Privacy policy
Last updated: 14 October 2026
Heart Steps is a learning and exploration game for children aged 3 to 8, made by hivup ("hivup", "we", "us"). Children explore 3D worlds and investigate science, nature, maths, engineering and music with Pip, a friendly red panda guide. We built it so that a child’s play stays with the family: it has no accounts, no ads and no tracking. This policy explains, in plain language, what information Heart Steps uses, why, and the choices you have.
The short version
- Heart Steps has no accounts and no sign-up. Profiles, progress and settings stay on your device.
- Children choose an explorer nickname and an age group, never their real full name, birthday or address.
- The Android app works offline and does not send your child’s information to us or anyone else.
- Online Pip is optional and off by default. It needs a grown-up’s approval, and it never sends your child’s nickname.
- There are no ads, no in-app purchases, and no analytics or tracking.
- Heart Steps does not use the camera, microphone or location.
1. Information kept on your device
Heart Steps saves the following in the app’s own storage on your device:
- up to 12 explorer profiles: each explorer’s nickname, learning age group and chosen explorer character;
- progress: discoveries, Wonder Stars, creature cards, badges, missions, experiment answers, the field journal (the most recent 64 expedition rounds) and pictures taken with the in-game Nature Camera, which photographs the 3D game world only;
- family settings: your family PIN (saved only as a one-way hash, never as the number itself), time limits, gentle-motion and sound choices, and records of learning time used for those limits.
We do not receive any of this. If you choose Export backup, the backup file is created on your device for you to keep; it does not include your family PIN. Uninstalling the app, clearing its data or using Erase this app’s data in Family settings removes it.
2. No accounts
Heart Steps has no sign-in, no cloud accounts and no cloud sync. We never ask for an email address, phone number or real name, and there is no way for children to share personal information with other people in the app.
3. Online Pip (optional, grown-up approved)
Pip’s built-in guidance works without an internet connection, and the Android app uses only that. Where online Pip is available (in the web version of Heart Steps), it is off until a grown-up approves it with the family PIN and a separate grown-up access code. An approval lasts at most one hour.
When online Pip is approved and your child asks Pip a question, Heart Steps sends our server:
- the generic name “Explorer” (never your child’s nickname or profile);
- your child’s learning age group;
- what they are exploring (the world, place or discovery) and the question they asked.
Our server then asks Claude, an AI model by Anthropic, to write Pip’s reply. Anthropic processes this information to produce the reply under its commercial terms: it does not use it to train its models, and may keep it for a short period for safety and abuse monitoring before deleting it. Our server does not keep the questions or replies after answering, and Heart Steps does not save questions in the field journal. Your family PIN, the access code and any keys are never sent with a question.
Pip is guided to use simple, kind language, stay age-appropriate, never ask for personal details, keep facts accurate, and say when something in the game is a simplified model of the real world.
4. Voice and sound
When Pip reads aloud, Heart Steps uses your device’s own text-to-speech. Music and sounds are built into the app. Heart Steps never records audio and does not use the microphone or camera.
5. Information we do not collect
- No advertising identifiers, no ads, and no third-party analytics or tracking tools.
- No precise location, contacts, photos or files from your device.
- No payment information: Heart Steps has no in-app purchases.
- No selling or renting of personal information, ever.
6. Who we share information with
| Who | What | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic (Claude) | The online Pip information in section 3, only when a grown-up has approved online Pip | To write Pip’s replies |
| Our hosting provider | Short-lived server traffic for online Pip | To run our servers securely |
| Authorities | Only what the law requires | If we are legally required, or to protect a child’s safety |
7. How long we keep information
- Information on your device: until you delete it, erase the app’s data or uninstall the app.
- Online Pip questions and replies: not stored by our server after the reply is sent.
- Our servers briefly use your IP address in memory to prevent abuse (rate limiting); we do not store it.
8. Security
Online Pip traffic is encrypted (HTTPS). The family PIN is stored only as a one-way hash, and AI keys stay on our servers, never in the app. No system is perfectly secure, but we work hard to protect your information and will tell you if something goes wrong that affects you, as the law requires.
9. Children’s privacy
Heart Steps is designed for children, with grown-ups in control. It works without accounts, keeps a child’s play on the family’s own device, and turns online features on only with a grown-up’s approval. We designed Heart Steps with children’s privacy laws in mind, including India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the UK and EU GDPR.
10. Your choices
- Leave online Pip off, or revoke an approval at any time. Heart Steps keeps working offline.
- Delete everything Heart Steps stored on a device in Family settings → Erase this app’s data, or by uninstalling the app. See how to delete Heart Steps data.
- Questions or requests: email support@hivup.pro. We reply within 30 days.
11. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will update the date at the top. For important changes, such as anything that would send more information from the app, we will let families know before the change applies.
12. Contact us
Questions or concerns about privacy, including grievances under India’s data protection law, can be sent to support@hivup.pro. hivup, India.