EFFECTIVE DATE: AUGUST 9, 2026
Storytime Guru is designed for the parents and older caregivers of children in preschool through first grade. The adult operates the app: browsing reading themes, viewing book information, and reading conversation prompts aloud. The app is not intended for use by children on their own, is not marketed to children, and is not part of Apple’s Kids Category. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. See “Children’s privacy” below.
The app keeps a small amount of information on your device so it remembers your place between visits. This stays on your device and is not sent to us or anyone else:
This information is not tied to your name or any account, because the app has no accounts. If you delete the app, this information is removed with it.
Through the app itself, we do not collect:
To do a few specific things, the app connects to outside services. Here is each one, what is sent, and why.
Storytime Guru is built with Expo (React Native), and uses Expo’s update service (EAS Update) to deliver content additions and small fixes to the installed app without waiting for a full app-store release. When the app launches, it contacts Expo’s update servers to check for and, if one is available, download an update. In that check, Expo receives standard technical request information: the app’s version and update channel, the device platform (iOS or Android), the identifier of the update the app currently has, and, as with any Internet request, your device’s Internet (IP) address. No information about you or your child is sent — no book selections, no book requests, no name, and no email. Expo acts only as the service that hosts and delivers the app’s updates. This update mechanism has been part of the app since its first test builds.
To show the cover picture for a book, the app requests the cover image from Bookshop.org’s image service, and, as a backup, from Open Library. When your device requests an image, that service can see your device’s Internet (IP) address and which book cover is being requested, the same as any website you visit. No name or account information is sent, because the app has none. These services have their own privacy practices, linked below.
If a book is not yet in the app, you can ask us to consider adding it. If you tap to send that request, the app sends the book’s identifying number (ISBN), a short tag noting where the request came from in the app, and the date and time, to a Google Forms form that we use to collect these requests. It does not send your name, email, or any information about you or your child. Google receives the submission and standard technical information such as your IP address as part of delivering the form. If you never send a request, nothing is sent. The collected requests are used only to decide which books to add.
Where the app links out to buy a book, tapping the link opens Bookshop.org in your device’s web browser. From that point you are on Bookshop.org’s website, and their privacy policy applies. Grade Level Guru LLC may earn a commission on purchases made through these links.
The app can use your device’s camera to scan a book’s barcode so it can look the book up. The camera image is used on your device to read the barcode and is not photographed, saved, or sent anywhere. iOS will ask your permission before the camera is used, and you can decline or change this in your device settings.
Storytime Guru is directed to parents and caregivers, not to children, and it is not intended for children to use on their own. We do not knowingly collect, use, or disclose personal information from children under 13, and the app is not designed to have children provide any information. There are no child accounts, no fields for a child’s name or details, and no advertising or behavioral tracking of any kind.
The United States Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) governs the online collection of personal information from children under 13. Because the app collects no personal information from children, the collection that COPPA is designed to prevent does not occur here.
If you are a parent or guardian and you believe a child has somehow provided personal information through the app, please contact us at the email below and we will address it. Because the app has no accounts and stores your activity only on your device, deleting the app removes that on-device information.
Some of these are service providers and infrastructure partners that process limited technical data to deliver, update, and distribute the app; none of them receive personal information about you or your child, and we do not sell or share such information with them. They have their own privacy policies that govern the information they receive:
Storytime Guru is distributed through the Apple App Store, and your use of the App Store is also subject to Apple’s terms and privacy policy. In the App Store’s privacy information for the app, we describe the data practices summarized here. Storytime Guru is not enrolled in Apple’s Kids Category.
If and when an Android version of Storytime Guru is released through the Google Play Store, this policy will apply to it as well, and we will update this page to describe any Android-specific data practices at that time.
We may update this policy as the app changes, for example if we add features that handle information differently. When we do, we will change the “Effective date” above and post the updated policy on this page. If we make a significant change, we will make a reasonable effort to make it noticeable.
Separate from the app itself: if you sign up to take part in our beta test, or contact us directly, we collect the email address and any phone number you choose to give us. We use it only to run the beta (to send you the app and setup instructions, the before-and-after surveys, and occasional updates about the test) and to reach you about it. We do not use it for advertising, and we do not sell or rent it. If you ask us, we will remove your contact information from our beta list. This is the one place we hold contact information during the beta; the app itself still collects none of it.
If you have questions about this policy or the app’s handling of information, contact:
Grade Level Guru LLC
info@gradelevelguru.com
