Privacy Policy

Effective October 19, 2026

MiniAuthors helps children make and read their own picture books, together with a grown-up. This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, who helps us run MiniAuthors, and the choices you have.

MiniAuthors is run by Tayibat Foundation, a Canadian organization. If you have a question or a request about your information, email us at support@miniauthors.com.

Accounts belong to grown-ups

Accounts are for parents, guardians and other grown-ups aged 18 or older. A grown-up signs in with a Google account, and children use MiniAuthors with that grown-up. We don't ask children for their name, email address or any way to contact them.

If you believe a child has given us personal information without a grown-up, email us and we will delete it.

What we collect

Your account. The email address of the Google account you sign in with. Google confirms it to us; we never see your password. We use it to show you your own books, and to count the books your account makes against its free books or plan.
What goes into a book. The story idea typed or spoken in the app, the settings chosen (such as reader age, word size, language and picture style), and the book that is made from them: its words, pictures, translations and any changes you make to its words. An idea may include details you or your child choose to share, such as a first name, so please keep ideas to what a story needs.
Characters. If you make a character, its description typed or spoken in the app, the changes asked for, and the character that is made from them: its name, how it looks and its pictures. A description may include details you or your child choose to share, such as how your child looks, so please keep it to what the character needs.
Photos for characters. A grown-up can choose a photo of a person or animal to draw a character from. The app makes the photo smaller on your device, then sends it to OpenAI to describe and draw the character. We don't keep the photo: only the character drawn from it is saved. Please only use photos of yourself, your own children or your pets, or photos you have permission to use.
Videos. If you make a short animated video of a book, its pictures, its characters' pictures and a script written from its words are sent to BytePlus to animate. The video is saved with the book until you delete the book or make a new video.
Spoken ideas. When the microphone is used, the recording is sent to OpenAI to be turned into text. We keep the text, not the recording.
Read-aloud words. When the app reads aloud a word, a short phrase or a quiz question from a book, that text is sent to ElevenLabs to be spoken (or to OpenAI, if ElevenLabs can't be reached), with nothing about who asked. The recording is saved and reused for anyone who needs the same words. A quiz question may include a name from the book, such as a character's name. We count how many new words each account records each day, to keep the service fair.
Shared books. If you share a book, we create a link to it. Anyone with the link can see that book's words and pictures, but not who made it, until you stop sharing it or delete the book.
Costs. We record what each book cost to make, to show you and to run the service.
Payments. If you buy a plan, Stripe takes the payment. Your card details go straight to Stripe; we never see or store them. We keep your plan, whether it's active, when it renews, how many books you've made this month, and the customer ID Stripe gives your account.
On your device. The app saves your settings and language choices in your browser's storage. If you run MiniAuthors with your own OpenAI key and ask it to remember the key, the key stays only in your browser.
Basic technical records. Like any website, our hosting providers keep standard records, such as IP addresses, browser types and the times of requests, to keep the service secure and working.

We don't use advertising, analytics or tracking tools, and we don't sell or rent anyone's personal information.

How we use it

We use this information to make, save and show your books; to read words aloud; to translate and share books when you ask; to keep MiniAuthors secure and working; and to answer your questions. We don't use your books to train AI models. Under OpenAI's terms for its API, the information we send it isn't used to train its models unless a customer chooses to allow that, and we have not.

Who helps us run MiniAuthors

Google (Firebase and Google Cloud): sign-in, hosting, the database that stores books, and storage for pictures and read-aloud recordings.
OpenAI: writes the stories, paints the pictures, turns spoken ideas into text and translates books, and records read-aloud words when ElevenLabs can't. It receives only what each task needs, such as the idea, the settings, the book's words, or a photo chosen for a character.
ElevenLabs: records read-aloud words, in a voice for each language. It receives only the words to be read and their language.
Stripe: takes payments for plans, keeps payment details and sends receipts.
BytePlus (ByteDance's Seedance): animates a book's pictures into its short video, when you ask for one. It receives only that book's pictures, its characters' pictures and the video's script.

These providers handle information on our behalf under their own terms and security practices. We may also share information when the law requires it, or to protect the safety of our users or others.

Where your information is kept

Our providers store and process information in the United States. While it is there, it may be subject to the laws of the United States, including lawful access by authorities there.

How long we keep it

Books stay in your account until you delete them. Deleting a book deletes its words and pictures and stops its shared link. Characters stay until you delete them too; a book made with a character keeps its own copy of the character's picture until the book is deleted. If someone kept a copy of a book you shared, that copy stays in their account. Read-aloud word recordings are kept so they can be reused. To delete your account and everything in it, email us. Payment records are kept as long as the law requires for tax and accounting, even after an account is deleted.

Your choices and rights

You can see, change and delete your books in the app at any time. You can also ask us for a copy of your personal information, ask us to correct or delete it, or ask how we handle it, by emailing support@miniauthors.com. We will answer within 30 days. If you aren't satisfied with our answer, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, or the privacy authority where you live.

Keeping information safe

We use Google sign-in, access rules that keep each family's books private to them, and encrypted connections. No system is perfectly secure, so please also keep your Google account safe.

Changes to this policy

When we change this policy, we will post the new version here with a new effective date. If a change is significant, we will also tell account holders in the app or by email.

Contact

Tayibat Foundation, Canada. Email support@miniauthors.com. Our privacy officer can be reached at the same address.