Privacy

Last updated 1 November 2026

In short

You don't have to sign in. If you don't, everything stays on this device. Nothing about you is sent anywhere.
If a parent signs in, Jotter keeps your first name or nickname, your school year and how your practice is going, so it's there on any device.
Only your parent can see it. No adverts, no tracking, and it's never sold or shared.
It can all be deleted, whenever your parent likes. If nobody uses it for 2 years, it's deleted anyway.
Questions? Email jotter-maths-support@googlegroups.com.

For parents: the details

Who looks after it

Jotter is run by Steven Webster, a parent in Scotland, and was made for their own family. Steven Webster is responsible for your information (the “controller”, in data protection law). Get in touch at jotter-maths-support@googlegroups.com.

What's kept, and why

Signed out, nothing leaves the device: see what's kept on this device.

Signing in keeps this, so progress is saved on every device:

About you, the parent: your Google account's email address, plus the name and profile picture Google passes on when you sign in (Jotter doesn't show or use them), a user ID, and when you joined and last signed in.
Your household: the parent PIN, scrambled so it can't be read back.
About each child: the first name or nickname you give, their school year, and a colour for their initial.
Their progress: for each finished round, which skill, how each question went (right first time, with help, skipped or missed), and when; and where they've got to in a lesson, including the question and what they typed.
Their “not how we do it in class” flags: which method step of which skill, what's different if they picked one (the steps, the words, or how it's set out), and when. They're for you to look at, and aren't sent to anyone else.
Their way of working a skill: for a skill that classes teach more than one way, which way they've chosen, and when. When they switch, a note for you saying which skill, from which way to which, and when. No school is asked for or kept.
Their “I think I was right” flags: on a question marked wrong, which skill, the numbers in the question, what they typed and the answer Jotter expected, and when. They're for you to look at. Nothing is sent to anyone unless you choose to email it to us.

It's used only to save progress and show it back: the rings for each skill and the suggestion of what to do next are worked out from it. Nothing is decided about anyone, there are no adverts or analytics, nothing is sold or shared, and Jotter never emails you.

The legal basis is legitimate interests: saving the progress you ask Jotter to save. It's kept to the least it needs: no surname, age, school or photo of a child.

Who else handles it

Jotter is built on Google services, which handle the information for Jotter under Google's data processing terms:

Firebase Hosting serves the pages. Like any web host, Google sees your IP address and browser when it does. Jotter doesn't collect these logs.
Firebase Authentication handles signing in. Signing in itself is Google's own service, under Google's privacy policy.
Cloud Firestore stores your household, in London (europe-west2).
App Check, with reCAPTCHA Enterprise, checks requests really come from Jotter, which keeps your household safe. It runs only while a parent is signed in or signing in, and looks at signals from your browser and device to do it.

Firebase Authentication and reCAPTCHA are run by Google largely in the United States. Google protects those transfers with the safeguards UK law requires (the UK–US data bridge and standard contract terms).

Steven can see the stored information in Firebase's console, and looks only if something needs fixing, or if you ask.

How long it's kept, and deleting it

It's kept until you delete it, or until nobody's used it for 2 years. Then your household, every learner, all their progress and your sign-in are deleted. Jotter checks for these once a year, each August.

To delete it yourself:

Everything: signed in, open your account, then Manage, then Delete everything. Google asks you to sign in once more, then your household, every learner, all their progress and your sign-in are deleted.
One child: Manage, then Remove beside their name.
This device: signed out, tap Sign in, then Clear this device. To remove Firebase's empty storage and the offline copy too, clear this site's data in your browser's settings.

Your rights

You can ask for a copy of your information, have it corrected or deleted, ask for it not to be used, or object to how it's used. Email jotter-maths-support@googlegroups.com, and you'll get a reply within a month. If you're not happy with the answer, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

What's kept on this device

Jotter keeps these in your browser, signed in or not. Each one is needed for something you've asked Jotter to do, which is why there's no cookie banner. Jotter sets no cookies of its own.

Kept as	What it's for
`mt.lesson.…` local storage, one per skill	Where they've got to in a lesson, so they can carry on. Signed out only. Gone when they finish the round.
`mt.rounds` local storage	How their finished rounds went, for the rings that show how well they know each skill. Signed out only. The last 10 rounds of each skill.
`mt.flags` local storage	The method steps they've said aren't how their class does it, with what's different if they said, the questions they think were marked wrong, with what they typed and Jotter's answer, and when they switched to another way of working a skill, and when, for you to look at. Signed out only.
`mt.variants` local storage	Which way they work each skill that's taught more than one way, if they've chosen one. Signed out only.
`mt.milestones.…` local storage, one per learner	Badges and the week's dots they've already seen, so they aren't shown twice.
`mt.tours.…` local storage, one per learner	Which guided tours they've seen, so each is shown once. One more, "parent", for the tour of parent mode.
`mt.parentPin` local storage	The parent PIN, scrambled so it can't be read back. Signed out only: signed in, it's kept with your household.
`mt.parentUnlocked` session storage	That parent mode is unlocked. Gone when the tab closes.
`mt.learner.…` local storage, one per parent	Which of your learners is practising on this device. Signed in only.
`mt.sounds` local storage	Whether sounds are on.
`mt.soundsOffered` local storage	That they've been asked about sounds, so they aren't asked again.
`mt.theme` local storage	Light or dark, if they've picked one.
`firebaseLocalStorageDb` IndexedDB	Keeps a parent signed in. Made on every visit, but empty unless you sign in.
`firebase-heartbeat-database` IndexedDB	Firebase notes which versions of its code ran on which days. Sent to Google only with a signed-in parent's requests.
`Firestore's copy of your household` IndexedDB	Signed in only: a copy of your learners and their progress, so Jotter works offline.
`firebase-app-check-database` IndexedDB	Signed in only: App Check's pass, which shows Google the requests really come from Jotter.
`jotter-v1 (offline copy)` offline cache	The pages and pictures you've opened, so Jotter works without a connection. Nothing about you.

Google's cookies. While a parent is signed in or signing in, reCAPTCHA sets a cookie on google.com (_GRECAPTCHA) as part of its checks, and Google's sign-in uses Google's own cookies. Neither is set for a visit without signing in.

Changes

If this changes, this page will say so, with a new date at the top.