Privacy
How the Watoto Family app and the Watoto Digital Family Hub handle personal data. Last updated 28 September 2026.
What the app is for
The app lets vetted mentor households stay in touch with the children of the Watoto home they are assigned to. It is used only by adults whose accounts were created by the Watoto programme team.
What we collect
| Data | Why | Who can see it |
|---|---|---|
| Your name, the name children use for you, email address, and a password (stored only as a secure hash) | To create your account and let you sign in | You, your household, and the Watoto staff who manage households |
| Your profile photo | So the children know who they are talking to | The children and house mother of your assigned home, your household, and Watoto staff |
| Messages, voice notes and photos you send or receive | To keep you in touch with the children | The people in that conversation, and Watoto's safeguarding team, whose every read is logged |
| Video calls | Calls are recorded to protect the children | Recordings can be watched only by Watoto's safeguarding team, and every viewing is logged |
| Sign-in codes, sessions and an audit log of actions | Security and safeguarding | Watoto staff with the relevant role |
Photos of children shown in the app carry a faint mark identifying the person viewing them, so a shared copy can be traced.
How long we keep it
- Call recordings: 30 days, then deleted.
- Sign-in codes: 10 minutes.
- Messages, voice notes and the audit log: for the life of the programme, unless Watoto sets a shorter period.
Services that process data for us
- Our own servers, which host the app's data and files.
- Amazon Simple Email Service, to send sign-in codes.
- LiveKit, to carry video calls and produce recordings, which are stored on our own servers.
- Wasabi, for encrypted backups. Call recordings are not included in backups.
We do not show advertising, do not track you across other apps or websites, and do not sell personal data.
Children
Children never use this app. They use a shared tablet in their Watoto home, signing in with their own PIN. The children's data held by the programme is used only for the programme and is protected in the same way.
Your rights
You can ask to see, correct or delete your personal data, or to close your account, through your Watoto programme coordinator. Some records, such as the safeguarding audit log, may be kept where the programme needs them to protect children.
Changes
If this notice changes, we will update the date at the top of this page.