Your privacy matters.

1. Who We Are

Data controller: withsonder (withsonder.ai). Contact: privacy@withsonder.ai or hello@withsonder.ai.

2. What Data We Collect

Account information

• Name and email address
• Age range (to keep the experience appropriate; minimum age 13)
• Preferred language and companion settings
• Optional study details you choose to give: year group, exam board, subjects, and your school or college (picked from the public register of UK schools). We use these only to match the level and exam board of the help you get. We do not tell your school, and school staff cannot see them. You can change or remove them in your profile at any time.
• Optional goal: if you choose a target college or sixth form (up to three), plus the subjects and grades you tell us, we save them. The college name is shared with our AI provider so your companion can help you plan, and we read that college's own public website to find its entry requirements. We never contact the college about you.
• Optional: if you join a school pilot with a code, we record which school. The school only sees group totals (for example how many students are active), never your name or your chats.
• Subscription / billing status (processed by Stripe on web; Apple or Google on mobile apps)

Usage data

• Conversation history with your companion
• Files and images you upload
• Learning profile data
• Companion notes: every few messages your companion saves a few short notes about you, such as a pet's name, a hobby, a favourite team, an exam date or what helps you learn, so it can remember you next time. We ask it not to keep anything about health, family problems, bullying or other sensitive subjects, or personal details such as addresses or phone numbers. These notes are sent to our AI provider with each reply so your companion can use them. You can ask your companion to forget something, and you can delete your account at any time, which deletes the notes.
• Usage statistics in the iPhone app (from version 1.0.3): a random device ID that is not linked to your account, which screens are used, and when something fails or an error happens. This never includes your name, email, IP address or anything you type. It is used only to find and fix problems, and is deleted after 90 days.

3. How We Use Your Data

• To provide and personalise the Sonder companion experience
• To process messages and optional file uploads with our AI provider
• To apply safety / safeguarding checks and signpost crisis help when needed
• To process subscription payments and prevent fraud
• To improve the product using limited technical logs (we do not sell chat content)

We do not use your data for advertising. We do not sell your data to third parties.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

• Contract: Delivering the service you have paid for
• Legitimate interests: Improving our service, fraud prevention, safeguarding
• Legal obligation: Safeguarding disclosures required by law

5. Children's Data

We aim to follow the spirit of the UK Children's Code. Sonder accounts are for users aged 13+. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. We do not sell personal data. We do not use children's data for advertising profiling. You can delete your account and associated data from the app Profile (or by emailing us).

6. Data Sharing

We share data only with: Anthropic (AI processing of chat and allowed uploads), Stripe (website payments), Resend (sending account emails such as password reset codes), Google Analytics (anonymous website statistics, only if you accept cookies), Apple / Google (in-app purchases where you buy Premium in the app), our hosting provider, and authorities only if required by law or to protect someone from serious harm.

7. Data Retention

• Conversation history and companion notes: 12 months from last activity
• Account data: deleted within 30 days of account deletion
• Billing records: 7 years (legal requirement)
• Safeguarding alert logs: 7 years (legal requirement)

8. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict, port, and object to processing of your data. Email privacy@withsonder.ai — we respond within 30 days.

9. Complaints

You have the right to complain to the ICO: ico.org.uk · 0303 123 1113

10. Cookies and analytics

The chat and account pages use no analytics or advertising cookies. On our public website pages (home, parents, schools, guides, blog and sign-up) we would like to use Google Analytics to see which pages are useful. It only runs if you press Accept on the cookie banner; if you press No thanks, nothing is sent to Google and no analytics cookie is set. We turn off Google's advertising features and IP addresses are anonymised. We never use this data for advertising and never sell it. You can change your choice at any time with "Cookie settings" in the footer. The service is provided by Google LLC, which acts as our processor.