Privacy Policy

Our core promises

• ✓We never sell personal information or Family Content.
• ✓We do not show ads in the app or use your information to target ads anywhere.
• ✓Family Content is private to your family circle and is never made public.
• ✓Children take part only with a parent’s verifiable consent, and parents stay in control.
• ✓You can leave at any time and ask us to delete your information.

1. Who we are, scope, and defined terms

Who we are

Grandbabiez is a structured family app that helps grandparents and grandchildren who live apart stay close through weekly prompts, shared stories, photos, videos, and voice recordings. It is operated by Grandbabiez, Inc., a Florida corporation based in The Villages, Florida (“Grandbabiez,” “we,” “our,” or “us”). Grandbabiez, Inc. is the business responsible for the personal information described in this policy.

What this policy covers

This policy applies to personal information we collect through:

• the Grandbabiez mobile apps for iPhone/iPad (Apple App Store) and Android (Google Play);
• our website at grandbabiez.com and any pages that link to this policy;
• our phone line, email, and other support channels; and
• events, sign-up forms, surveys, and outreach in The Villages and elsewhere.

Together these are the “Services.”

What this policy does not cover

• Apple, Google, and other companies whose services you use alongside ours. They have their own privacy policies (see Section 14).
• Information you share outside Grandbabiez, such as a photo a family member saves to their own phone and sends elsewhere.

Defined terms

A person can hold more than one role. For example, an adult daughter may be a Family Member in her parents’ circle and the Parent who approves her own child’s participation.

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2. Information we collect

We collect personal information in three ways: directly from you, automatically when you use the Services, and from other people or companies. We collect only what we need to run a private family app.

2.1 Grandparents, Family Members, and Circle Organizers

Account information. Your name, email address, mobile phone number, password (stored in hashed form), and the display name and relationship you choose, such as “Grandpa Joe.”

Profile information you choose to add. A profile photo, birthday, hometown, the interests and family values you want prompts to reflect, preferred language, and accessibility settings such as larger text or read-aloud.

Family Content. Everything you create or share in a family circle, including written answers, stories, photos, videos, voice recordings, reactions, and comments. Photos and videos may contain embedded information such as the date taken; we remove precise location data from uploaded media before it is shared.

Family circle information. Who is in your circle, how members are related, who invited whom, and circle settings.

Contacts. When you add a family member, you can type their phone number or choose them from your phone’s contacts. If you choose them, your phone shows you the list and sends us only the one person you pick. We never read, upload or store your contact list, and we never see anyone you did not choose.

Payments. Grandbabiez is currently provided free of charge. The only payment we take is the 50 cent charge used to verify a parent’s identity, described in Section 6. If we introduce paid plans, we will update this policy and tell you before the change takes effect.

Support and feedback. What you tell us when you call, email, fill out a form, answer a survey, or share an idea for the app. With your permission, we may credit you by first name and town when we publicly thank you for an idea.

2.2 Parents

• Your name, email address, phone number, and relationship to the Child.
• The information needed to verify that you are the Child’s parent or guardian and the record of your consent, including the date, method, and what you agreed to.
• Your choices about the Child’s participation, such as which circle the Child joins and which features are turned on.

2.3 Children

Children under 13. We collect information from or about a Child under 13 only after a Parent gives verifiable consent (see Section 6). With that consent we collect:

• the Child’s first name or nickname;
• the Child’s date of birth, which we use to decide whether the Child is under 13 and therefore needs a parent’s consent, to choose prompts that suit their age, and to record their birthday as a family milestone;
• an optional profile photo or avatar; and
• the Family Content the Child shares, which may include the Child’s image, voice, or likeness in photos, videos, and recordings.

We do not ask Children under 13 for a last name, home address, school name, email address, phone number, or precise location.

Grandchildren aged 13 to 17. A grandchild aged 13 to 17 joins only when a family member invites them, and holds their own account. Because they sign in themselves, we also collect their mobile phone number, which we use only to send their sign-in code and to confirm they are the person who was invited. Otherwise we collect the same kinds of information as for a Child under 13, and we never use a grandchild’s phone number for marketing.

