Coauthor Privacy Policy

Welcome to Coauthor, a creative writing platform designed for middle-schoolers.

We care deeply about your child's safety, privacy, and peace of mind.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and how we protect your family's data.

If you do not agree with these practices, please do not use Coauthor.

1. Who We Are

Coauthor ("we," "our," "us") provides a safe, moderated writing community for children ages 10–14.

If you have questions, contact us at:

📧 support@coauthor.co

2. What Information We Collect

A. Information You Provide

We collect the information you voluntarily provide when creating an account or using Coauthor:

• Parent email address (required for account setup and verification)
• Child's first name and last name or pen name
• Password (hashed and encrypted)
• Child's age range or grade level
• Written story content your child creates
• Feedback or comments they post in challenges
• Support messages sent to our team

We do not collect physical addresses from children, phone numbers, or personal identifiers unless provided by a parent.

B. Information Collected Automatically

When you use Coauthor, we automatically collect:

• Device type (tablet, laptop, phone)
• Browser type
• IP address (used for security and fraud prevention only)
• General usage analytics (page views, time spent, buttons clicked)

We do not use behavioral tracking to advertise to children.

C. Information We Do Not Collect

We intentionally do not collect:

• Phone numbers
• Home address or school address
• Exact location data
• Facial recognition data
• Biometric data
• Payment information from the child

Payment info is processed securely by Stripe on behalf of the parent only.

3. How We Use the Information

We use information to:

• Create and maintain child & parent accounts
• Moderate stories, comments, and activity for safety
• Provide age-appropriate writing challenges
• Improve the Coauthor experience
• Send parent notifications and account updates
• Prevent harmful or inappropriate behavior
• Comply with legal obligations (COPPA, safety laws)

We never sell user data or allow advertisers to target children.

4. How We Protect Your Child's Safety

Coauthor is built with kid safety at its core:

• Human moderation on all stories and comments
• No private messaging between users
• Parent email linked to every account
• Content filtering for inappropriate language
• Age-grouped communities
• No personal info allowed in stories or chats
• Account activity can be reviewed by parents anytime
• Encrypted databases and secure authentication

We are COPPA-aligned, meaning we take extra steps to protect children under 13.

5. When We Share Information

We may share information only in these cases:

A. Service Providers

Trusted third-party tools that help us run Coauthor:

• Cloud hosting
• Moderation tools
• Customer support tools
• Payment processors (for parents only)

These partners may only use data to perform services for Coauthor, not for anything else.

B. Legal Requirements

We may disclose information if required by:

• Law enforcement
• Court orders
• Safety investigations
• To protect a child from harm

We always aim to notify parents unless legally prohibited.

C. With Your Permission

If you explicitly authorize sharing (rare cases such as featuring a child's work externally), we will obtain clear parental consent.

6. Your Rights as a Parent

As a parent or guardian, you can:

• Review your child's information
• Request deletion of your child's account
• Correct inaccuracies
• Withdraw consent at any time
• Request a full activity log
• Contact us with any privacy concerns

Email: support@coauthor.co

We respond within 10 business days.

7. Data Retention

We retain data only as long as needed to:

• Maintain the account
• Provide the service
• Comply with legal obligations

If a parent requests deletion, we delete all personal information associated with the child's account within 30 days.

Story content may be anonymized and retained for educational or product-improvement purposes unless you request complete removal.

8. Cookies & Tracking

Coauthor uses essential cookies only to:

• Keep users logged in
• Load the site properly
• Protect against misuse

We do not use:

• Targeted advertising cookies
• Behavioral ad trackers
• Cookies that follow users across other websites

Analytics data is anonymous and aggregated.

9. International Users

Coauthor is designed for U.S.-based families.

If you access Coauthor from outside the U.S., your data may be stored on servers located in the U.S.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as our platform evolves.

When we make changes, we will:

• Update the "Last updated" date
• Notify parents via email for major changes
• Provide a summary of updates in the app

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns, we're always here to help.

📧 support@coauthor.co

🌐 coauthor.co