Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how StoryPenguin ("we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, stores, and protects information when you use our website at storypenguin.com and any related services (the "Services"). By using the Services, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

1. Who Can Use Our Services

The Services are intended solely for adults aged 18 and over. We do not permit persons under the age of 18 to register for or use the Services. StoryPenguin is a tool for adults — such as parents, carers, and educators — to create children's stories. Children are the intended audience of the stories produced, not users of the platform.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 18. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a minor, please contact us immediately using the details in Section 12 and we will delete it promptly.

2. Information We Collect

Information You Provide

• Account information — your name, email address, and password when you register.
• Profile information — your author name, chosen avatar, and the target age range you use when creating stories.
• Story prompts and content — the prompts you submit and the stories generated as a result.
• Payment information — billing details processed by our payment provider (we do not store raw card numbers).
• Contact messages — any enquiries you send us via the contact form.

Automatically Collected Information

• IP address and approximate location.
• Browser type, version, and operating system.
• Pages visited, time spent, and navigation paths.
• Device identifiers and referring URLs.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To create and manage your account.
• To generate and store the stories you create.
• To process payments and manage your subscription.
• To respond to your support requests and contact form submissions.
• To improve and personalise the Services.
• To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, or violations of our Terms of Service.
• To send you service-related emails (e.g. receipts, security notices).
• To comply with legal obligations.

We will not sell your personal information to third parties, and we will not use it for targeted advertising purposes.

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to keep you signed in, remember your preferences, and understand how the Services are used. Essential cookies are required for the platform to function; analytics cookies are used to improve it.

You can control non-essential cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling certain cookies may affect your ability to use the Services.

5. Third-Party Service Providers

We share information with trusted third-party providers only as necessary to operate the Services. These include:

• Authentication — Clerk (clerk.com/privacy)
• Database and hosting — Neon and Vercel
• AI story generation — Google (Gemini) and/or OpenAI
• Image generation — Replicate
• Payment processing — our payment processor (does not share card details with us)
• Image delivery — Amazon CloudFront / AWS S3

Each provider has its own privacy policy and is contractually required to handle your data securely and only for the purposes we specify.

6. Story Content and AI Providers

When you generate a story, your prompt is sent to an AI provider (such as Google or OpenAI) to produce the story text, and to an image generation service to produce illustrations. These providers may process your prompt data in accordance with their own terms and privacy policies. We recommend you avoid including sensitive personal information in story prompts.

7. Children's Privacy

Our Services are not directed at, and may not be used by, persons under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect, store, or process personal information from children. Children may be the subject of stories created on the platform (for example, a parent may include a child's name in a story prompt), but children are not users of the Services and should not interact with the platform directly.

If we discover that personal data has been collected from a person under 18, we will delete it immediately. Please contact us if you have concerns.

8. Data Security

We use industry-standard security measures — including encryption in transit (TLS) and at rest, access controls, and regular security reviews — to protect your information. No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Data Retention

We retain your account and story data for as long as your account is active, or as long as needed to provide the Services. If you delete your account, we will delete your personal information within a reasonable timeframe, except where retention is required by law (for example, for billing records).

10. Your Rights

Depending on where you are located, you may have rights regarding your personal information, including the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate data.
• Request deletion of your data ("right to be forgotten").
• Object to or restrict certain processing activities.
• Request a portable copy of your data.
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 12. We will respond within 30 days.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post any changes on this page with a revised "Last updated" date. Where changes are material, we will notify you by email or by a prominent notice within the Services. Your continued use of the Services after any update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please reach out via our Contact page.