2.4 Website Visitors and prospective customers

• Information you enter into forms, such as name, email, phone, ZIP code, number of grandchildren, how you heard about us, and messages to us.
• Information you give us at events, club meetings, or by phone.
• Votes or suggestions submitted through our feature roadmap forms.

2.5 Information collected automatically

In the app: device model, operating system, app version, language and time-zone settings, a device identifier used to deliver push notifications, crash and performance logs, and how features are used (for example, which prompts are opened, answered, or skipped, and when).

On the website: browser type, pages viewed, referring page, time spent, and approximate location (city or region) derived from your IP address. See Section 7.

What we do not collect automatically: precise GPS location, your contact list beyond the single contact you choose from your phone’s own picker, your photo library beyond the items you choose to upload, your microphone or camera except while you are actively recording, or your activity on other apps and websites.

2.6 Information from others

• Invitations: when a member invites you, they give us your name and email address or phone number so we can send the invitation.
• Family Content about you: other members may mention you in stories or include you in photos and recordings.
• Payment processor: confirmation that a Parent’s verification charge went through.
• Service providers: for example, confirmation that a sign-in code was delivered.

2.7 Sensitive information

Some Family Content may reveal sensitive details, such as a family member’s health, religious traditions, or a child’s special needs, because families choose to talk about these things. We treat all Family Content as private, use it only to provide the Services to your family, and never use it for advertising or profiling. We do not use voice recordings or photos to create biometric identifiers such as face or voice prints.

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3. How we use information

We use personal information only for the purposes below. We do not use it for advertising, and we do not sell it.

3.1 To provide the Services

• Create and manage accounts and family circles, including sending invitations.
• Deliver weekly prompts and show each member’s Family Content to the rest of their circle.
• Store Family Content so your family can return to it.
• Provide accessibility features such as larger text, read-aloud, and captions.

3.2 To personalize prompts

We use relationships, ages, interests, values, and which prompts your family has answered to choose prompts that fit each grandparent and grandchild. Personalization stays inside the Services; we do not build profiles to share with anyone else.

3.3 To verify Parents

Process the 50 cent charge a Parent pays to show they are an adult (see Section 6.2), and answer questions about it.

3.4 To support you

Answer calls and emails, troubleshoot problems, help families get set up, and follow up on requests. If you call us, we may keep notes of the conversation so the next person who helps you knows the history.

3.5 To keep the Services safe and secure

• Verify Parents and record consent.
• Detect and prevent fraud, spam, unauthorized access, and misuse.
• Investigate reports of inappropriate content and enforce our Terms of Use.
• Protect the rights, safety, and property of our users, Children, Grandbabiez, and others.

3.6 To improve and develop the Services

We study how the Services are used, such as which prompts families answer most and where people get stuck, to fix problems and design better features. Wherever practical we use aggregated or de-identified data for this. When we de-identify information, we take reasonable steps so it cannot be linked back to a person, and we do not try to re-identify it.

3.7 To communicate with you

Send service messages, such as new prompts, reminders, security alerts, and policy changes. For adults, we may also send news about Grandbabiez, events in your area, and requests for feedback; you can opt out of these at any time (see Section 8). We never send marketing messages to Children.

3.8 To comply with the law

Keep tax and business records, respond to lawful requests from government authorities, and meet our obligations under COPPA and other laws.

3.9 With your consent

For any other purpose, we will tell you what we plan to do and ask for your permission first, for example before featuring your family’s story in a testimonial.

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4. AI-assisted features

Some Grandbabiez features use artificial intelligence (AI) to make it easier for families to share stories. This section explains what those features do with your information.

4.1 What the AI features do

• Follow-up questions: suggest a next question based on an answer, such as “What was your teacher’s name?”
• Story capture: turn a spoken story into written text, and keep the original recording so your family can hear the story in your own voice.
• Question Back: help a grandchild send an age-appropriate question back to a grandparent.
• Tone tips: offer gentle suggestions for talking about harder topics, such as memory loss, divorce, or a parent’s deployment.
• Transcription and captions: create captions for videos and voice recordings.

4.2 How Family Content is processed

• AI features process only the Family Content needed for the feature you are using, at the time you use it.
• Processing is done by us or by AI service providers acting on our behalf under written contracts.
• Those contracts prohibit providers from using your Family Content to train or improve their own AI models and require them to delete it once processing is complete, subject to limited security retention.

