Introduction
Talky GmbH is responsible for the Talky App and is committed to protecting the privacy of people using the App and our services. This Privacy Policy explains our practices regarding the use of personal data collected and processed through our App and in communications with you.
Talky App collects and processes the following types of data: (1) data provided by users by completing forms, (2) registration data, (3) navigation data, and (4) voice recordings for the purpose of personalized language learning. This data will be used to provide Talky’s services to you and for the other purposes set out below.
We maintain the security and confidentiality of your data in accordance with applicable law and will not make your personal data public.
By completing and submitting your personal data to Talky via any online registration or other forms, you declare to have read and accepted the terms of this Policy. You may revoke consent at any time by writing to support@talky.tech accompanied by a proof of your identity. We are supervised by the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD).
1. Data Controller
Talky GmbH
Französische Str. 20
10117 Berlin, Germany
Commercial Register: HRB 249285B, Registergericht: Charlottenburg
Responsible: Claudia Heyn
Email: support@talky.tech
2. Personal Information We Collect and How We Use It
2.1 Data We Collect and Legal Bases
Contact Forms
If you complete any web form (Contact us, Collaborate with us, Surveys), we collect the personal data you indicate, including your name, email address, country, and your message.
Purpose: Responding to your request about our business or related services.
Legal Basis: Your consent.
Navigation Data
When you visit our website, we automatically receive technical information including the URL of the referring site, the site you visit when you leave, your IP address, and browser type.
Purpose: Analysing global trends to improve the service.
Legal Basis: Your consent (see our Cookie Policy).
2.2 Data of Children and Their Legal Guardians
Data We Process
As part of the use of the Talky App by minor users (children under 16), we additionally process the following categories of personal data:
Child: Username or pseudonym, learning progress, gameplay activities, learning history, voice recordings (to enable personalized language learning, document progress, and improve our AI language models).
Legal guardians (parents): Name and email address.
Parental Verification
To ensure that consent is provided by a parent or legal guardian, the App requires a parental gate during registration: a parent or legal guardian must enter their email address and complete a simple verification task before the child may access the App.
Additionally, before voice data is processed, the parent or legal guardian must actively confirm their consent by ticking a checkbox with the following statement: “I confirm that I have read the Privacy Policy and agree that Talky analyses my child’s voice to personalize learning and improve Talky’s language models.” This checkbox is not pre-selected and cannot be skipped.
The timestamp and version of this consent confirmation are stored by Talky.
Purposes of Processing
We process this data for the following purposes:
• Creation and management of the child’s account.
• Providing personalized language learning content and feedback based on voice input.
• Improving and training Talky’s AI language models (using pseudonymized or anonymized voice data).
• Documentation of the consent provided by the legal guardians.
• Sending relevant information to parents (e.g., progress reports, notifications).
• Ensuring the safety and lawful use of the App by minors.
• Compliance with statutory requirements for the protection of children’s personal data.
Legal Basis
The legal basis for processing the child’s personal data is the consent of the legal guardians in accordance with Article 6(1)(a) in conjunction with Article 8 GDPR.
Processing the data of parents is based on Article 6(1)(b) GDPR (performance of a contract), Article 6(1)(c) GDPR (legal obligations), and Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in proving consent and ensuring the protection of minor users).
The use of pseudonymized or anonymized voice data for AI model improvement is based on our legitimate interest pursuant to Article 6(1)(f) GDPR and, where applicable, the explicit consent of the legal guardian obtained via the consent screen described above.
Retention Period of Voice Recordings
We distinguish between two categories of voice data:
• Personal voice recordings (linked to the child’s account): Retained for a maximum of 24 months from the date of collection or 24 months following the end of the subscription period, whichever is later, unless a longer retention is required by law. After this period, the data will be automatically deleted or anonymized.
• Anonymized or pseudonymized voice data used for AI model improvement: Once rendered anonymous in such a way that the individual can no longer be identified, this data may be retained beyond the 24-month period for the purpose of improving our language models. Anonymization is applied before such data is used for model training.
Withdrawal of Consent
Consent provided by the legal guardians may be withdrawn at any time with future effect by contacting us at support@talky.tech. A withdrawal will result in the deactivation of the child’s account, and all personal data will be deleted unless statutory retention obligations apply. Anonymized data used for model training cannot be reversed once anonymized.
Specific Safeguards
We implement special technical and organizational measures to protect the personal data of children, including:
• Storage of data exclusively on servers located within the European Union (AWS EU regions).
• Strict access restrictions to personal data.
• Encryption of sensitive data in transit and at rest.
• Regular review and updating of our security measures.
Rights of Parents as Data Subjects
The rights described in Section 7 (Your Rights) also apply to legal guardians with respect to the personal data of their child.
2.3 Prohibited Data
It is prohibited to submit or upload data containing sensitive personal data related to identifiable persons, such as: racial or ethnic origin, trade union membership, religion, ideology, sexual life, health data, or criminal offences or convictions.
This prohibition does not apply to voice recordings made by children within the normal use of the App for language learning purposes, which are processed as described in Section 2.2.
3. Data Disclosure
We keep your personal data confidential in accordance with applicable legislation. Unless stated otherwise, your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties. Talky does not sell or assign personal data to third parties.
We may disclose certain personal data as follows:
• To our service providers under contracts for the provision of services. We require all third parties to respect the security of your data and process it in accordance with the law.
• To any company interested in acquiring Talky or a part of the business, for due diligence purposes.
• To authorities to investigate suspicions of fraud, harassment, or violations of law.
4. Third-Party Service Providers and International Transfers
We use the following third-party service providers to operate our services:
• Amazon Web Services (AWS): Cloud infrastructure and data storage. Data is stored exclusively on AWS servers located within the European Union. We have entered into Data Processing Agreements with AWS including Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) as approved by the EU Commission.
• OpenAI (Whisper): Voice-to-text processing for language analysis. OpenAI is located in the United States. We have entered into Data Processing Agreements including SCCs with OpenAI. Voice data shared with OpenAI is pseudonymized prior to transmission.
You may contact us to consult or obtain copies of the relevant data processing agreements.
5. Data Retention
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. For voice recordings, the specific retention periods described in Section 2.2 apply. We may anonymize personal data for research or statistical purposes, in which case we may retain it indefinitely.
6. Security Measures
We implement security measures as required by law to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of your data and to protect against unauthorized access, modification, or destruction. These measures are in accordance with the guidelines of applicable data protection authorities.
7. Your Rights
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016/679, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:
• Right of access (data subject access request).
• Right to rectification of inaccurate data.
• Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”).
• Right to object to processing based on legitimate interest.
• Right to restriction of processing.
• Right to data portability.
• Right to withdraw consent at any time.
To exercise these rights, contact us at support@talky.tech. Please include a digital copy of your identification document (ID card or passport).
8. General
We reserve the right to amend the terms of this Privacy Policy and will notify you by providing clear notice of changes by email or through the App. If you continue to use our services after such an update, you will be deemed to accept the new terms. If you do not accept the update, please notify us and we will terminate your account and delete your personal data, except where retention is required by law.
Unless specific local regulations provide otherwise, this Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of Germany.
