Charlie's Voice – Global Privacy Policy

Last Updated:12/05/26

1. Overview

Charlie's Voice ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. Our software is designed specifically for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), neurodivergent individuals, and their families. This Global Privacy Policy explains how we handle, store, and protect data across our suite of applications, including the Charlie's Voice (Communication App) and Charlie's Guard (Safety & Tracking App).

2. Applications Covered by this Policy

Because our applications perform different functions, they collect and store data differently. Please refer to the specific section below for the application(s) you use.

3. Charlie's Voice (Communication App)

This section applies solely to the Charlie's Voice Augmented and Alternative Communication (AAC) application.

• Local Storage Only: To ensure maximum privacy, all personal data you enter—including your child’s name and any photos uploaded to the communication board—is stored locally on your physical device.

• No Cloud Sync: We do not transmit, store, or back up your child’s photos or names to our own servers or any third-party cloud services.

• Camera and Photo Library: The app requires permission to access your device’s camera or photo library solely to allow you to customise communication buttons.

4. Charlie's Guard (Safety & Tracking App)

This section applies solely to the Charlie's Guard wearable safety ecosystem (Parent Tablet/Phone App and Wear OS Watch App).

To provide real-time safety tracking and medical alerts, this application requires the collection and transmission of specific data between the paired devices.

• Precise & Background Location: The app collects precise GPS location data from the wearable device to provide real-time tracking (the "Radar" and "Map" features) to the paired parent/carer app. This location data is collected even when the app is closed or not in use on the wearable device to ensure the child can be located in an emergency.

• Medical Information: Parents may optionally input Medical ID information (such as a child's name, medical condition/needs, and an emergency contact number). This information is transmitted to the wearable device solely to be displayed on-screen during an emergency "Alarm" event to assist first responders or finding adults.

• Sensor Data: The wearable app may access the device's physical sensors (such as off-body/skin sensors) to detect if the watch has been removed and send an immediate alert to the parent app.

• Cloud Synchronisation (Google Firebase): To allow the parent app and wearable app to communicate securely, data (including location coordinates, medical details, and device status) is transmitted securely through Google Firebase (Firestore). This data is attached to a temporary pairing code and a secure master token generated by the parent's device.

• No Historical Tracking: We do not store a historical log of your child's movements. Firestore only holds the most recent location ping to display on the live map, continuously overwriting old location data.

5. General Data Use & Third Parties

Across all Charlie's Voice applications, the following rules apply:

• Strictly No Sale of Data: We do not sell, trade, or share your personal information, medical data, or your child’s location with third parties for marketing, profiling, or advertising purposes.

• Infrastructure Partners: We utilise Google Firebase to facilitate the secure transmission of data for Charlie's Guard. We may also use standard anonymised analytics tools provided by the Google Play Store to monitor app crashes and performance.

• Service Provision: We use the information provided solely to deliver the core safety and communication functionalities of our applications.

6. Children’s Privacy

Our applications are designed for the benefit of children but are intended to be configured and managed by an adult parent or carer. We do not intentionally collect identifiable information directly from children. In the case of Charlie's Guard, all medical and tracking data is generated and controlled by the parent/carer's device.

7. User Control & Data Deletion

• Charlie's Voice (AAC): You can delete all data by clearing the app's data in your device settings or uninstalling the application.

• Charlie's Guard: You can sever the connection between devices by selecting "Unpair" in the parent app settings. This action immediately ceases location tracking.

8. Compliance with Australian Law

Charlie's Voice operates within Australia. This policy is designed to comply strictly with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, your data, or our security practices, please contact us at: Email: charliesvoice.contact@gmail.com