Privacy Policy
Effective September 21, 2026
Growing Stories ("we", "us") is a storybook app for families. This policy explains what information we collect, why, and how to control it.
Who creates an account
An account is optional. The app opens by asking who is reading, and that first reader is stored on the device itself, so their name reaches us only if a parent chooses to create an account.
Where there is one, accounts are created and managed by a parent or guardian, not by a child. Children do not interact with sign-up, billing, or account settings. A parent enters everything on their behalf, including each child's profile.
What we collect
- Account email and password (stored as a one-way hash, never in plain text), and an optional username.
- Child profile info a parent enters once there is an account: first name and birth year, used to personalise stories and pick an age-appropriate reading band. We never ask a child to enter this themselves, and a reader named before signing up stays on the device.
- Reading progress: which scene a child last reached in a story, so they can pick up where they left off.
- Feedback and content reports you choose to send us: the message you type, and which story or scene a report is about.
We do not collect location data, device identifiers for advertising, or any information directly from a child.
Our server keeps a daily count of how many times each story was opened, and whether the reader was signed in, so we can tell whether the app is being read at all. Nothing is recorded alongside those counts: no account, no child, no device, no address. They are totals, and there is no way to trace one back to a person.
What we don't do
- No advertising, and no ad networks of any kind.
- No third-party analytics or tracking SDKs.
- We never sell or rent personal information to anyone.
Subscription payment processing is handled by RevenueCat and the App Store under their own privacy terms. We never see or store your card details. So that a subscription follows you across your devices, RevenueCat receives your account identifier, your purchase history for this app, and the identifier iOS gives this app on your device. That last one is added by RevenueCat's own software on every request it makes. It is not an advertising identifier and it is never used for advertising or tracking. RevenueCat is the only third-party SDK that receives anything tied to your account.
Where data lives
Account and progress data is stored in a PostgreSQL database hosted on Railway. Story illustrations are served via Cloudinary; no personal or child information is sent to Cloudinary, only generic image requests. Verification and account emails are sent through Resend, which receives the account email address for that purpose alone.
App updates are delivered by Expo. When the app starts, it asks Expo whether a newer version of its own code is available, sending an installation identifier the app generates on first launch, the platform, and a fingerprint of the installed build. No account, child, or reading information is sent with that request.
Deleting your data
A parent can delete their account at any time from within the app (Settings → Delete Account), which immediately and permanently removes the account along with every linked child profile and all reading progress. You can also request deletion by emailing support@growingstories.app.
Your rights (GDPR / UK GDPR)
If you're in the EU/UK, you have the right to access, correct, export, or delete your personal data, and to withdraw consent at any time. Contact us at support@growingstories.app to exercise any of these rights.
California privacy rights (CCPA/CPRA)
If you live in California, you can ask what personal information we hold about you, ask for a copy of it, ask us to correct it, and ask us to delete it. Email support@growingstories.app and we will. Deleting your account from Settings does the same thing straight away.
We do not sell or share personal information, and we have not in the twelve months before the date at the top of this page. There is nothing here to opt out of.
That holds for anyone under sixteen as well. We do not sell or share their information, so there is no opt-in for a parent to give or withhold.
Asking for any of this changes nothing about what the app costs you or what it does for you.
Children's privacy (COPPA)
Growing Stories is read by a parent and a child together: there is no narration, so an adult reads the text aloud. Every account belongs to and is controlled by that adult. Child profile data (name, birth year) is provided directly by the parent as part of setting up the app for their family, not collected from the child. A parent can review, edit, or delete any child profile's data at any time from the app.
The operator of Growing Stories, and where to reach us:
- Roberto Sobachi
- Lytchett House, 13 Freeland Park, Wareham Road, Poole, Dorset, BH16 6FA, United Kingdom
- support@growingstories.app
A parent who would rather we held nothing about their child can write to either address and ask. We delete that child's profile and collect nothing further. You need no account to ask, and no reason.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes in a meaningful way, we'll update the effective date above and, where required, notify account holders by email.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your data: support@growingstories.app