Your Family's Privacy Matters
Last updated: 7 January 2026 • Effective: 7 January 2026
Quick Summary
- ✓We collect minimal data needed to create personalised stories
- ✓Parent/guardian consent is required for all children's data
- ✓We never sell your data to advertisers or third parties
- ✓You can delete your account and all data at any time
- ✓COPPA compliant for US users; Privacy Act 2020 compliant for NZ users
1Who We Are
Gently Told ("we", "us", "our") is a personalised children's story service operated from New Zealand. We create audio stories for children ages 3–7 based on parent-approved themes.
Contact:
Contact us
2Children's Privacy (COPPA Notice)
Gently Told is designed for families with children under 13. We comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and similar laws worldwide.
Parental Consent Required
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children without verifiable parental consent. Parents must create all accounts, add child profiles, and approve all content.
What We Collect About Children
- First name only (for story personalisation)
- Age/date of birth (for age-appropriate content)
- Pronouns (for story grammar)
- Optional appearance details (for story personalisation)
We do NOT collect: last names, addresses, phone numbers, photos, precise location, or contact information from children.
Parental Rights
- Review all data we hold about your child
- Delete your child's profile and all associated data
- Refuse further collection
- Request data export
To exercise these rights, contact us
3Information We Collect
Account Information (Parents)
- Email address (for login and account recovery)
- Name (for personalisation)
- Profile photo (if provided via Google/Yoto login)
- Authentication tokens (securely stored)
Child Profiles
- First name
- Age or date of birth
- Pronouns (he/him, she/her, they/them)
- Optional: hair type, hair color, eye color (for story personalisation)
- Optional: caregiver names (mum, dad, grandma, etc.)
Story Content
- Story text and audio files you create
- Story preferences (themes, length, mood)
Usage Data
- Device type and browser (for technical support)
- Feature usage (which story themes are popular)
- Error logs (to fix bugs)
4How We Use Your Information
- ✓Create personalised stories - Your child's name, pronouns, and preferences make stories magical
- ✓Provide age-appropriate content - Age determines vocabulary and themes
- ✓Manage your account - Login, billing, preferences
- ✓Improve our service - Fix bugs, enhance features
- ✓Send important updates - Account security, service changes (not marketing)
5What We DON'T Do
- ✕ Sell your data to advertisers or third parties
- ✕ Show ads to children
- ✕ Track your location
- ✕ Allow children to contact strangers
- ✕ Share personal information publicly
- ✕ Use data for behavioral advertising
- ✕ Train AI on your personal data without consent
6Third-Party Services
We use trusted third-party services to operate Gently Told:
- Google Cloud / Firebase - Secure data storage, authentication (US, GDPR compliant)
- Google Gemini - AI story generation (data processed, not stored)
- Stripe - Payment processing (we never see your card details)
- Yoto API - Story sync to Yoto players (optional, your Yoto account)
- Vercel - Website hosting (US)
These services have their own privacy policies. We only share the minimum data required for each service to function.
7Data Security
- Encryption: All data encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest
- Access Control: Only authenticated users can access their own data
- Secure Infrastructure: Hosted on Google Cloud with enterprise security
- Regular Review: Security practices reviewed and updated regularly
8Your Rights
Depending on your location, you have rights including:
Request a copy of your data
Fix inaccurate information
Delete your account and data
Export your data
To exercise any of these rights, contact us. We will respond within 30 days.
9International Users
Gently Told is operated from New Zealand. If you access our service from other countries:
- New Zealand: We comply with the Privacy Act 2020
- United States: We comply with COPPA for children's data
- United Kingdom: We comply with UK GDPR
- European Union: We comply with GDPR
- Australia: We comply with the Privacy Act 1988
Your data may be processed in countries with different privacy laws. By using Gently Told, you consent to this transfer.
10Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we will notify you by email or in-app notification before the changes take effect.
The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page indicates when the policy was last revised.
Questions?
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us.