Privacy and disclaimer
Last updated 10 October 2026.
Privacy
Hoot Words has no accounts and no analytics, and currently shows no ads. Your progress is saved in your own browser and is never sent to a server.
What is saved, and where
To remember how you are getting on, Hoot Words saves the following in cookies in your own browser, on your own device:
- the first name or nickname you type, and your age if you choose to give it
- your level, how many words you want each day, your voice and sound settings
- the words you have learned, today's words, your streak, points and recent results
These are first-party cookies that Hoot Words needs to work. At the moment they are not used for tracking or advertising, and no third-party cookies are used. They stay on your device for up to about 13 months after you last used the site. Because everything stays in your browser, clearing your cookies, using a private window, or switching to another device or browser starts you fresh unless you export your progress first (see below).
Tip for parents: you can type a nickname instead of a real name. Hoot Words never needs a surname, an email address or any other personal details.
What Hoot Words does not collect
- No accounts, passwords or email addresses
- At the moment: no analytics, tracking pixels, ads or social-media plug-ins (see Advertising below)
- No learning data is sent to Hoot Words or to anyone else (the optional feedback form below only sends what you type into it)
Exporting and importing progress
In Settings you can export your progress as a JSON file and import it again on another device. The file is created and saved by your browser on your device and is never uploaded to Hoot Words. It contains the child's first name or nickname, age, level, words learned and recent results. Treat it like any personal file: keep it somewhere safe and only share it with people you trust. Importing a file is also done entirely inside your browser, and nothing is uploaded.
Sending feedback
The feedback form is optional. If you use it, the message you type, the type of feedback you choose, and your email address (only if you choose to give one) are sent by Hoot Words' server code, running on Cloudflare, as an email to the Hoot Words team. The message is not saved on the website and is not linked to your learning progress. Nothing from your progress, such as your name or words learned, is added automatically. To limit spam, the form checks how often messages arrive from the same internet connection, using Cloudflare's built-in rate limiting, and nothing is stored for that beyond a short time. Please do not include your child's full name or other personal details in a message. If you give an email address, it is only used to reply to you.
Pronunciation (text-to-speech)
Hoot Words reads words aloud using the text-to-speech built into your browser or device. Hoot Words does not send words anywhere itself. Some browsers can use online voices provided by the browser's maker, which is handled by the browser and not by Hoot Words. Voices vary and may mispronounce some words.
Hosting and technical logs
The site is hosted on Cloudflare. Like any website host, Cloudflare handles technical information such as IP addresses and the pages requested in order to deliver and protect the site, and it may keep standard logs. Hoot Words does not use this information to identify or follow individual children.
Deleting your data
Use Settings, then Reset all progress to erase everything Hoot Words has saved in your browser, or clear your browser's cookies for hootwords.com. Delete any exported progress files from your device yourself.
Children
Hoot Words is made for primary school (elementary school) children aged 6 to 12. Parents and guardians should supervise young children online and help them choose what to type and where to keep any exported file.
Advertising and future changes
Hoot Words shows no ads today. Running a website costs money, so we reserve the right to introduce advertising, sponsorship or other ways to help cover running costs in the future. Because Hoot Words is made for children, we would aim to keep anything we show suitable for children, and we do not intend to use advertising that is personalised using children's data. If we ever do introduce ads, this could mean new cookies or third-party services, and we will update this privacy page to explain what changes before it happens.
Changes
If how Hoot Words handles data ever changes, including if advertising is introduced, this page will be updated and the date above will change.
Disclaimer
- Independent. Hoot Words is an independent practice tool that helps children build vocabulary. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to any school, education department or exam provider. Names of tests and organisations mentioned on this site are used only to describe the kind of preparation, belong to their owners, and do not imply endorsement.
- No guarantee. Using Hoot Words cannot guarantee any exam result or school outcome.
- AI-assisted content. Word meanings, pronunciations, synonyms, antonyms and example sentences were written with the help of AI and have not all been checked by a person, so they may contain mistakes. Please check with a dictionary, a teacher or a parent.
- Voices. Spoken pronunciation comes from your browser's voices, which vary and may mispronounce some words.
- Free for now. Hoot Words is free today. We may introduce advertising, sponsorship or other ways to cover running costs in the future (see Advertising and future changes), and we may change or stop features at any time.
- Provided as is. The site is free and provided "as is", without promises that it will always be available or free of errors.