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Privacy Policy

Effective Date: March 30, 2026

At PhonicsMaker, we believe that great educational tools should come with great responsibility. We value your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information — so you can focus on what matters most: helping children fall in love with reading.

This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, and share information when you use our services — including our AI-powered phonics story creator, worksheet generator, audio narration tools, and any associated web applications (collectively, the "Services").

This Privacy Policy is designed to comply with applicable US federal and state privacy laws, including the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and, where applicable, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA). We believe privacy isn't just a legal requirement — it's a promise we make to every educator and family who trusts us with their data.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide Directly

  • Account Information: When you sign up for PhonicsMaker (via our authentication provider, Clerk), we collect your name, email address, and basic profile details.
  • Educational Content: Phonics stories, worksheets, word lists, personalized settings, and other content you create using our tools.
  • School or organization Details: If you sign up through a school plan, we may collect your school name, role, and contact details.
  • Feedback & Support: If you contact us or provide feedback, we collect the information you share with us.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

  • Usage Data: When you interact with our website or app, we may collect non-identifiable information such as browser type, operating system, IP address, pages visited, and timestamps.
  • Region Detection: We use your IP address to detect your approximate region so we can display personalized curriculum content, pricing in your local currency, and region-appropriate features. This helps us serve you better — not track you.
  • Cookies & Similar Technologies: We use cookies and similar technologies to improve your experience, remember your preferences, and analyse traffic. See Section 4 for details.

1.3 Payment Information

We use Stripe to process all payments. We do not store your credit card details on our servers. All payment information is handled directly by Stripe in accordance with PCI-DSS standards. For more information, see Stripe's Privacy Policy.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information collected for the following purposes:

  • To deliver PhonicsMaker's AI-powered phonics story creation, worksheet generation, and audio narration services.
  • To personalize your experience with curriculum-aligned content for your region.
  • To improve and optimize our Services based on usage patterns.
  • To communicate with you about your account, subscription updates, and new features.
  • To process payments and manage subscriptions via Stripe.
  • To send you educational tips and product updates (you can unsubscribe at any time).
  • To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents.

We only collect and retain the minimum information necessary to provide our Services. We will never sell your data — full stop.

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your data with third parties only in the following cases:

  • Authentication: Clerk (for secure sign-in and account management).
  • Payments: Stripe (for subscription billing and payment processing).
  • Hosting & Infrastructure: Vercel (web hosting), DigitalOcean Spaces (asset storage).
  • Email Communications: Resend and Sender.net (for transactional and lifecycle emails).
  • Analytics & Advertising: Google Analytics, Google Ads, Meta (Facebook) Pixel, and TikTok Pixel — used to understand how educators find us and to measure the effectiveness of our outreach. These services may use cookies (see Section 4).
  • AI Services: Google Gemini (for story and worksheet generation). Content you create is processed by our AI pipeline but is not used to train third-party AI models.
  • Legal Obligations: If required by law or to protect our rights.
  • With Your Consent: When you explicitly agree to share your information.

4. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies for:

  • Essential Cookies: Required for authentication, security, and core functionality. These cannot be disabled.
  • Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how our Services are used (e.g., Google Analytics). These help us build a better experience for educators like you.
  • Advertising Cookies: Used by Meta (Facebook) Pixel, Google Ads, and TikTok Pixel to measure ad campaign effectiveness and reach more teachers who could benefit from our tools.

We respect your choices. Where required by state law (such as in California), we provide mechanisms to manage cookie preferences and opt out of non-essential tracking.

You can also manage cookies through your browser settings at any time.

5. Data Storage

Your data is stored on servers located in the United States. We use internationally recognized cloud service providers (such as Vercel, DigitalOcean, and AWS) that maintain appropriate security standards compliant with applicable US regulations.

6. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

PhonicsMaker is designed for use by teachers and parents, not directly by children. Our Services are intended to be used by adults (teachers, parents, guardians) to create educational content for children. Protecting young learners is at the heart of what we do.

In compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), we do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information without parental consent, please contact us immediately at support@phonicsmaker.com and we will take steps to delete such information.

Any student names or personal details entered into our story or worksheet generators are the responsibility of the adult user and are processed as part of the educational content they create. We recommend that teachers and parents avoid entering identifiable student information where possible — protecting student privacy is everyone's responsibility.

7. Google API Services

PhonicsMaker uses Google API Services (including Google Gemini) to power our AI story and worksheet generation. By using our Services:

  • You agree to Google's Privacy Policy.
  • We access and use Google API data only in ways that comply with Google's API Services User Data Policy.
  • We do not share or use your data for advertising purposes through Google APIs without your explicit consent.
  • Content processed through Google's AI services is used solely to generate your requested educational materials and is not retained by Google for model training.

8. Data Retention and Deletion

We retain your information only as long as necessary to provide our Services or as required by law. Specifically:

  • Account data is retained while your account is active.
  • Generated content (stories, worksheets) is retained while your account is active and deleted upon account deletion.
  • Payment records may be retained as required by tax and financial regulations.
  • Analytics data is aggregated and anonymiized.

Your Right to Deletion: You can request deletion of your account and all associated data at any time by contacting us at support@phonicsmaker.com. We will process deletion requests within 30 days, except where we are required by law to retain certain information.

9. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your state of residence, you may have the following rights:

  • Access: Request access to the personal information we hold about you.
  • Deletion: Request deletion of your personal information (see Section 8).
  • Opt-Out: Unsubscribe from marketing communications using the link provided in each message.
  • Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

California Residents (CCPA/CPRA): You have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, including the right to know what personal information is collected, the right to delete, and the right to opt out of the sale of personal information. We do not sell your personal information. We never have, and we never will.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@phonicsmaker.com.

10. Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data, including:

  • Encryption in transit (TLS/HTTPS) for all data transmission.
  • Encryption at rest for stored data.
  • Secure authentication via Clerk with support for multi-factor authentication.
  • PCI-DSS compliant payment processing via Stripe.

However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you ever suspect unauthoriized access to your account, please contact us immediately.

11. Third-Party Links

Our app or website may contain links to third-party websites or services (such as curriculum resources or educational references). We are not responsible for their privacy practices or content. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you visit — being informed is always a good idea.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our Services, legal requirements, or best practices. Changes will be communicated through email or on our website. The "Effective Date" at the top of this page indicates when the policy was last updated.

13. Complaints

If you have concerns about our privacy practices, please contact us at support@phonicsmaker.com. We will investigate and respond to your concern within 30 days.

You may also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC):

  • Website: ftc.gov
  • Phone: 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357)

California residents may also contact the California Attorney General's Office:

14. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, we genuinely want to hear from you:

Your Time Matters. Your Privacy Does Too.

PhonicsMaker is committed to safeguarding your information and ensuring your data remains private and secure. We're educators at heart — and we believe that trust, respect, and doing the right thing aren't just good values for the classroom. They're how we run our company, too.

Thank you for trusting us with your educational content creation. Together, we're helping children discover the joy of reading — one phonics story at a time. 📚

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