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🧒 Kids Privacy Policy
Effective Date: May 28, 2026 | Last Updated: June 14, 2026
For Parents & Guardians: This policy explains how ForestForay protects your child's privacy in Kids Mode. We are committed to full compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and equivalent regulations worldwide.
ForestForay Kids Mode is designed specifically for children under 13. This supplemental privacy policy describes the additional protections in place when Kids Mode is active.
1. What We Do NOT Collect in Kids Mode
In Kids Mode, we never collect:
- ❌ Names, email addresses, or any personally identifiable information
- ❌ GPS coordinates or any device location data (the app does not request location permission)
- ❌ Advertising identifiers or behavioral tracking data
- ❌ Contact lists, photos from gallery, or other device data
- ❌ Chat messages, social interactions, or user-generated content shared with others
2. What We Do Collect in Kids Mode
The following minimal data is collected for the app to function:
- Camera images (temporarily): Photos taken with the camera are sent to our AI identification service for real-time species recognition. These images are processed in-memory and are not permanently stored on our servers.
- Approximate region (server-side IP only): To show species native to your child's general area, our server infers a broad geographic region (e.g., "Pacific Northwest") from the device's IP address at the time of a scan. This is handled entirely server-side — the app never requests, reads, or transmits GPS or device location data.
- Local device storage: Scan results, Bio-Dex entries, and game progress (XP, badges, streaks) are stored locally on the device only and are never transmitted to our servers.
3. No Advertising or Tracking
⚠️ Kids Mode contains zero advertising SDKs. There are no Google Analytics tags, no Facebook pixels, no ad networks, and no behavioral tracking of any kind. We do not monetize children's data in any way.
4. Parental Gates
The following features in Kids Mode require passing a parental verification gate (a math problem designed for adults):
- Accessing external websites (including this privacy policy)
- Viewing or modifying subscription settings
- Switching to Adults Mode
- Accessing account deletion or data management
5. No Social Features
Kids Mode does not include:
- Leaderboards or public profiles
- Chat, messaging, or user-to-user communication
- Photo sharing with other users
- Any form of social networking
6. Data Retention & Deletion
- No personal data from Kids Mode is stored on our servers.
- Local device data (Bio-Dex, game progress) can be cleared by uninstalling the app or using the in-app reset function.
- Parents may request deletion of any data associated with their child by contacting us.
7. Parental Rights
Under COPPA, parents and guardians have the right to:
- Review any personal information collected from their child (in our case, none is collected).
- Request deletion of their child's data.
- Refuse further collection of their child's data.
- Contact us at any time regarding their child's privacy.
8. Third-Party Services
Kids Mode uses the following third-party services with child-safe configurations:
- Google Gemini AI: For species identification only. No user profiling.
- PlantNet API: For plant identification only. No user profiling.
- Apple App Store / Google Play Store: For subscription management (handled by parent/guardian).