Privacy Policy
Differently is an augmentative and alternative communication app. It helps non-speaking and minimally speaking people — most often autistic children — communicate by selecting symbols the app speaks aloud.
Who we are
Differently is made by AutismResearch.ai. You can reach us at contact@autismresearch.ai.
The app is intended to be set up and managed by a parent, carer, guardian or therapist on behalf of the person using it. Where we say “you”, we mean that adult account holder.
What we collect
Information you give us
| Data | Why | Where it is stored |
|---|---|---|
| Google account email, name, profile photo | To sign you in and sync across devices | Device and our servers |
| Child's first name | So the app can address them | Device and our servers |
| Birth year | To tailor vocabulary suggestions | Device and our servers |
| Diagnosis (optional) | To tailor the experience | Device and our servers |
| Communication level | To tailor vocabulary suggestions | Device and our servers |
| Primary language | For speech and vocabulary | Device and our servers |
| Free-text notes (optional) | Context you choose to record | Device and our servers |
| Custom symbols and photos you add | To personalise the board | Device only |
| Parent or therapist PIN | To lock the management screens | Device only |
Information collected automatically
| Data | Why | Where it is stored |
|---|---|---|
| Which symbols are tapped, and when | To order the board by what is used, and show progress to parents | Device only |
| Sentences composed and spoken | To show a timeline to parents and therapists | Device only |
| Therapy session and exercise results | For the therapist dashboard | Device only |
| App settings — theme, grid size, voice, board layout | To keep the app the way you set it | Device, and our servers for the board layout |
| Crash diagnostics — error type, stack trace, device model, OS and app version | To find and fix crashes | Sentry (see below) |
What we do not collect
- We do not show advertising, and include no advertising SDKs.
- We do not sell or rent personal information to anyone.
- We do not track users across other apps or websites.
- We do not use the microphone or record audio.
- We do not collect precise location.
Optional AI features
Differently can generate suggestions and companion replies on the device, with no network connection. If cloud-assisted suggestions are enabled in a future release, the app would send only the symbols currently in the sentence, a short list of recently used symbol labels, the time of day, and the child's first name to our server, which forwards them to Anthropic (the Claude API) to generate a response.
We would not send the child's diagnosis, birth year, notes, email or full history. These features are off unless you turn them on, and with them off nothing leaves the device. See Anthropic's privacy policy.
Helping our research (optional, off by default)
Settings has a switch called Help improve Differently. It is off unless you turn it on, and the app behaves identically either way. If you turn it on, once a day we receive a short statistical summary:
- How many symbols were tapped, and how many sentences were spoken
- Average sentence length, week by week
- The share of use per category — for example 40% food, 25% actions
- Which part of the day the app is used
- How many different symbols have been used — a count, not the words
- Your child's age band (e.g. “4–6”, never an exact date), communication level, and your theme and grid settings
Contributions are labelled with a random identifier generated on your device, not your account, so a summary cannot be traced back to you from its contents. Because sending requires you to be signed in, we describe this as pseudonymousrather than fully anonymous. Turning the switch off deletes the summary already shared, not just future ones.
Where data goes
- On your device — most data, in the app's own storage.
- Google Firebase — authentication, and the profile and board layout sync described above. Google acts as our data processor. This data is stored on Google's United States infrastructure.
- Sentry — crash diagnostics only. We have deliberately configured this to exclude personal data: no account identity is attached to a crash report, and we disable the tap-tracking that would otherwise record which symbols were pressed. A crash report tells us where the code failed, not who was using it or what they were saying. See Sentry's privacy policy.
Using the app without an account
You can use Differently as a guest. In guest mode nothing is uploaded — no account, no sync, no server storage. Everything stays on the device. You lose cross-device sync and cloud backup, and all data is lost if the app is uninstalled.
Children's privacy
This app is designed to be used by children and set up by an adult.
- An adult must complete onboarding and accept the disclaimer before the app can be used.
- The child's profile is provided by that adult, who decides what to enter. Every field except the first name is optional.
- We do not knowingly allow a child to create an account themselves.
- We do not serve ads or profile children for marketing.
If you believe a child has provided us information without a parent's involvement, contact contact@autismresearch.ai and we will delete it.
How long we keep data
- Data on the device stays until you delete it in the app or uninstall.
- Data on our servers stays until you ask us to delete your account.
- Usage logs on the device are capped at the most recent 5,000 entries; older entries are discarded automatically.
Your rights
You can ask us to:
- Access a copy of the data we hold about you
- Correct anything inaccurate
- Delete your account and its server-side data
- Object to or restrict processing
- Withdraw consent for optional features at any time, in Settings
Email contact@autismresearch.ai and we will respond within 30 days. Depending on where you live you may also complain to your data protection authority.
Security
Data in transit is encrypted with HTTPS. Access to our servers is restricted, and our database rules limit each account to reading and writing only its own data. No system is perfectly secure, but we will notify affected users and the relevant authority of a breach as required by law.
Medical disclaimer
Differently is a communication aid. It is not a medical device, and it does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition. Nothing it shows — including suggestions, insights or progress charts — is medical advice. Always consult a qualified speech-language pathologist or clinician.
Changes
If we change this policy materially we will notify you in the app before the change takes effect. The “last updated” date above always reflects the current version.