Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 13, 2025  ·  Effective: May 13, 2025

1. Who We Are

Dadly ("we," "our," or "us") is a mobile application and companion service designed for expecting and new fathers. We help dads understand what's happening during pregnancy and in the newborn stage — in plain English, without jargon, at any hour of the day.

You can reach us at support@dadlyapp.com with any privacy questions.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly and information generated as you use the app.

Account information

• Name and email address
• Password (stored as a one-way hash — never in plain text)
• Sign-in method (email/password or third-party login such as Apple or Google)

Pregnancy & baby information

• Due date or birth date
• Pregnancy stage or baby's current age
• Any additional context you choose to share (e.g. twin pregnancy, specific health conditions you mention in conversation)

Conversations and uploads

• Questions and messages you send to Dadly's AI assistant
• Documents or scan reports you choose to upload (e.g. ultrasound reports, blood-test results) for plain-English explanation
• AI-generated responses to your queries

Usage and device data

• App usage events (e.g. screens visited, features used) via Mixpanel analytics
• Device type, operating system version, and app version
• Crash logs and error reports to help us fix bugs
• IP address (used for fraud prevention and approximate region detection; not stored long-term)

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Provide and personalise the Dadly experience — including contextual answers tailored to your pregnancy stage or baby's age
• Explain documents you upload in plain English
• Send weekly briefs and service notifications (you can opt out at any time)
• Improve app quality, fix bugs, and develop new features based on aggregated, anonymised usage patterns
• Maintain account security and detect abuse
• Comply with legal obligations

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not use your data for advertising targeting or share it with advertising networks.

4. AI & Language Model Providers

Dadly currently uses AI services from providers that may include OpenAI and/or Anthropic. We will update this list if our providers change.

What this means for you:

• API-only access. We access these models through their APIs, not through consumer products. At the API level, providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic contractually commit to not using your data to train their models by default. Please review their respective API data usage policies for the authoritative terms.
• Minimise what you share. We recommend you avoid sharing full names, addresses, or NHS / insurance numbers in your messages. Describe your situation in general terms — e.g. "my partner's 20-week scan showed a low-lying placenta" — rather than uploading unredacted documents if you are concerned about privacy.
• Conversation storage. We store your conversation history on our servers so the AI can provide contextual, personalised responses across sessions. You can request deletion at any time (see Section 9).
• No re-identification. We do not attempt to re-identify anonymised data, and we do not combine your Dadly data with external data sets to build marketing profiles.

5. Health Information

Dadly collects information that relates to health and pregnancy. We treat this data with the highest level of care. Specifically:

• Health-related data is encrypted at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.2+)
• Access to health data is restricted to staff who need it to operate the service
• We do not share health data with insurers, employers, pharmaceutical companies, or data brokers
• We do not use your health data to build advertising profiles

Dadly is not a covered entity under HIPAA (the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) because we are not a healthcare provider, health plan, or healthcare clearinghouse. However, we voluntarily apply healthcare-grade data handling practices to all health-related information you share.

Dadly is not regulated as a medical device by the FDA, MHRA, or any other regulatory body. It is an informational and educational tool only.

6. Data Sharing

We share your data only in these limited circumstances:

• AI providers — as described in Section 4, your message content is sent to LLM providers to generate responses.
• Infrastructure providers — we use cloud hosting, databases, and analytics services (such as Mixpanel and Vercel) to run the app. These providers process data only on our behalf and under strict data processing agreements.
• Legal requirements — we may disclose data if required by a valid court order, subpoena, or applicable law, or to protect the safety of users or the public.
• Business transfers — if Dadly is acquired or merges with another company, your data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email or in-app notice and give you the option to delete your account before the transfer takes effect.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information.

7. Cookies & Analytics

Our website uses minimal cookies for session management. The app uses Mixpanel to collect anonymous usage events (e.g. "onboarding completed," "question asked"). These events do not include the content of your messages. You can opt out of analytics tracking in app settings.

8. Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active, plus a 90-day grace period after deletion to allow account recovery. After that, data is permanently deleted from our systems within 30 days.

Anonymised, aggregated usage statistics (which cannot identify you) may be retained indefinitely to help us improve the product.

Uploaded documents (e.g. scan reports) are stored for 12 months and then automatically deleted, unless you delete them earlier.

9. Your Rights & Choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the following rights:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Correction — ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Deletion — request deletion of your account and personal data
• Portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format
• Restriction — ask us to stop processing your data in certain ways
• Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Opt out of analytics — disable Mixpanel tracking in app settings at any time

To exercise any of these rights, email support@dadlyapp.com with the subject line "Privacy Request." We will respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request.

California residents (CCPA): You have the right to know what personal information we collect, the right to delete it, and the right to opt out of its sale (we do not sell personal information). To submit a request, email us or use the "Delete My Account" option in app settings.

UK & EU residents (UK GDPR / GDPR): Our lawful basis for processing is your consent (for health data and AI processing) and our legitimate interests (for analytics and security). You have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority (e.g. the ICO in the UK).

10. Security

We use industry-standard safeguards including:

• TLS 1.2+ encryption for all data in transit
• AES-256 encryption for data at rest
• Passwords stored as bcrypt hashes — never in plain text
• Access controls limiting staff access to production data
• Regular security reviews and dependency updates

No system is perfectly secure. If you believe your account has been compromised, please contact us immediately at support@dadlyapp.com.

11. Children's Privacy

Dadly is intended for adults (18 years and older). We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 13. If we learn that a child under 13 has provided us with personal data, we will delete it promptly. If you believe a child has created a Dadly account, please contact us.

12. International Data Transfers

Dadly is based in the United Kingdom. If you use our service from the EU or other regions, your data may be transferred to and processed in the UK and the United States (where our AI providers and cloud infrastructure are based). Where required, we rely on Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent transfer mechanisms to protect your data during international transfers.

13. Third-Party Links

The app or website may link to third-party sites (e.g. NHS information pages, parenting resources). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. We encourage you to read their privacy policies before providing any personal information.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you via email (to the address on your account) and by posting a notice in the app at least 14 days before the changes take effect. Your continued use of Dadly after that date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy. If you do not agree, you can delete your account before the changes take effect.

15. Contact Us

For any privacy questions, requests, or concerns, please contact us:

Email: support@dadlyapp.com
Subject line: Privacy Request

We aim to respond to all privacy enquiries within 5 business days and to fulfil verified requests within 30 days.