Privacy Policy
The short version. Twingdle is an app for grown-ups to make storybooks for children. We collect your email address to run your account, the stories and characters you create, and any photos you choose to upload for a character. We send story ideas and photos to AI providers to write, illustrate and narrate your books. We do not sell your data, we do not show ads, and we do not use your content or photos to train AI models. You can delete a character or your whole account at any time.
This policy explains what information Twingdle ("Twingdle", "we", "us") collects when you use the Twingdle mobile app and website (the "Service"), how we use it, and the choices you have. By using the Service you agree to this policy.
1. Information we collect
Account information
- Email address and password. You sign up with an email address and a password. Passwords are handled by Firebase Authentication (a Google service) and are never visible to us in plain text.
- Account identifiers. An internal user id, and the id Firebase assigns to your account.
Content you create
- Storybook details. Titles, story ideas, chosen art style, narrator, quality tier, and the text you type when creating a storybook, episode or scene.
- Characters. Names, descriptions, an optional gender, and any photo you upload to base a character on (see Photos).
- Generated content. The story text, illustrations and narration audio the Service produces for you. These are stored on our servers so you can read and listen to your books again.
Purchase information
- When you buy credits or a plan, the purchase is made through Apple's App Store or Google Play. We receive a product id, a transaction id and, for plans, the renewal status and period end. We never receive your card number or billing address.
- We keep a ledger of credits granted and spent so that your balance is correct and failed generations can be refunded.
Technical information
- Standard server logs: the time of each request, the API endpoint, your IP address and the app version. We use these to keep the Service running and to investigate problems.
- The app stores a few preferences on your device only (for example, whether the welcome message has been shown). These never leave your device.
What we do not collect. The app contains no advertising SDKs and no third-party analytics or tracking. We do not collect your contacts, location or device identifiers for advertising.
2. How we use your information
- To create and run your account and let you sign in.
- To write, illustrate and narrate the storybooks you ask for, and to store them for you.
- To screen story ideas before generation so that what comes back is appropriate for children.
- To keep your credit balance accurate, deliver purchases and refund failed generations.
- To answer your support requests.
- To keep the Service secure and to detect abuse.
- To comply with the law.
We do not sell personal information and we do not use your content, characters or photos to train AI models, and our AI providers are contractually prohibited from doing so with the data we send them through their APIs.
3. Photos used for characters
You can create a character from a photo. When you do:
- The photo is resized on our server and sent to our AI providers so a written description and a painted, illustrated portrait can be produced in the storybook's art style. The result is an illustration, not a copy of the photo.
- We keep the resized photo with the character so that you can repaint the character later. It is never shown to other users and is never used for any other purpose.
- Deleting the character deletes the photo. Deleting your account deletes all of your photos.
Only upload photos you have the right to use. If a photo shows a child, you must be the child's parent or legal guardian, or have the guardian's permission.
4. Children's privacy
Twingdle is designed to be used by parents, guardians and other adults to create stories for children. It is not directed to children, and children under 13 (or the age of digital consent where you live) may not create an account. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children.
When an adult includes a child's name, likeness or photo in a story, that information is provided by the adult, under their account, for their own family's use. If you believe a child has created an account or that we hold a child's information without a guardian's consent, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
5. Service providers
We rely on a small number of providers to run the Service. Each receives only what it needs to do its job.
| Provider | What it does | What it receives |
|---|---|---|
| Google Firebase | Sign-in and password reset | Email address, password (hashed), sign-in events |
| Anthropic | Writes the stories, screens ideas for age-appropriateness, describes characters from photos, tidies typed text | Story ideas, character descriptions, character photos |
| OpenAI | Paints illustrations, covers and character portraits | Scene descriptions, character descriptions, character photos |
| ElevenLabs | Narrates the stories | Story text |
| Apple App Store / Google Play | Payments and subscriptions | Handled by Apple or Google under their own policies; we receive transaction ids |
| Hosting provider | Runs our servers and stores your books | All Service data, encrypted in transit |
We do not send your email address to the AI providers. Providers may be located outside your country; where they are, we rely on their standard contractual protections.
6. Retention and deletion
- Your account, storybooks, characters and photos are kept for as long as your account exists.
- You can delete individual storybooks, episodes, scenes and characters in the app at any time.
- You can delete your whole account by following the steps on the Delete your account page. Your account, stories, characters, photos and generated media are removed within 30 days. Purchase records are kept for as long as required by tax and accounting law, without any link to your content.
- Server logs are kept for up to 90 days.
7. Security
All traffic between the app and our servers is encrypted with HTTPS. Sign-in is handled by Firebase Authentication. Access to production systems is limited to the people who operate the Service. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong, unique password.
8. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export or delete your personal information, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to complain to a data-protection authority. You can exercise most of these rights directly in the app (editing or deleting your content) or by contacting us. We will respond within 30 days.
If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, our legal bases are: performance of our contract with you (running the Service), our legitimate interests (security, support, improving the Service), and your consent (uploading photos). You may withdraw consent by deleting the relevant content.
If you are a California resident, we do not sell or share personal information as defined by the CCPA, and we do not use it for cross-context behavioural advertising.
9. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the Service changes. We will post the new version here with a new effective date and, for significant changes, tell you in the app.
10. Contact
Questions or requests about your privacy: [email protected].