Anthropic generates conversation prompts. AssemblyAI converts voice recordings into text; only a grandparent can record a story, so a child’s voice is never sent to it. Where a prompt is about a grandchild, we replace the child’s name with a stand-in before the request leaves our systems.

4.3 Training

• We do not use Children’s personal information or Children’s Family Content to train AI models.
• We do not use any Family Content to train AI models without the express permission of the adults involved.
• We may improve our prompt library using aggregated, de-identified information, such as how often a prompt is answered.

4.4 People stay in control

AI suggestions are only suggestions. Nothing AI-generated is shared with your family circle until a family member reviews it and chooses to share it. AI features do not make decisions about you that have legal or similarly significant effects, such as decisions about eligibility, pricing, or access to the Services.

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5. How we share information

We share personal information only as described below. We do not sell personal information, rent it, trade it, or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

5.1 Within your family circle

The Services exist so families can share. Family Content you post is visible to the other members of that circle. Members can see each other’s display names, profile photos, relationships, and activity in the circle, such as when a prompt was answered. Members of one circle cannot see another circle’s content.

Other members may save or screenshot what you share, just as they could with a letter or photo. Please share only what you are comfortable with your family seeing.

5.2 With service providers

We use trusted companies to help run the Services. They may use personal information only to perform services for us, must keep it confidential and secure, and may not sell it or use it for their own purposes.

5.3 With Apple and Google

If you download the app through the Apple App Store or Google Play, those companies receive information about your download under their own privacy policies.

5.4 For legal reasons and to protect people

We may disclose information if we believe in good faith that it is required to comply with a law, subpoena, court order, or other legal process; to enforce our Terms of Use; to detect or prevent fraud or security problems; or to protect the safety of any person, especially a Child. Where the law allows, we will tell you about a government request for your information.

5.5 If our business changes

If Grandbabiez is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. Any new owner must honor this policy. We will notify you before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy, and Parents will be asked for new consent where COPPA requires it.

5.6 With your direction or consent

We share information when you ask us to, for example when you ask us to share a story outside your circle.

5.7 De-identified and aggregated information

We may share statistics that do not identify any person or family, such as “most families answer two prompts a week.”

5.8 Children’s information

A Child’s information is shared only with the Child’s own family circle, with service providers that support the Services, and as required by law. It is never shared with third parties for their own purposes.

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6. Children’s privacy

Grandchildren are at the heart of Grandbabiez, so protecting them comes first. We comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the FTC’s COPPA Rule for children under 13. We extend the same restrictions on advertising, profiling, public exposure and AI training to every grandchild in a family circle, including teens.

6.1 Operator contact information

Grandbabiez, Inc. is the operator that collects and maintains Children’s personal information through the Services.

• Grandbabiez, Inc., 6394 Don Eileen Terrace, The Villages, FL 34762
• support@grandbabiez.com · (408) 219-7677

6.2 How a Child joins

1. 1.A Grandparent or Family Member enters the Parent’s contact information to invite a grandchild. We use it only to contact the Parent, and we delete it if the Parent does not respond.
2. 2.The Parent receives our direct notice, which explains what we will collect from the Child, how we will use and share it, and the Parent’s rights.
3. 3.The Parent gives verifiable consent using a method approved under COPPA. We charge 50 cents (USD 0.50) to the Parent’s card, processed by Stripe. The law accepts a credit card as proof that you are an adult only when a real payment is made, which is why there is a charge at all. This 50 cents is not refunded. We never see or store your card number.
4. 4.Only then can the Child join, and the Parent chooses which circle and which features the Child uses.

6.3 What we collect from Children and why

We do not condition a Child’s participation on providing more information than is reasonably necessary.

6.4 What we never do with Children’s information

• Show ads to Children or use their information for advertising.
• Sell or rent it, or share it with third parties for their own purposes.
• Make it public or let people outside the Child’s family circle see it.
• Let Children chat with people outside their family circle.
• Use it to train AI models.
• Send Children marketing messages.

