Privacy Policy

The हिंदी Lab (thehindilab.com)

Last updated: June 2026

1. Who We Are

The हिंदी Lab is operated by The Primary Years Lab ("we", "us", "our"). We provide an online Hindi language learning platform for primary school children in Singapore.

If you have any questions about this policy, contact us at:

Data Protection Officer: Udupi Aruna Rao

Email: theprimaryyearslab@gmail.com

2. Who This Policy Covers

This policy applies to parents and guardians ("you") who create an account on thehindilab.com on behalf of a child, and to visitors who use trial features on our website (such as the homepage Reading Aloud sample) where voice may be recorded. The child is the learner; the parent or guardian is the account holder and the person who gives consent for registered accounts. Trial recording should only be used with a parent or guardian present.

We do not collect the child's name, date of birth, school, or any information that directly identifies the child. Although we do not collect information that directly identifies a child by name, voice recordings may constitute personal data under applicable law because they can be associated with a learner account.

3. What Personal Data We Collect

Data	Why we collect it
Parent / guardian name	To identify the account holder
Parent / guardian email address	To send account and subscription communications
Password (encrypted)	To secure your account
Learning level and products selected	To deliver the correct content for your subscription or purchase (including current and future learning modules and products as described on our pricing page)
Academic year start month	To manage content rotation for your subscription
Voice recordings	To provide pronunciation scoring and spoken feedback; where you have consented at checkout, voice recordings may be used to improve the platform (including after your subscription ends)
Subscription and payment status	To manage access to content

We do not collect the child's name, age, date of birth, school name, or NRIC/identification number.

4. How We Use Personal Data

We collect and use personal data only with the consent of the parent or legal guardian and only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances.

We use your personal data only for the following purposes:

To provide the service — delivering learning content, practice modules, and related products at the level and products you have selected
To score pronunciation — voice recordings are transcribed and analysed to give the learner feedback on their spoken Hindi
To improve the platform — where you have consented at checkout, voice recordings may be used to improve The हिंदी Lab, including after your subscription ends or you stop using the platform
To manage your subscription — processing payments, sending receipts, and notifying you of renewal or changes
To rotate content — using your academic year start month to release fresh content at the right time
To communicate with you — responding to support queries and sending service-related notices

We do not use your personal data for advertising. We do not sell your personal data to any third party.

5. Voice Recordings — How They Are Handled

Voice recordings are the most sensitive data we handle. Here is exactly what happens:

Step 1 — Recording

When a learner completes a Reading Aloud or Picture Description exercise, their voice is recorded in the browser and sent securely to our servers.

Step 2 — Transcription

The recording is sent to OpenAI (United States) for transcription using OpenAI Whisper, a speech-to-text service. OpenAI converts the spoken Hindi into text. The audio is sent over an encrypted connection.

Step 3 — Scoring

The transcribed text is scored within our own application. No external service receives the transcript for scoring.

Step 4 — Feedback (optional)

For some exercises, a short coaching message is generated using OpenAI GPT-4o mini. This uses only the transcribed text, not the original audio.

Step 5 — Storage

The voice recording is stored in a private, access-controlled storage bucket on Supabase (servers located in Sydney, Australia — AWS AP Southeast 2). Recordings are not publicly accessible.

Trial recordings (homepage sample)

Before creating an account, you may try a sample Reading Aloud exercise on our homepage. If you choose to record:

By recording, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
The recording is sent to our speech processing providers (such as OpenAI, and others as applicable) for transcription and scoring only
We use the result to show you a sample score and feedback in your browser session
We do not store trial voice recordings, link them to an account, or keep trial transcripts on our servers after your score is returned

Trial recording should only be used with a parent or guardian present.

