1. Information We Collect

a. Information You Provide

• Account & registration info: When you sign up, we collect email address, username, and optionally name or profile details.
• Third party sign on: If you choose Google (or other) login, we receive your profile name, email, and photo as permitted by that provider.
• User submitted content: Any photos, stories, or images you upload become part of your account data.

b. Automatically Collected Data

• Device & activity data: IP address, browser type, usage metrics, pages visited, time spent, and referral source.
• Cookies & tracking tech: We use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies for analytics, login convenience, safety, and site performance.

2. How We Use Your Information

• Provide the Service: To enable account registration, library of your stories, and personalized book creation.
• Support & operations: To troubleshoot, customize features, and improve the Service.
• Analytics & research: To understand how users engage and to enhance user experience.
• Legal and safety compliance: To detect misuse or fraud and protect our community.

3. Disclosure of Your Information

We may share personal data with:

• Other users or recipients: If you publish a story publicly or share it with others.
• Service providers: Trusted third party vendors assisting with payments, printing, hosting, analytics, or communications.
• Mergers or business transactions: If InstaTales merges or is acquired, data may be transferred under confidentiality terms.
• Legal obligations: When required by law or to protect rights or safety of others.

4. Children's Privacy, COPPA Compliance, & Kids' Data Protection

• If your child is under 13, parental consent is required before any personal data (e.g. name, photo) is collected.
• Parents may review, correct, or request deletion of their child's personal information at any time.
• Data collected from children is used solely to create personalized stories and is never sold or repurposed.

5. Data Retention & Deletion

• We retain data only as long as necessary to provide Service or to meet legal or business obligations.
• You may delete your account, after which your data becomes inaccessible and removed from active systems.
• Archived backups may persist for a reasonable period for operational or legal reasons, though they're no longer active.

6. Data Security Measures for Personalized Stories

• We use industry-standard safeguards (e.g. encryption, secure servers) to protect information.
• Access to personal data is limited to authorized personnel and third-party processors under contract.
• If integrated with Google Drive or similar, access is limited to the minimum scope required for functionality.

7. International Transfers: GDPR Compliance

• Your data may be stored or processed in countries outside your own jurisdiction (e.g., servers in the U.S. or EU regions).
• We comply with the GDPR for users from the EU/EEA, respecting rights including access, correction, deletion, portability, and objection.
• If requested, we'll honor deletion or export of personal data in compliance with applicable law.

8. California Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA)

For California residents:

• You may request disclosure of categories of personal information collected, use, or shared in the past 12 months.
• You may request deletion of your personal information, subject to limited exceptions.
• You will not be discriminated against for exercising these rights.

To exercise any rights, please contact us as provided below.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may revise this policy occasionally (e.g. to introduce new services or comply with new laws). If material changes occur—especially regarding data use for children—we will notify you on the Site and update the "Effective Date." Continued use means you accept the revised Policy.

10. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your data rights, please contact:

📧 instatalesai@gmail.com