Ello Privacy Policy

Plain-English Privacy Policy

Welcome to Ello! We wanted to provide you an easy to understand version of our privacy policy as well as the legal version to the right. This applies to all our services including our website and mobile app.

Ello Technology, Inc. (“Ello”, “we” or “us”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, store, use and distribute information through our software, website, documentation, and related services (together, the “Services”).

Here is a summary of our Privacy principles:

What we do

  • We use the latest security best practices to keep all user data safe.
  • We will collect, use, share and retain data only for purposes outlined in this policy. We will seek consent for information not listed in this policy.
  • If you give us permission, we collect audio recordings of your child to improve Ello. We aim to limit the collection of information to only data that is specifically required for the use and product development of Ello.
  • We are compliant with COPPA regulations.
  • We will notify users of any changes in our Privacy Policy.

What we don't do

  • We do not sell your personal information to third parties.
  • We will never advertise third-party products on Ello, or display targeted advertisements on our services.
  • No data is collected by third parties for their own purposes and no data is shared with third parties for their research purposes.
  • We do not obtain any personal information from a third party. We do not create user profiles for personalized advertisements.

1. Consent

By using the Services, you consent to the use of your Personal Information as described in this Privacy Policy. The mobile app is intended to be used by students in pre-K to Grade 3, and parents assisting these students. The website is intended to be used by parents. If you are not of legal age to form a binding contract (in many jurisdictions, this age is 18), you may only use the Services and disclose information to us with your parent’s or legal guardian’s express consent. Review this Privacy Policy with your parent or legal guardian to make sure you understand it. Except as set forth in this Privacy Policy, your Personal Information will not be used for any other purpose without your consent. You may withdraw your consent to our processing of your Personal Information at any time.

Intended Use
Ello is primarily used and designed for children under 13 years of age and their parents. It is primarily marketed to their parents and to schools for preschool and K-12 purposes. Managed accounts for parents or teachers are not available at this time.

Ello does not contract with a school or educational authority at this time. As such, Ello does not provide a contract to a Local Educational Agency, nor does it designate itself as a ‘School Official’ under FERPA.

Ello does not allow social interactions on its product at this time. As such, users cannot interact with other users, including strangers and/or adults, no social interactions are logged and profile information is not shared for social interactions or displayed publicly.

What we collect from you

We collect and store the data that we need to run the service including the information you provide to sign up, which includes information you share about your child to help us tailor our services. We also collect billing information so we can process your payment. Should the purpose or context in which data is collected change, we will notify you by updating this privacy policy, and posting the date of the update at the top of this policy.

2. Collection of Information

Registration Information

When registering for the Services, we may require you to provide certain personally identifiable information, such as your name, email, phone, address, child’s first name, child’s grade and reading level, and child’s interests. Your Registration Information, together with any other information we gather through the Services that may be used to identify, contact, or locate you individually, are collectively referred to herein as your “Personal Information.”

Ello does not share any personal information with large language models (LLMs) or any third parties. Any personal information combined with non-personally identifiable information will also be treated as personal information.

Sensitive Information
Ello does not collect sensitive information such as: political affiliations, religious beliefs, philosophical beliefs, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, health data, genetic information, geolocation data, biometric data, criminal history, credit or financial data, trade union and membership information or personal identification (ID) numbers including those of a license, social security, state ID cards or passports.

Data Integration and Profiling
Data collected or maintained by Ello is not augmented, extended or combined with data from third-party sources. Neither Ello nor a third party will verify your identity with additional personal information.

Data

You may be able to create, upload, publish, transmit, distribute, display, store or share information, data, text, graphics, video, messages or other materials using our Services. Some of this Data may be stored and maintained on our servers.

You cannot interact with other users through our services at this time, nor can you share data with our users through our services. There are no postings or social interactions to moderate, log, filter or block on our services.

We aim to limit the collection of personal information to only data that is specifically required for the use and product development of Ello. Some behavioral or activity related data is collected such as interaction with app features, on-site purchases and frequency and duration of app or website usage.

Usage and Analytics Information

We may also collect information through the use of commonly-used information-gathering tools, such as cookies, log files, and Web beacons. Collectively, this information is referred to as “Usage and Analytics Information.”

Cookies

We use standard browser cookies to allow us to remember details of a user session. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Services.

