Children’s Privacy & Photo Policy
Effective 23 September 2026 · Last updated 27 September 2026
Parents trust us with something precious: their child’s photos and story. This page explains, in plain language, what we collect about children, why we collect it, who processes it, and when we delete it. It supplements our Privacy Policy.
Our commitments at a glance
- For parents, not children. Only adults can use OnceUponYou. We never knowingly collect information directly from children.
- Used for one thing: your book. Your child’s photos and details are used only to create, deliver and support your book.
- Never used to train AI. We do not use your child’s photos or information to train AI models. Google and Anthropic are contractually not permitted to either, and OpenAI states that it does not train its models on data sent to its API.
- Never sold, never used for advertising. We do not sell children’s information and we do not use it for advertising.
- Deleted automatically. Your child’s uploaded photos are deleted 30 days after your book is fulfilled, and also 30 days after an order stops progressing, so a book that is never finished does not leave us holding a photo forever. You can ask us to delete them sooner at any time.
1. Our service is for adults (COPPA)
OnceUponYou is a service for parents, legal guardians and other adults. It is not directed to children, and children may not create accounts, place orders or submit information to us.
We comply with the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”). We do not knowingly collect personal information from a child under 13. If we learn that a child has submitted personal information to us directly, we will delete it promptly. If you believe this has happened, contact us at privacy@onceuponyou.store.
2. Information about children that parents give us
To personalize a book, a parent or guardian may provide:
- the child’s first name, and any other name used in the story;
- age, and details such as interests, favourite things or family members to feature;
- photos of the child, and of any other people or pets you choose to include; and
- a dedication or other custom text.
By providing this information you confirm that you are the child’s parent or legal guardian, or that you have the parent’s or guardian’s permission. If you include photos of other people, you confirm you have their permission, or their parent’s permission for a child.
Please provide only what the book needs. We do not ask for, and you should not provide, a child’s last name, school, address or other identifying details in story fields.
3. How we use it
We use your child’s information only to:
- generate the story and illustrations for your book;
- show you previews and make the revisions you request;
- print and deliver your book; and
- provide customer support for your order.
We do not use it for advertising or profiling. We do not include it in marketing, reviews or social media without your separate, explicit written consent, and you can withdraw that consent at any time.
4. How the photos are processed
Your photo is sent to an AI image model, which uses it as a visual reference to draw an illustrated character inspired by your child. The output is an artistic illustration, not a copy of the photo.
We also run an automated check over the photo when you upload it. An AI model confirms that the photo shows a person with a clearly visible face, and suggests a different photo if another would work better. No person reviews it. We keep only whether the photo passed the check (a pass, a warning or a fail, with no other details), to improve the upload step.
We do not perform facial recognition. We do not build, store or compare face templates or face-geometry measurements, and we do not use your child’s photo to identify them anywhere else.
5. Who processes children’s information
We share children’s information only with service providers who help us create and deliver your book. Each processes it on our instructions to provide its service to us.
| Provider | Purpose | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| AI illustration | The photo and character descriptions | |
| Anthropic | AI story writing, and automated photo checks | The photo, plus name, age, interests and story details |
| OpenAI | AI illustration | The photos, the drawn character pictures, and picture instructions that include character descriptions and the story’s words, and so the child’s first name and other first names in the story |
| Replicate | AI illustration (additional image service) | The same as OpenAI, when we use this service |
| Black Forest Labs | Maker of the image model that service runs | May receive the same as OpenAI, when we use this service |
| Supabase | Database and file storage | Photos and book details |
| Vercel | Website and application hosting | Photos and book details, in transit and during processing |
| Inngest | Background processing of the book pipeline | Order and book details, and references to the stored photos |
| Gelato | Printing and shipping | The finished book file and shipping details, not the original photos |
| Resend | Order and delivery emails | Your email address and order information |
| Stripe | Payment processing | Payment and billing details, no children’s information |
We use Google and Anthropic on paid commercial terms that prohibit them from using our data to train their models, and OpenAI states that data sent to its API is not used to train its models. See section 3 of our Privacy Policy for detail.
We may also disclose information if required by law, or to protect the safety of a child or others.
6. How long we keep it
| Data | Kept until |
|---|---|
| Original uploaded photos, on a completed order | Deleted 30 days after your book is fulfilled. For a digital book, that means 30 days after it was delivered to you. For a printed book, 30 days after it shipped. |
| Original uploaded photos, on an order that never completed | Deleted 30 days after the last activity on that order. If you start a book and do not finish it, or an order stalls, we do not keep the photo waiting indefinitely. |
| Your finished book (illustrations and text) | Kept so you can download it again, or sooner if you ask us to delete it |
| Order records, with no photos | As long as needed for tax, accounting and legal obligations |
Our service providers may keep encrypted backups for a short period before they are permanently overwritten.
Reordering: because photos are deleted after fulfilment, you will need to upload a photo again to create a new book with fresh illustrations.
7. Your choices and rights
As a parent or guardian, you can at any time:
- Review the information we hold about your child;
- Delete your child’s photos, book, or all information about them, before the automatic deletion; and
- Withdraw any consent you have given, such as for marketing use.
To make a request, email privacy@onceuponyou.store from the address you used for your order. We will verify your identity and respond within 30 days. Residents of some U.S. states have additional rights under state privacy laws. See our Privacy Policy.
8. How we protect it
Photos are stored in private, access-controlled storage and transmitted over encrypted connections. Access is limited to the systems and people who need it to fulfil your order. No system is completely secure, but we take the protection of children’s information especially seriously. If a breach ever affects your child’s information, we will notify you as required by law.
9. Changes to this policy
If we make material changes to how we handle children’s information, we will update this page and email you before the change applies to information you have already provided.
10. Contact us
Questions about your child’s privacy:
Email: privacy@onceuponyou.store
Digity C LLC (trading as OnceUponYou), 251 Little Falls Drive, Wilmington, New Castle County, DE 19808, United States