6. Where Your Data Is Stored

Your data is stored and processed using service providers including, but not limited to, the following:

Service	Purpose	Location
Supabase	Database and file storage	Sydney, Australia (AWS AP Southeast 2)
OpenAI	Voice transcription (Whisper) and optional coaching text (GPT-4o mini)	United States
Stripe	Payment processing	As applicable
Others as applicable	For example, cybersecurity audits, professional advisers, or infrastructure providers engaged from time to time	As applicable

Note on overseas transfer: Your data may be stored or processed outside Singapore, including in Australia and the United States, in other countries not mentioned here, and by other service providers as applicable. We take reasonable steps to ensure that overseas service providers maintain a standard of protection comparable to that required under Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act. By creating an account, you acknowledge that your data may be processed outside Singapore.

7. Third-Party Services

We may share personal data with third-party service providers where necessary to operate, secure, maintain, audit, or improve the platform. These providers may include, but are not limited to:

Infrastructure and storage providers (such as Supabase) — account data, recordings, and subscription status
Payment processors (such as Stripe) — name, email, and payment details
Speech and language processing providers (such as OpenAI) — voice recordings (audio) and transcribed text for transcription and optional coaching feedback
Cybersecurity, audit, and professional advisers — access to systems or data only to the extent necessary for their engagement
Others as applicable — any additional providers we engage from time to time for legitimate business purposes related to the platform

We share only what is necessary for each purpose. We do not share personal data with advertisers, data brokers, or third parties for their own marketing purposes.

8. Parental Consent for Voice Recording

Because the primary users of this platform are children, we require explicit parental or guardian consent before any account is created and before any voice recording takes place.

At signup, you will be asked to confirm:

That you have read and agree to this Privacy Policy
That you are the parent or legal guardian of the child who will use the account, and that you consent to voice recordings being made for pronunciation feedback purposes

No account can be created without both signup confirmations.

At checkout (subscription or one-time purchase), you must tick a separate compulsory confirmation:

"I consent to voice recordings being used to improve The हिंदी Lab."

You cannot complete payment without this consent. Paid checkout also requires acceptance of the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. All three confirmations are compulsory.

We record the timestamp, policy version accepted, and account identifier at the point of consent for audit purposes.

9. Data Security

We take the following measures to protect your data:

All data is transmitted over encrypted HTTPS connections
Voice recordings are stored in a private storage bucket — not publicly accessible
Access to the database is restricted to authorised personnel only
Passwords are stored in encrypted form and never in plain text
Third-party API calls (such as OpenAI, and others as applicable) are made using server-side keys — your data is never exposed to the browser

10. Your Rights Under the PDPA

Under Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (as amended), you have the right to:

Ask questions about how your data is being used

You may withdraw consent or request access, correction, or deletion of your personal data by contacting us at theprimaryyearslab@gmail.com. We will respond within 10 business days.

11. Data Retention Summary

Data type	Retention period
Account data (name, email, level)	For the duration of the account, plus 30 days after deletion request
Trial/demo voice (homepage)	Not stored; processed only to return your score in the session
Payment records	7 years (required for financial record-keeping)

12. Children's Privacy

This platform is primarily intended for primary-school-aged children and is used under the supervision of a parent or guardian. In accordance with PDPC Advisory Guidelines on Children's Personal Data (March 2024), parental or guardian consent is required for all accounts. We do not knowingly collect personal data that directly identifies a child (such as name, date of birth, or school). The account is held by the parent or guardian, who is responsible for supervising the child's use of the platform.

If you believe a child has used this platform without parental consent, contact us immediately at theprimaryyearslab@gmail.com and we will delete the relevant account and data.

13. Data Breaches

If a data breach occurs that is likely to result in significant harm to affected individuals, we will assess and respond in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (as amended), including notifying the Personal Data Protection Commission and affected individuals where required by law. We will notify affected account holders by email as soon as practicable.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and notify you by email if the changes are material. Continued use of the platform after notification constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

15. Contact Us

For any privacy-related questions, requests, or concerns:

Data Protection Officer: Udupi Aruna Rao

Email: theprimaryyearslab@gmail.com

Website: thehindilab.com

The Primary Years Lab

Singapore