Science Together
Privacy policy
Science Together is built so that your family's information stays with your family. This is what the app does and does not do with data, in plain words.
Effective 6 August 2026 · NOVA outreach Ltd · enquiries@novaoutreach.co.uk
The short version
Everything lives on your phone
The app has no ads, no tracking, no analytics and no third party data sharing. We cannot see your family's names, guesses or streak, because they never leave your device. There are no child accounts, ever.
The single exception is the two optional surveys in Settings. If you choose to fill one in, those answers are sent to us. Nothing about your children goes with them. If you never open a survey, nothing ever leaves your phone.
Written to align with the UK GDPR and the ICO's Age Appropriate Design Code, the Children's Code, by design rather than as an afterthought.
What the app stores, and where
The app stores the following, on your device only:
- The family name you choose, and the first names and emoji faces you add for family members
- The guesses your family taps in, which nights you tapped "We talked about it", and your family streak
- Your chosen daily reminder time and your app settings
This is saved in the app's own storage on your phone. It is not transmitted to us or to anyone else. If you delete the app, or use "Delete all family data" in Settings, it is gone. We hold no copy and could not restore it.
Children
The grown-up is the only account holder. Children do not log in, do not have accounts, and cannot be contacted through the app. The only information about a child the app ever holds is an optional first name or nickname and a chosen emoji, entered by the parent, stored on the parent's phone under the parent's control. We never see it.
Notifications
If you turn reminders on, the app schedules one local notification a day at the time you chose. This happens entirely on your phone. Nothing is sent from a server, and declining notifications changes nothing else about the app.
Purchases
Access is bought through Google Play, either as a one-off Founding Families purchase or as a subscription with a free trial. We do not see or store your payment details. Google's own privacy policy covers the payment itself.
When you purchase, an entitlement record, essentially "this installation has access", is managed by our payment partner RevenueCat, which processes a device identifier and purchase history for the sole purpose of making your purchase work and restoring it if you reinstall. RevenueCat does not receive your family's names, guesses, or any content from the app.
The one exception
The optional surveys
Settings contains two short surveys, both entirely optional and both for the grown-up. Nothing is sent unless you open one, fill it in and press send. Every question can be skipped.
How is the app going?
Asks how your family uses Science Together and what would make it better. It is anonymous. At the very end you may leave an email address if you would like us to follow up or invite you to try new things early. Leaving it blank is fine and changes nothing.
You and science
A research survey about how adults engage with science, run by NOVA outreach Ltd. It is anonymous and begins with a consent tick confirming you are 18 or over.
It asks optional background questions including age group, highest qualification, whether children live in your home, whether your work is science-related, your country, and the first part of your postcode only, for example CF24. A postcode district describes a general area of many thousands of households and cannot identify you or your address.
What is attached, and what never is
Alongside your answers the app attaches a few technical details it already knows: the date and time you submitted, the app version, your platform, how many days you have had the app, how many nights you have logged a conversation, and your current streak. These help us read the answers in context.
No names, no children's names, no guesses, and no content from your family's use of the app are ever attached to a survey.
Survey answers are stored in a Google Sheet in our own Google Workspace account, controlled by NOVA outreach Ltd. They are used to improve the app and, in anonymous aggregate, in research and funding reports. They are never sold, never used for advertising, and never shared with anyone for their own purposes.
Because the surveys are anonymous, we usually have no way to find your particular answers again. If you left an email address, or if you can tell us roughly when you submitted, contact us at enquiries@novaoutreach.co.uk and we will find and delete your response.
The lawful basis for the research survey is consent, given by the tick at the start, and you may withdraw it at any time by contacting us.
Online family backup, only if enabled in a future version
The version of the app this policy covers keeps everything on your device. If a future version offers an online backup of your family's data so it can survive a lost phone, it will be anonymous with no email address or sign-up, stored securely with our database provider, deletable in full from inside the app, and this policy will be updated before that feature ships.
What we never do
- No advertising, and no advertising identifiers
- No analytics or behavioural tracking SDKs
- No selling, sharing or monetising of personal data, ever
- No contact from us to you or your children through the app
Your rights
Because your data lives on your device and we hold no copy, access, correction and deletion are all in your hands. Everything can be seen in the app and removed with "Delete all family data" in Settings, or by uninstalling. If you have any question about privacy, contact us at enquiries@novaoutreach.co.uk and a human will reply.
Changes
If we change this policy, the new version will be published at this address with a new effective date, and any material change will be flagged in the app's update notes before it applies.