COPPA Notice (Children’s Privacy — U.S.)
This notice supplements our Privacy Policy and describes how we address children’s information under U.S. law.
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) requires operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13, or with actual knowledge they collect personal information from children under 13, to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing such information, subject to limited exceptions.
1. How Shelfling treats young readers
Shelfling is built for families. Parents and caregivers create child profiles, manage reading data, and control whether optional online features are used. Areas intended for kids (such as Kid Mode) are designed to be used with a parent or caregiver’s involvement, not as unsupervised open registration for children.
2. What personal information we may collect from children
When you, as a parent, add a child profile or log reading on your child’s behalf, we may process information that COPPA treats as personal information, including:
- Name or nickname you choose for the profile
- Age, birthdate, or grade-related cues you provide
- Reading activity (books, sessions, reactions, quotes, achievements)
- Content you choose to store (including photos or voice where the app allows it)
- Technical identifiers if you use account or cloud features tied to that profile
If your child types free text (for example in notes or AI prompts), treat that as personal information you are choosing to submit.
3. Parental consent
Before we collect personal information from a child in a way that requires consent under COPPA, we ask the adult using the app to confirm they are the parent or legal guardian and agree on behalf of the family. The exact wording appears in the app (for example at onboarding or before online features). If we learn we have collected information from a child without required consent, we will delete it promptly as required by law.
4. How we use children’s information
We use it only to provide family reading features you expect: organizing libraries, growth and milestone experiences, optional educator or classroom tools you enable, recommendations where offered, and support. We do not condition participation on disclosure of more information than reasonably necessary for those activities.
5. Disclosure to third parties
We may share information with service providers (such as cloud hosting, authentication, email, or AI inference for features you turn on) under contractual obligations to use data only for our instructions. We do not sell personal information about children in the ordinary sense of selling lists to marketers. For details, see our Privacy Policy.
6. Parental rights
Parents may:
- Review personal information we have collected from your child (contact us if not available in-app)
- Request deletion of your child’s personal information
- Refuse further collection or use of your child’s information
To exercise these rights, email hello@shelfling.app from the email associated with your account, or describe your relationship to the child if you do not use email sign-in. We may ask reasonable questions to verify you are the parent or guardian.
7. Data retention
We retain child-related personal information only as long as needed to provide the service or as required by law. When you delete a profile, request deletion, or close an account, we delete or de-identify information according to our Privacy Policy, subject to limited backup or legal holds.
8. Contact
Shelfling — Children’s privacy inquiries
Email: hello@shelfling.app
Web: Privacy Policy