KidWatch Privacy Policy
KidWatch is a parental-control app that lets a parent or guardian curate the YouTube videos their child can watch. It is developed and operated by an independent individual developer (“we”, “us”). This policy explains exactly what data KidWatch collects, where it goes, and how a parent can review or delete it.
Questions, or want your child’s data reviewed or deleted? Email kidwatchapp@gmail.com. We respond to verified parental requests.
Who this app is for
KidWatch is intended to be set up and controlled by a parent or guardian. The parent creates the account, creates each child’s profile, and sets a PIN that protects all parental settings. By creating a child profile, the parent consents to the collection described below on behalf of their child.
What we collect
- Parent account: your email address and password (handled by Google Firebase Authentication; we never see your password).
- Child profile: the child’s first name, age (2–12), and — only if you choose to add one — a profile photo from your camera or photo library.
- Viewing activity: which videos a child opened, watched or had blocked, watch time, and per-channel approval counts used to learn which channels you trust.
- Your settings: daily time limits, bedtime schedule, content filters, and the ask-a-parent confidence threshold.
- Search terms a child types into the in-app search box.
What stays only on the device
- Your parent PIN is stored on the device and is never transmitted to us or anyone else.
- Cached video analyses and browse results, to reduce network use.
How we use it
Only to make the app work: to show age- and language-appropriate videos, to enforce the limits you set (time limits, bedtime, blocked channels), to decide whether a video should be approved, blocked or sent to you for a decision, and to show you reports on what your child watched.
Who we share it with
We do not sell, rent, or trade any data. We share only what is necessary with the following service providers:
- Google Firebase (Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Cloud Storage) — stores your account, child profiles, profile photos, settings and viewing history.
- Google Gemini API — when a child opens a video, we send that video’s title, description and language metadata to Google’s Gemini service to classify its language and suitability. We do not send your child’s name, age, photo, or any account identifier.
- YouTube Data API — we send video IDs and your child’s search terms to Google to retrieve video titles, thumbnails and durations.
- Cloudflare — operates the secure proxy server that relays the two requests above. Requests pass through it in transit.
Important — video playback happens on YouTube. When an approved video plays,
KidWatch loads it from youtube.com inside the app. During playback Google and YouTube may
collect data directly from the device under
Google’s Privacy Policy,
independently of KidWatch. We do not control that collection.
What we do not do
- No advertising and no ad networks.
- No third-party analytics or usage tracking.
- No tracking across other apps or websites; we do not use the device advertising identifier (IDFA).
- No selling or sharing of your or your child’s data for marketing.
- We do not ask a child for any personal information — only the parent enters the child’s name and age.
Children’s privacy (COPPA)
KidWatch is designed for children and complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. We collect only the limited information described above, only with a parent’s consent, and only to operate the app. We never condition a child’s use of the app on disclosing more information than is reasonably necessary.
As a parent or guardian you have the right to:
- Review the personal information we hold about your child.
- Delete your child’s information, or your entire account and all data in it.
- Refuse further collection by deleting the child’s profile or the account.
You can delete a child profile or your entire account from within the app (Settings), or email kidwatchapp@gmail.com and we will action a verified request.
Data retention
We keep your data only while your account exists. Deleting a child profile removes that child’s profile and viewing history. Deleting your account removes your account and all associated child profiles, photos, settings and viewing history. Backups are purged on our providers’ normal schedules.
Security
All network traffic uses HTTPS. Access to your stored data is restricted to your signed-in account. API keys are held on our server, never inside the app. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable measures to protect your family’s information.
International
Data is processed by Google and Cloudflare on servers that may be located outside your country. By using KidWatch you consent to that transfer.
Changes to this policy
If we make a material change to what we collect or who we share it with, we will update this page and its effective date, and — where the law requires — obtain parental consent again.