Security & your data

• Encrypted everywhere: every connection to KinderHive uses HTTPS, and our hosting providers encrypt stored data.
• Each nursery is separate: database rules check every request, so people only reach their own nursery’s records, and only the parts their role allows (managers, staff and parents each see different things).
• Photos, videos and documents are kept in private storage and opened through links that expire after 15 minutes. Location data (such as GPS) is removed from photos before upload.
• Strong sign-in: passwords, optional passkeys, and two-step sign-in (an authenticator app or passkey). KinderHive’s own administrators must use two-step sign-in.
• Tablets and kiosks are paired with one-time codes. Staff PINs are stored only in hashed form and lock after repeated wrong attempts. A member of staff using a classroom tablet is signed out after 15 minutes without use.
• Audit trail: important actions (such as changes to children’s records, safeguarding entries, sign-offs and plan changes) are logged, and managers can review them.
• Payments: card and bank details are entered on Stripe’s own pages. KinderHive never sees or stores them in full.
• Backups: our database provider keeps regular backups so records can be recovered.

Each nursery decides how long its records are kept, in line with the law and Ofsted requirements. Some records, such as safeguarding, accident and attendance records, must be kept for many years, so when a child or staff member leaves their record is archived rather than deleted.

Spreadsheets sent to us to import children, parents or staff are cleared once the import is done or cancelled, and anything left is deleted after 30 days. Account details are kept while the account is active, and security logs for as long as needed to keep the service safe.

• Exports: managers can download registers, reports and other records from KinderHive at any time. A nursery can also ask us for a full copy of its records in a common, machine-readable format.
• Requests from families or staff: the nursery is in charge of its records, so requests to see, correct or delete information go to the nursery, which can find, correct, export and archive records in the app. If we receive a request directly, we pass it to the nursery.
• When a nursery leaves: nothing is deleted just because a plan ends. We keep the records safely so the nursery can come back or ask for a copy, and we give its managers at least 30 days’ notice before deleting anything. Deleted data is removed from backups as they expire.
• Your own account: to close your account or ask what we hold about you, email info@kinderhive.app.

A personal data breach means information being lost, seen by someone who shouldn’t see it, changed or destroyed by mistake or on purpose. If we become aware of one:

• we act straight away to contain it and find out what happened;
• we tell each affected nursery without undue delay, and in any case within 48 hours, with what it needs to meet its own duties (the nursery may need to tell the Information Commissioner’s Office within 72 hours, and the families or staff affected);
• where Purple Hive is responsible for the information (for example account details), we report to the ICO within 72 hours when the law requires it, and tell the people affected where there is a high risk to them;
• we record every breach, what we did and how we will stop it happening again.

Found a problem, or think an account has been misused? Email info@kinderhive.app with “Security” in the subject. Please tell us privately rather than testing it further. If you think someone has used your account, change your password and tell your nursery.

This page is a summary. The full commitments are in our Privacy Policy and the Data Processing Agreement, which also list the companies that help us run KinderHive. If anything here differs from those documents, they apply.