Effective date: October 21, 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how the Story Mode app ("Story Mode," "we," "us," or "the app"), published by Story Mode LLC, handles information. Story Mode is a reading app for children and the parents who guide them. Protecting your family's privacy is central to how the app is built.
Story Mode does not ask your child for a name, email address, phone number, or any sign-up. There is no login and no user profile. The only personal information involved is described below: your child's voice while Read Aloud is on (handled by Apple, never by us), and a parent's email address if you choose to give permission for Read Aloud or to add a recovery email for your Parent PIN.
Your settings and your child's activity within the app — such as parental controls, chosen reading levels, and progress within the app — are stored only on your device. This information stays on the device and is not transmitted to us or to any third party.
Some reading activities listen to your child read aloud so the app can follow along and help with tricky words. To do this, Story Mode uses Apple's built-in speech recognition. Spoken audio is sent securely to Apple to be converted into text, in the moment, and only to support the reading activity. Read Aloud stays off until a parent gives permission (see Parental Permission below).
Story Mode LLC never receives, records, stores, or listens to your child's audio, and we never use it for any other purpose. Apple's handling of speech data is governed by Apple's Privacy Policy. You can choose Silent Reading in the app's Parent Hub so the microphone is never used, and you can turn off microphone and speech recognition access at any time in your device's settings.
Because Read Aloud sends your child's voice to Apple's speech recognition, we ask a parent's permission first. You enter your email address in the app's Parent Hub; we email you an explanation and an "I give consent" button; after you tap it, we send a confirmation email. Your email address is used only for this.
What we keep: a scrambled (hashed) form of your email address that cannot be turned back into the address, the date you gave permission, the version of this policy, and a random ID for your copy of the app. We delete your readable email address as soon as the confirmation is sent. If you don't give permission within 24 hours, we delete the request. We delete the permission record when you withdraw it, or after 12 months in which Read Aloud is not used.
Withdrawing: tap Withdraw Consent in the Parent Hub, or reply to the confirmation email. Read Aloud turns off and we delete the record. You can also email us to ask what we hold or to have it deleted.
Service providers: Apple (speech recognition), Resend (sends the permission emails), and Vercel with Upstash (host the permission record). They act only on our behalf. You can choose Silent Reading instead, which needs no permission and collects nothing.
When you create your Parent PIN, you can add a recovery email. It is optional and stays on your device. It is sent to us only if you forget both your PIN and your security answer and ask for a reset code; we then email you a 6-digit code. We do not store your email address on our servers. We keep a scrambled (hashed) form of the code for 15 minutes so the app can check it, and a scrambled form of your email address for up to one hour to limit how many codes can be requested. Resend sends the email, and Vercel with Upstash host these short-lived records.
Story Mode uses Apple's Screen Time features, with your permission, to pause the apps you choose until your child finishes a reading round. Your app choices and schedule stay on your device. Apple does not share the names of the apps you pick with us, and Story Mode does not send them anywhere.
Story Mode is designed for children and is built to be safe for them by default. Because the app creates no accounts, shows no ads, and sends nothing about your child to us (read-aloud audio goes only to Apple's speech recognition, as described above), it is designed to comply with children's privacy laws such as the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Read Aloud is the only feature that involves your child's personal information (their voice), and it only works after a parent gives verifiable permission. We never sell or share information, never use it for advertising, and never condition your child's use of Story Mode on more information than the activity needs.
Parents remain in control through the app's parental controls, which are protected and configurable on the device.
All app settings and progress are kept locally on your device and are protected by your device's own security. The only things we store on a server are the minimal Read Aloud permission record and the short-lived PIN reset records described above. They contain no readable email address and nothing about your child. If you delete the app, its locally stored data is removed with it.
If Story Mode offers any paid features in the future, payments are handled entirely by Apple through the App Store. We do not receive or store your payment details. Apple's own privacy terms govern that transaction.
We may update this policy from time to time. The effective date above reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will be reflected on this page.
Story Mode LLC, 8823 Flattop St, Arvada, CO 80007. Phone (720) 755-7263. Email privacy@getstorymode.com.
Note: Story Mode LLC also operates a separate personal SMS assistant program that is unrelated to the Story Mode app. That program has its own SMS Privacy Policy and SMS Terms. The Story Mode app does not use SMS and does not collect phone numbers.