Questions parents ask

Is it a subscription or a one-time payment?

One payment, once: $9.99. Nothing renews, and there is no cancellation screen because there is nothing to cancel. If you reinstall or move to a new phone, Restore purchases brings the unlock back.

Is it really free, or free until it isn’t?

Really free. 75 words and 35 phrases stay free forever — 25 words for each of the three age stages, plus 35 phrases — in all 8 languages, with both voices. No trial clock, no card to enter, no day when it stops working. Paying adds the rest of the library; it never switches anything off.

Are there ads?

No — none anywhere, and no ad networks in the app. On Android the advertising-ID permission is blocked outright in the app’s own manifest, and our Firebase configuration switches off advertising-ID collection, ad storage, and ad personalization. We sell nothing and share nothing with advertisers. A one-time price is what makes that possible.

Does it work without wifi?

Yes, completely. Every word, illustration, and audio clip ships inside the app — 24,000+ clips of it. On a plane, in a car, or in a waiting room with no signal, all of it still works. Nothing streams, and nothing downloads later.

Will raising my child bilingual delay their speech?

No — and this one is well studied. Nationwide Children’s Hospital puts it plainly: “Learning two languages in childhood does not cause confusion or language delay.” Bilingual children reach the same milestones on the same schedule.

The app doesn’t change that either way. It is not therapy and not an assessment — it is words and pictures for a parent already raising a child in more than one language, so the word is ready when the moment arrives. If you are worried about your child’s speech, ask your pediatrician.

Won’t two languages confuse a toddler?

No. Children keep two languages apart from very early on, and mixing words from both inside one sentence is a normal part of using both — not a sign of confusion. What the app does about it is practical: the same picture carries the word in whichever language you pick, so switching is one tap.

Is screen time okay for a baby?

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends avoiding screen media before about 18 months, apart from video chat, and limiting ages 2 to 5 to about an hour a day of high-quality programming watched together. We think that is right, and the app is built for the short, shared end of it.

A card sits still until you move it. Auto Play is off by default. No streak prompts, no nudging reminders, no reward for staying longer. The best version of this app is the one you put down after two minutes.

Does my toddler even need an app?

Honestly, no. What children need is you talking to them. In 2003 Patricia Kuhl showed that nine-month-olds picked up the sounds of a new language from a live person in the room, and learned nothing measurable from the same material on video or audio alone. Recordings do not teach babies; people do.

So the app does not try to. It hands you the picture, the word, and a native voice to copy, then gets out of the way while you say it. That is why no character talks at your toddler.

Do I need an account?

No. The app works with no account and no sign-in at all. Your child’s profile, progress, and favorites stay on the device and never reach our servers. Signing in with Apple or Google is optional and does one thing: saves that data to the cloud so it follows you to another device.

What do you collect about my child?

Only what you enter or pick, and only if you sign in: your child’s first name; an age range (0–24 months, 2–3 years, or 3–5 years — never a birthday); the character and accessory you choose for their avatar, and the avatar image built from them; the content language; and display and playback preferences such as voice, auto-advance, sound, and whether card text is shown. Plus what the app records as you use it: words and phrases marked learned or said, favorites, session timestamps, and milestone events. That is the complete list.

We do not collect your child’s last name, email, date of birth, photo, voice recordings, precise location, or any biometric data. The app blocks the microphone permission outright and asks for no camera, contacts, or location — it plays audio and never records. There are no third-party analytics, attribution, or session-replay tools, and our own analytics is off unless you turn it on, in every region. If the app crashes it sends us a crash report — device model, OS and app version, and a technical stack trace, with no names, ages, or learning data in it. And with no account, the profile and progress above never leave the device. Full detail is in the privacy policy.

Can more than one child use it?

Yes — up to 4 child profiles. Each one keeps its own name, age stage, avatar, language, voice, and progress, and you switch between them inside the app. One purchase covers all of them; you never pay per child.

Can my partner use the purchase on their phone?

On Apple, yes. The purchase supports Family Sharing, so anyone in your Apple family group can use it on their own iPhone or iPad. On Google Play, no — Google does not offer family sharing for in-app purchases, so a second Android phone on a different Google account needs its own purchase. Better you hear that here than afterwards.

What ages is it for?

Ages 0 to 5. You pick one of three word stages for each child, and you can change it whenever you like:

• First Words — 0–24 months
• Growing Words — 2–3 years
• Word Builder — 3–5 years

Each stage draws on its own set of words, so a 10-month-old and a 4-year-old are not handed the same cards. Phrases are not split by stage — they run from a two-word request to a short sentence, and you choose what fits.

Who are the voices?

Each language has two native voices — one female, one male — and both say every card in both libraries: 1,547 cards, 24,000+ clips. They’re produced with a professional studio-grade speech service rather than in a recording booth, which is how every card can sound the same in all eight languages. Every clip is checked by machine and then listened to by a person before it ships; anything off is redone. There are no recordings of children anywhere in it.

Which languages are included, and are they all in the one price?

All eight are in the app the moment you install it: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Korean, and Russian — and all eight are in the free set too. There is no per-language purchase, no language pack, and no download. The $9.99 unlock is the same eight languages with far more words and phrases inside them.

Can I teach a language I don’t speak?

Partly — and the limit is worth being honest about. You can use the app to introduce words in a language you do not speak: the illustration carries the meaning, and the native voice gives you something accurate to copy, which beats guessing pronunciation from spelling. What it cannot do is make either of you fluent. A child mostly learns a language from the people who speak it around them — if this is a heritage language and there is a grandparent on a video call, that does far more than the app alone.

How many words should my 2-year-old say?

Around 50 is the usual benchmark. ASHA’s milestones for 19 to 24 months list “uses and understands at least 50 different words” along with putting two words together, like more water. The range around that is wide, and a bilingual child’s words are spread across both languages, so count them together.

This app is a set of flashcards, not a screener. It does not assess delay and it does not treat it. If something feels off, your pediatrician or a speech-language pathologist is the right call — asking early costs nothing.

Are flashcards good for babies?

Naming things together is good for babies. Drilling them is not. There is no good evidence that quizzing a baby with cards makes them talk sooner, and a great deal that back-and-forth talk with a person does. So use these like a picture book: say the word, wait, say it again when they look up, and stop when they are done. Mark Learned is there so you know where you left off — it is not a score.

Can I turn things off — sound, auto play?

Yes, and most of it is off or optional already. Auto Play is off by default: cards wait for you, and you can set it to On or On (Loop). Sound has its own switch. You can hide the written word and show only the picture, and pick the female or male voice per child. Lock ignores stray taps so a grabby toddler cannot skip the card — it becomes available once Auto Play is running, and you hold a ring to unlock. Every setting is remembered for that child.

What exactly does $9.99 unlock?

The rest of the library. Free gives you 75 words and 35 phrases. The purchase opens all 1,021 words across 16 categories and all 526 phrases across 9 themes, in all 8 languages with both voices — and since everything is already inside the app, it unlocks instantly with nothing to download. One payment, every child profile on your device, forever.

How do I get a refund?

Through Apple or Google, not through us. They take the payment, so they handle refunds — we genuinely cannot process one ourselves. On iPhone or iPad, go to reportaproblem.apple.com. On Android, follow Google Play’s refund policy. If a refund is granted the unlock is removed, and the free 75 words and 35 phrases stay.

How do I delete my data?

In the app: Account → Delete account. It is immediate and cannot be undone. If you never made an account there is nothing on our servers to delete — removing the app takes the data off the device with it. Deleting your account does not remove your purchase, which belongs to your Apple or Google account; Restore purchases brings it back. Step-by-step instructions are on the delete account page.