1. Introduction
StoryBuddy ("we," "us," or "our") is an AI-powered bedtime story generator. We are committed to protecting the privacy of our users, especially children. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and protect information when you use our service.
2. Information We Collect
Account Information
- Name and email address (parent/guardian)
- Password (securely hashed, never stored in plain text)
- Payment information (processed securely by Stripe)
Child Profile Information
- Child's first name
- Child's age
- Interests, strengths, and learning goals
- Accessibility needs and story mode preferences (optional)
Usage Data
- Stories generated and reading activity
- Feature usage and engagement metrics
- Device information and IP address (for security)
3. How We Use Your Information
- Generate personalized stories tailored to your child's interests and age
- Provide voice narration for stories
- Process payments and manage subscriptions
- Track achievements and reading progress
- Improve our service and fix issues
- Send transactional emails (password resets, etc.)
- Ensure security and prevent abuse
4. Third-Party Services
We use the following third-party services to provide our functionality:
- OpenAI — AI story content generation. Child profile data (first name, age, interests) is sent to generate personalized stories. No data is used for model training.
- Gradium — Voice synthesis for story narration. Story text is sent for audio generation.
- Stripe — Payment processing. We do not store credit card numbers; all payment data is handled by Stripe.
- Sentry — Error reports. Our web servers report their own errors (the error and where it happened). The iPhone app's crash reports and performance data are off unless a parent turns on “Share usage & crash reports” in the app's Settings; they never include screenshots, your child's details or story text, and are not linked to your account.
- PostHog — Product analytics. On the website, we record page views (the address of the page), when a page is left, and errors the page hits (the error message and where in the page it happened); once you sign in, these are linked to your account ID. In the iPhone app, analytics are off unless a parent turns on “Share usage & crash reports” in Settings; once on, app events are linked to your account ID. Our servers also record a few account events against your account ID: sign-up, sign-in, a child profile being created, and subscription changes. None of these events is designed to include names, email addresses, child details or story text.
- Resend — Transactional email delivery.
5. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)
StoryBuddy is designed to be used by parents and guardians on behalf of their children. We comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA):
- We require verifiable parental consent before collecting any child information
- We collect only the minimum information necessary to personalize stories
- Children cannot create accounts themselves; only parents/guardians can create child profiles
- We do not display targeted advertising to children
- Parents can review, modify, or delete their child's data at any time through account settings
- Child data is never sold or shared with third parties for marketing purposes
6. Data Retention
We retain your account data and generated stories for as long as your account is active. Child profile data is retained only while the profile exists. When you delete a child profile, the associated data is permanently removed. When you delete your account, all associated data including child profiles, stories, and usage data is permanently deleted.
7. Data Security
We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data, including: encrypted data transmission (TLS/HTTPS), secure password hashing, session management with automatic expiration, rate limiting on authentication endpoints, and CSRF protection on all state-changing operations.
8. Your Rights
- Access your personal data and your children's data
- Correct inaccurate information
- Delete your account and all associated data
- Export your stories and data
- Opt out of non-essential communications
9. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date. Continued use of the service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
10. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, your children's data, or wish to exercise your rights, please contact us at privacy@story-buddy.app.