6.5 A Parent’s rights and controls

At any time, a Parent can:

1. 1.Review the personal information we have collected from their Child.
2. 2.Ask us to delete it.
3. 3.Refuse further collection or use and remove the Child from the Services.
4. 4.Consent to our collection and use of the Child’s information without consenting to disclosure to third parties, other than service providers that support the Services.
5. 5.Change the Child’s settings, including turning off video, voice, or AI-assisted features.

Parents can use the parent controls in the app, email support@grandbabiez.com, or call (408) 219-7677. We will take reasonable steps to confirm you are the Child’s parent or guardian before giving access to or deleting information.

6.6 Keeping and deleting a Child’s information

We keep a Child’s information while the family account they belong to is open.

A child under 13 takes part through a profile their parent manages, so the parent deletes it on their behalf, at any time, from the app. If that parent deletes their own account and no other adult manages the child’s profile, the child’s profile and information are deleted at the same time. The app tells the parent this before they confirm.

A grandchild aged 13 to 17 has their own sign-in, so they delete their own account and information themselves, and nobody else can do it for them.

If the person who created a family circle deletes their account, the circle closes and everything shared in it is deleted: the stories, the conversations, the prompts and the milestones. Other members keep their own accounts and can still sign in; what they lose is the circle and everything that was in it. A child’s profile that existed only in that circle is deleted with it. The app shows the owner what will be lost before they confirm.

In every case deletion is immediate within the app and cannot be undone. Removing every remaining copy, including from our backups, completes shortly afterwards.

6.7 Security of Children’s information

We maintain a written information security program designed to protect Children’s information, with a named person responsible for it, regular risk assessments, and controls described in Section 11.

6.8 If we learn we collected information without consent

If we discover that we collected personal information from a child under 13 without verifiable parental consent, we will delete it promptly. If you believe this has happened, please contact us.

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7. Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small files a website stores in your browser. Similar technologies include pixels and local storage, and in apps, software development kits (SDKs).

7.1 What we use

7.2 Your choices

• Most browsers let you block or delete cookies in their settings. Blocking essential cookies may stop parts of the website from working.
• We honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals sent by your browser.
• Your phone’s settings let you limit app tracking and analytics sharing.
• Because we do not use advertising technologies, there are no advertising cookies to opt out of.

7.3 Children

We do not use analytics or other technologies to track Children across other websites or apps or to build profiles about them. Any technology used while a Child is using the app supports only internal operations, such as keeping the app working and secure.

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8. Communications

8.1 Service messages

We send messages needed to run the Services, such as new prompts, reminders, security alerts, and changes to this policy. You can adjust how often you get prompt reminders in the app, but you cannot opt out of essential account and security messages while you have an account.

8.2 News and updates (adults only)

With your permission where the law requires it, we may email adults about new features, local events in The Villages and elsewhere, and requests for feedback. Every such email includes an unsubscribe link, and we process unsubscribes promptly.

8.3 Text messages

When you invite a family member by text, the invitation is sent from your own phone, through your own messages app, under your own mobile plan. We do not send marketing texts. If you sign in with a phone number, our sign-in provider sends you a one-time code. We do not share mobile numbers with third parties for their marketing, and we never text Children.

8.4 Push notifications

The app can send notifications when family members share something new. You can turn them off at any time in the app or in your device settings. Parents control notifications on a Child’s device.

8.5 Phone calls

When you call our support line, a real person answers. We may take notes to help you. If we ever record calls for quality or training, we will tell you at the start of the call and you can ask us not to record. We do not use automated dialing or AI voice agents to call you.

8.6 Email tracking

Some of our emails may include technology that tells us whether an email was opened, so we can tell whether prompt reminders are reaching families. Most email apps let you block this by turning off automatic image loading. Emails sent to Parents about a Child’s participation do not include this tracking.

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9. Your rights and choices

Everyone who uses Grandbabiez has the rights below, wherever they live. Some states give additional rights, described in Section 10.

9.1 Controls in the app

• See and update your account and profile information.
• Edit or delete Family Content you posted. Deleted content is removed from the family circle; copies a member saved outside the app are not affected.
• Leave a family circle at any time. Circle Organizers can remove members.
• Adjust notifications, reminders, and accessibility settings.
• Turn off AI-assisted features (Circle Organizers and Parents).

