RoutinePals Privacy Policy

RoutinePals ("RoutinePals," "we," "us," or "our") is a visual-routine, timer, and reward app that helps children — including autistic, ADHD, and other neurodivergent kids — follow daily routines with picture steps, timers, and encouragement. RoutinePals is operated by John Shoufler. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. It includes a dedicated section for children under 13 in line with the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

RoutinePals is designed to be set up and managed by a parent or guardian. A parent or guardian creates the account, adds each child profile, and controls what is shared. Children use the app under the supervision of their parent or guardian.

1. Information we collect

Parent / caregiver account information

• Email address and password — to create and secure the account and to sign in.
• Subscription status — whether the account has an active trial or paid plan. Payments are processed by our payment provider, Stripe; we do not receive or store full payment-card numbers.
• Optional referral information — if you join our referral ("Insider") program, we store the referral code and basic attribution needed to credit referrals.

Child profile information (entered by the parent/guardian)

• Child's first name or nickname and an optional avatar or photo, plus a profile PIN.
• Routine and progress data — the routines, steps, timers, stars/rewards, and completion history for that child.
• Media you add to routines — photos, short videos, and voice recordings that a family chooses to attach to routine steps (for example, a photo of a toothbrush or a parent's recorded voice). This content is stored to deliver the routine to the child.
• "How I feel" and "Waiting" entries — optional feelings selections and calming-strategy choices a child makes in the app.

Device and technical information

• Device and diagnostic data — app version, device type/OS, and crash or error logs used to keep the app working.
• Notification / device token — used to deliver routine reminders and wake-up alarms, and to support the optional “ring this device” finder, which plays a sound on the device to help you locate a misplaced phone or tablet (it does not track location or the child).

Optional AI features

RoutinePals offers optional, caregiver-only AI features: the AI co-planner (drafts routine steps from your description), the story builder (drafts a social story about an upcoming event), AI step pictures (draws an illustration for a step you name), and weekly insights (summarizes your child's routine activity statistics in plain language). When you use these, the text you type — and for insights, aggregated routine statistics such as completion counts and step timings — is sent to our AI provider (OpenAI) to generate the result. AI output is always shown to the caregiver for review and editing; children only see caregiver-approved content. We ask that you not include sensitive personal details in these requests. These features are optional and are not required to use RoutinePals.

2. How we use information

• To provide and operate the app — show routines, timers, rewards, reminders, and alarms.
• To create and secure accounts and authenticate sign-ins.
• To process subscriptions and, where applicable, referral credit.
• To provide customer support and respond to requests.
• To maintain, troubleshoot, and improve reliability and safety of the app.
• To comply with legal obligations.

We do not use children's personal information for behavioral advertising, and we do not sell personal information.

3. How information is shared

We do not sell personal information. We share information only as needed to run the app:

Service provider	Purpose
Stripe	Subscription and payment processing
OpenAI	Optional caregiver AI features — routine suggestions, social stories, step pictures, weekly insights (only the text you submit and, for insights, aggregated routine statistics)
Cloud hosting (DigitalOcean)	Secure hosting and storage of app data
Apple App Store / Google Play	App distribution and, if used, in-store purchases

We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect rights and safety, or in connection with a business transfer, subject to this policy.

4. Children's privacy (COPPA)

RoutinePals is intended to be used by children under the direction and supervision of a parent or guardian. We follow COPPA for the personal information of children under 13:

• Parental control and consent. Only a parent or guardian can create an account and add a child profile. By creating a child profile and adding information or media to it, the parent or guardian consents to our collection and use of that information as described here.
• Data minimization. We collect from or about a child only the information needed for the app to work, plus any media a family voluntarily adds to its own routines. We do not condition a child's use of the app on disclosing more information than is reasonably necessary.
• No third-party advertising or behavioral tracking of children. We do not display third-party ads to children and do not use children's information for targeted advertising.
• Parental rights. A parent or guardian can review the personal information we have collected from their child, ask us to correct or delete it, and refuse further collection or use. You can manage and delete child profiles in the app, or contact us using the details below and we will help.

If you believe a child has provided us information without a parent's involvement, please contact us and we will delete it.

5. Data retention

We keep personal information for as long as the account is active or as needed to provide the app. When you delete a child profile or close your account, we delete or de-identify the associated personal information within a reasonable period, except where we must retain limited records to meet legal, tax, or security obligations.

6. Security

We use technical and organizational measures — including encryption in transit (HTTPS), access controls, and secure hosting — to protect personal information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your information and to limit access to it.

7. Your choices and rights

Depending on where you live (for example, under the GDPR or California's CCPA/CPRA), you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or port your information, and to object to or restrict certain processing. To exercise any right, or to access or delete a child's information, contact us using the details below. We will not discriminate against you for exercising these rights.

8. International users

RoutinePals is operated from the United States. If you use the app from outside the U.S., you understand that your information will be processed in the United States, where data-protection laws may differ from those in your country.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will revise the "Last updated" date above and, for material changes, provide additional notice where appropriate. Continued use of the app after an update means you accept the revised policy.

10. Contact us

If you have questions about this policy, or want to review, correct, or delete a child's information, contact us at:

• Privacy & child-data requests: privacy@routinepals.com
• General support: support@routinepals.com
• Web: https://routinepals.com