Privacy Policy

EchoSteps: Speech & Imitation Lab · Effective 26 September 2026

In short: EchoSteps never records or uploads audio. The microphone is analysed on the device in real time and the sound is discarded. If the grown-up leaves cloud backup on, a nickname, an age group, settings and practice numbers are backed up to Google Firebase under an anonymous ID, so progress isn't lost with the device. There are no ads, no analytics and no tracking. Backup can be switched off, and everything can be deleted, at any time.

Who we are

EchoSteps is made by Homi Labs ("we", "us"). You can reach us at homilabs.smc@gmail.com.

Who the app is for

EchoSteps is an educational practice app that encourages young children, including minimally verbal children and children on the autism spectrum, to make and imitate sounds. It is designed to be set up and supervised by a parent, carer, teacher or therapist. It is not a medical device and does not diagnose or treat any condition.

The microphone

The app listens only while a listening screen is open (Sound Spark, an Echo Safari sound, and the grown-ups' microphone check). It stops when the child leaves the screen or the app goes to the background.
Sound is processed in memory, a few hundredths of a second at a time, to measure loudness, pitch and which sound it resembles. Those measurements drive the animations and simple counts (for example, how many sounds the child made). The sound itself is then discarded.
Audio is never recorded, saved to storage or transmitted, including to us.

What is stored on the device

For each child profile: an optional nickname typed by the grown-up (we ask for a nickname, never a real name), an age group (2–3, 4–5 or 6+), the chosen animal buddy, the grown-up's settings, and practice history: when sessions happened, how long they lasted, the number of sounds made, seconds of voice, average loudness, which practice sounds were tried and completed, which picture cards are unlocked, and which sounds a grown-up marked as mastered. This data is excluded from Android's own cloud backup and device-to-device transfer.

Cloud backup (optional, on by default)

So that progress survives a lost or replaced device, EchoSteps backs up the same information listed above to Google Firebase (Cloud Firestore, operated by Google LLC, stored in the United States). No audio is ever included.
The backup is linked to an anonymous ID created by Firebase Authentication when the first child is added. We do not know who you are.
If the grown-up chooses Save progress across devices, they add an email address and password to that ID (Firebase Authentication). The email is used only to sign in and to send password-reset emails when asked.
Data is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest by Google. Security rules allow each account to read and write only its own data, and only in the expected format.
The grown-up can switch backup off at any time (Parent Zone → Family & account), and choose whether to delete the copy already in the cloud.
We keep backup data for as long as the backup is on and the account exists. When you delete it (see below), it is removed.

Sharing reports

A grown-up can create a PDF practice report in the Parent Zone and share it, for example with a speech therapist, using Android's share sheet. The report is created on the device and goes only where the grown-up sends it.

What we do not do

No advertising, and no advertising, analytics or crash-reporting software.
No selling or sharing of data with anyone. Google processes backup data only to provide Firebase to us.
No location, camera, contacts or advertising ID.
No in-app purchases, and no links out of the app in children's areas. The Parent Zone is behind a question for adults.

Delete your account and data

In the app (immediate):

Open EchoSteps and tap the lock at the top right of the main screen.
Answer the question for grown-ups.
Go to Family & account and tap Delete account and all data.
If you added an email and password, enter the password to confirm.

This permanently deletes every child profile and all practice history from the device and from the cloud backup, and deletes the sign-in. It cannot be undone. You can also remove a single child, reset a child's progress, or turn backup off and delete the cloud copy.

Without the app: email homilabs.smc@gmail.com from the email address you used to save progress, with the subject "Delete my EchoSteps account". We delete the account and all its data within 30 days and confirm by email.

What is deleted: the sign-in (anonymous ID, and the email and password if added), every child profile (nickname, age group, buddy, settings) and all practice history. Nothing is kept afterwards. EchoSteps never stores audio, so there are no recordings to delete. Uninstalling the app deletes the data on the device.

Children's privacy

EchoSteps is designed for use under adult supervision and follows Google Play's Families Policy. We collect only what is needed to run the app and keep progress, we do not ask for real names, and a parent or guardian can review, export (as a PDF report) or delete a child's information at any time.

Your rights

You can access your child's information in the Parent Zone, export it as a PDF report, correct it (edit the nickname, age group or settings) and delete it, as described above. For any other request, email us.

Changes

If a future version handles data differently, this policy will be updated before that version is released, and the effective date above will change.

Contact

Homi Labs · homilabs.smc@gmail.com