Privacy, in plain English

Last updated 22 October 2026

The short version

Otter is built so that your family's details stay with you. We don't ask you to create an account and we don't show ads.

In the app

• Stays on your phone: your child's name, age, interests, plans, ratings and Moments are stored on your device. They are not sent to us.
• Your photos: any photo you add to a Moment or to a child's picture is kept only on your phone. Otter never uploads, copies or shares it. Deleting the Moment, the child, or using Start over removes the photo from the app. If you back up your phone with iCloud or your computer, your phone may include Otter's data in that backup, which is your own backup and not something we can see.
• Anonymous counts: when you finish an idea, we count it. We record which idea, the day, an age band and whether it was loved. Nothing about your family or where you are.
• Avoiding double counting: the app holds a random token. We keep only a scrambled (hashed) version of it, to stop one idea being counted twice and to let you check on or withdraw ideas you share. Those counting records are deleted after two days.
• Sharing ideas: if you choose to share an idea for review, we receive the idea only: no name, no children and no location.
• Daily reminder: if you turn on the daily nudge, the reminder is scheduled on your phone. It is not sent from a server.

On this website

• This site is hosted by GitHub Pages. We set no cookies and use no advertising or tracking. Fonts are served from the site itself. GitHub may keep standard server logs; see GitHub's privacy statement.
• If you join the launch list on our main website we store your email address, and the page you signed up from. We use it to tell you when Otter is ready, and for nothing else. We won't sell or share it.

Children

Otter is for parents and carers to use with their children. It has no child accounts and does not collect personal information from children.

Your choices

To be removed from the launch list, or to ask what we hold about you, email mcd.calum@icloud.com. To remove everything Otter keeps on your phone, use Start over in the Family tab, or delete the app.

Changes

If this policy changes we will update the date above.