle your data.

Data portability and ownership

Your words are yours. Sayella supports exporting your boards in the Open Board Format (.obf and .obz) at any time, so you can move to another tool, keep your own backup, or simply hold a copy. We also support importing boards from other apps. We will not hold your vocabulary hostage.

How long we keep data

We keep your account and synced data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account (in the app or by emailing us), we erase your cloud data, and any copies in routine backups are rotated out within 30 days. Local data on your device is removed when you delete a profile or uninstall the app. We may keep certain records, such as financial records, where the law requires it.

Deleting your account

When you are signed in, you can delete your account and all of your cloud data from within the app, in Account settings. You can also ask us to do this by emailing the support address below. This is your right to erasure under UK GDPR, and we will not charge you for it.

How we protect your data

We use encryption in transit and at rest for synced data, access controls, and the principle of least privilege. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable and proportionate steps to protect the data we hold and to notify you and the regulator promptly if anything goes wrong.

Generate symbols with AI (optional)

Sayella offers an optional premium feature that creates a board symbol for you, either from a word you type or from a photo you choose. It only ever runs when you choose it and confirm. To create the symbol, the word or photo you provide is sent to a third-party AI image service: we route these requests through the Vercel AI Gateway to Google's image models (Imagen for a word, Gemini for a photo). This is the one case where a word you have typed leaves your device, and only for the symbol you asked us to make. We do not use it for anything else, and we do not store the word or photo beyond generating the symbol. Because your input leaves the device for this step, we advise against using photos of real people or any identifying details.

Sub-processors

Some trusted third parties process data on our behalf so the service can work. Each handles only what its purpose needs:

  • Supabase. Cloud database, authentication and sync.
  • RevenueCat. Subscription and purchase management.
  • Apple and Google. App distribution and in-app purchases.
  • Brevo. Transactional email.
  • PostHog (EU). Anonymous product analytics in the app: opens and a few fixed milestone events, never linked to a person and never containing content.
  • Vercel AI Gateway and Google (image AI). Only when you generate a symbol with AI (from a word or a photo): the request is routed through the Vercel AI Gateway to Google's Imagen and Gemini image models to create the symbol.
  • Vercel. Website hosting and privacy-friendly, cookieless analytics on this marketing site only.

Contact us about privacy

For any question about your data, or to exercise any of the rights above, contact us and a person on the Sayella team will help.

Privacy enquiries

hello@sayella.com