Log Files

We gather certain information automatically to analyze trends in the aggregate and administer the Services. This information may include your Internet Protocol (IP) address, your browser type, the pages and files you viewed, your operating system, your actions in connection with our Services, and date/time stamps associated with your usage.

Web Beacons

We use web beacons alone or in conjunction with cookies to compile information about your usage of the Services and interaction with emails from us.

3. Facebook Pixel

We use the “advertising pixel” from Facebook Inc. on our website. This allows user behavior to be tracked after they have been redirected to the provider’s website by clicking on a Facebook ad.

How we use your information

We use your information for three purposes: to provide the service, to collect payment, and as part of our marketing efforts.

4. Use of Information

We use the information we collect in the following ways:

  • Registration Information: We use this information to manage your account, to provide the Services, to maintain our customer/visitor lists, to respond to your inquiries, for identification and authentication purposes, for service improvement, and to address issues like malicious use of the Services.
  • Billing Information: We use Billing Information to manage your account, to provide the Services, to process and deliver orders, and to check the financial qualifications of prospective customers and to collect payment for the Services.
  • Data: We use this information for the purpose of administering and improving our Services to you.
  • Usage and Analytics Information: We use this information to analyze overall trends, to help us improve the Services, to track and aggregate non-personal information, and to provide the Services.

Who do we share your information with?

We will never sell your information to anyone.

5. Disclosures & Transfers

We will not disclose or transfer your Personal Information to third parties without your permission, except as specified in this Privacy Policy.

Response to Legal Requests

In the event that Ello receives a government or legal request for user information, we are committed to providing notice to the affected users unless prohibited by law.

Who we don’t share data with:

Ello does not have affiliates or subsidiaries with which it shares data.

Successor Entities

We may also disclose your Personal Information in connection with a corporate re-organization, a merger or amalgamation with another entity, or a sale of all or a substantial portion of our assets or stock.

What is the privacy policy outside of the US?

You can’t use the service outside of the US. Sorry.

6. Non-US Users

These Services are hosted in the United States and are intended primarily for visitors located within the United States.

Protecting your information

We do our best to look after your information.

7. Security.

The security of your Personal Information is important to us. We use commercially reasonable efforts to store and maintain your Personal Information in a secure environment.

How long we hold on to your info

We will only keep it for as long as needed for the intended purpose.

8. Retention

We will keep your Personal Information for as long as it remains necessary for the identified purpose or as required by law.

Can you change your privacy policy?

Yes, but we’ll let you know beforehand.

9. Amendment of this Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time.

Changelog

Past policy versions are publicly available for review.

Can I see what information you have on me, and change it if needed?

Yes. Just email support@ello.com.

10. Access and Accuracy

You have the right to access the Personal Information we hold about you in order to verify the Personal Information we have collected in respect to you.

11. Notice to California Consumers

Under California Civil Code Sections 1798.83-1798.84, California residents are entitled to ask us for a notice identifying the categories of Personal Information which we share with third parties for marketing purposes.

What information do you collect from my child? And what do you do with it?

We have the information you provide us as part of the sign up process which we use to tailor and provide the service.

IF you give us permission, we may then collect audio recordings of your child. This is optional and the service will work without this, although you may miss out on some features.

We use this audio for two reasons:

  1. To provide additional features to your child, such as being able to hear themselves read.
  2. To improve our product more generally.

12. Children

This section explains our information collection, disclosure, parental consent practices and parental choice procedures with respect to information provided by children under the age of 13. This policy is in accordance with the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

Collection: Ello collects information about Children directly from their parents and guardians (“Parents”).

Use and Disclosure

Parent-Supplied Information: Ello uses Parent-Supplied Information in order to provide Parents and their Children with custom tailored services, including preparing a custom-tailored box of books for the Child to read.

Parental Consent: Ello obtains verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from your Child by requiring you to provide your credit card information at the time of subscribing to our Services.

Is Ello a safe experience?

We endeavor to provide an age-appropriate and safe experience.

13. Contact Us

You can help by keeping us informed of any changes such as a change of email address or telephone number. If you would like to access your information, if you would like to request all the personal information that Ello has shared with third parties, or if you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please contact us at support@helloello.com or by mail at:

Ello Technology, Inc.

24 Shotwell St, San Francisco, CA 94103