9.2 Requests you can make to us

9.3 What happens when you delete your account

• Your account and profile are deleted.
• Family Content you posted is deleted from your circles.
• If you created a family circle, the circle closes and everything shared in it is deleted. Other members keep their own accounts. See Section 6.6.
• We may keep limited records the law requires, such as payment records (see Section 12).

9.4 How to make a request

Email support@grandbabiez.com with the subject “Privacy Request,” or call (408) 219-7677. To protect you, we will verify your identity, usually by confirming details tied to your account. We respond within 45 days, or sooner where the law requires, and will tell you if we need more time.

You may use an authorized agent. We may ask for written proof that you authorized the agent and may still ask you to verify your identity directly.

9.5 Appeals

If we deny your request, you can appeal by replying to our decision or emailing support@grandbabiez.com with the subject “Privacy Appeal.” We will respond in writing within the time the law requires. If you are not satisfied, you may contact your state attorney general.

9.6 No discrimination

We will not deny you service, charge a different price, or provide a lower quality of service because you exercised your privacy rights.

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10. U.S. state privacy notice

Residents of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Texas, Virginia, and other states with consumer privacy laws may have rights beyond those in Section 9. Some of these laws apply only to businesses above certain size thresholds; we choose to honor these rights for all users regardless.

10.1 Categories of personal information we collect

In the past 12 months we have collected the following categories, as defined in the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

We do not collect precise geolocation, government ID numbers (except temporarily for parent verification, if that method is used), financial account numbers, or biometric identifiers.

10.2 Purposes

We use each category only for the purposes in Section 3.

10.3 Sale, sharing, and targeted advertising

We do not sell personal information, share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, or use it for targeted advertising, and we have not done so in the past 12 months. We have no actual knowledge of selling or sharing the personal information of anyone under 16.

10.4 Sensitive personal information

We use sensitive personal information only as needed to provide the Services you request and for other purposes the law permits, such as security. We do not use it to infer characteristics about you.

10.5 Profiling

We do not use automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

10.6 Retention

See Section 12.

10.7 Exercising your rights

See Sections 9.4 and 9.5 for how to submit requests, use an authorized agent, and appeal.

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11. Security

We protect personal information with administrative, technical, and physical safeguards suited to a family app that holds children’s information. These include:

• encryption of data in transit (TLS) and at rest;
• access limited to staff and service providers who need it, with individual logins and multi-factor authentication;
• a written information security program, a person responsible for it, and periodic risk assessments;
• security and confidentiality commitments in contracts with service providers; and
• monitoring for unusual activity and a plan for responding to incidents.

No system is perfectly secure. You can help by using a strong, unique password, keeping your phone locked, and contacting us right away at support@grandbabiez.com or (408) 219-7677 if you think your account has been compromised. If a data breach affects your personal information, we will notify you and the appropriate authorities as required by law, including Florida’s Information Protection Act.

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12. Retention

We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purposes in this policy, then delete or de-identify it.

We may keep information longer if the law requires it, to resolve disputes, or to enforce our agreements.

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13. Where information is stored

Grandbabiez is based in Florida, and we and our service providers store and process information in the United States. If you use the Services from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those in your country.

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14. Third-party services and links

The Services may link to or work with services we do not control, such as the Apple App Store, Google Play, video-calling apps, and websites we mention. This policy does not cover them. Please review their privacy policies. We do not let third-party services collect information from Children through our app except service providers acting for us.

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15. Changes to this policy

We will update this policy as Grandbabiez grows and as laws change. The “Last updated” date at the top shows when it last changed.

• Minor changes, such as clearer wording, take effect when posted.
• Significant changes, such as a new use of personal information, will be announced by email or in the app at least 30 days before they take effect.
• Changes affecting Children’s information that require new consent under COPPA will not apply to a Child until a Parent gives that consent.

We keep prior versions of this policy and will share them on request.

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16. Contact us

For help with the app, privacy requests, or anything about your family’s information: support@grandbabiez.com or (408) 219-7677. A real person answers.

To reach our founder directly: greg@grandbabiez.com.

• Mail: Grandbabiez, Inc., Attn: Privacy, 6394 Don Eileen Terrace, The Villages, FL 34762

If you are a Parent with a question about your Child’s information, you can use any of these methods. If we do not resolve your concern, you may contact the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov or your state attorney general.

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