The Word Lab

Who operates this service

The Word Lab (“the app”, “we”) is an educational spelling-practice tool operated by Jacob Richter and self-hosted for use in a Queensland (Australia) classroom. It is published at thewordlab.app. For any privacy question or request, contact [email protected].

What the app is

The Word Lab helps primary-school students practise spelling by building words sound by sound. Teachers create word lists; students open an activity with a short class code, choose an animal, and build words. Teachers can review how the class went.

Information we collect

We keep the smallest amount of information needed to run the activity and give the teacher useful feedback.

Teacher-provided content: word lists and how each word breaks into sounds; class and list names/labels the teacher types; activity settings; and voice recordings the teacher optionally makes (whole words and individual speech sounds) so the app can play them back. Only teachers record; students never record audio.

Student practice results (anonymous): for each attempt, the animal code, the word practised, the number of tries, whether it was correct, and (to help the teacher spot patterns) which incorrect spelling was chosen for a sound (for example, choosing “ai” where “a_e” was needed). These records contain no names or free text and cannot identify a student on their own. Only the teacher, using their own paper animal→student list, can connect an animal to a child.

Information we do not collect

No student names, emails, dates of birth, contact details, photos, or student voice recordings. No student accounts, passwords, or logins. No location data, advertising identifiers, or behavioural tracking.

Cookies and on-device storage

One functional cookie (“wl_teacher”) is set only when a teacher enters the teacher PIN, to keep that browser signed in to the teacher area; it is not used for tracking. Two small conveniences are stored on the teacher's own device (in the browser) and never sent to us: a list of lists opened on that device, and the teacher's chosen playback voice.

How we use information

Only to run the spelling activities, play back the teacher's recordings, and show the teacher class progress and common spelling errors so they can plan teaching. We do not use it for advertising, profiling, or automated decision-making about students.

Who we share it with

No one. The app is self-hosted, makes no third-party network calls, and includes no analytics, trackers, content-delivery networks, or cloud services. Fonts are served from the app itself and words are spoken using the device's own built-in voices. We do not sell, rent, or disclose information to third parties. Data may only be disclosed if strictly required by law.

Where information is stored and how it is protected

All data lives in a single local database and audio folder on a server the operator controls (a self-hosted container), served over an encrypted HTTPS connection. Teacher areas are protected by an optional shared PIN and by private, unguessable edit links; student activities require a class or list code. We take reasonable steps to protect information, but no online service can be guaranteed 100% secure.

How long we keep information and how to remove it

Teacher content and results are kept until the teacher deletes them; deleting a word list or a class also deletes the practice results attached to it. To request removal of any content, email [email protected]. Backups of the server data may be kept for recovery on the operator's own storage.

Children's privacy

The app is designed for primary-age students and is anonymous by design. It deliberately collects no personal information about children. Teachers and schools remain responsible for any parental notice or consent required by their school or the Department of Education, and for keeping the paper animal→student key secure. We ask teachers not to enter any student personal information (such as a real name) into list or class names.

Your rights

Because we hold no student personal information, there is little personal data to access or correct. Teachers and schools may contact us at any time to ask what content exists, or to have it deleted.

Legal

This service is operated from Queensland, Australia. We handle information in a manner consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), to the extent they apply to an individually-operated educational tool. This policy is governed by the laws of Queensland, Australia.

Changes

We may update this policy; the “last updated” date will change and material changes will be highlighted here.

Contact

Jacob Richter, [email protected]