Privacy Policy for ReadingGator

Last updated: August 30, 2026

ReadingGator ("the app") is developed by Cody Bitner ("we," "us," "our"). This policy explains what information the app collects, how it's used, and the choices you have. ReadingGator works almost entirely on your device, and this policy is written to reflect that plainly.

The short version

No user accounts, no analytics, no advertising. We don't sell or share personal information with anyone.
All reader profiles, reading activity, and custom stories are stored only on your device. We never see them.
The only information that ever leaves your device is what's needed to process an App Store subscription purchase — Apple handles that directly.
Speech recognition used to follow along as a child reads happens entirely on the device and is never recorded, stored, or transmitted.

Information the app stores (on your device only)

When a parent sets up a reader profile, ReadingGator stores the following locally on your device:

Reader's first name. No last name, birthdate, email, or other contact information is collected for a child.
Reading activity — words read, reading speed, streaks, and daily progress — used to track progress and unlock rewards.
The text of what a reader says while reading, matched against the book to check progress. Only the recognized words are kept; no audio recording is ever created or saved.
Custom stories, including any original text a parent types or content extracted from photos of pages added to a reader's library. Photos are processed on the device to extract text and are not kept as images afterward.
Reward and screen-time settings a parent configures, including which apps are selected to be limited via Apple's Family Controls / Screen Time system. This selection is used only to apply the limits you've set and never leaves your device.
Subscription status, to unlock the features you've purchased.

None of this is transmitted to us, to advertisers, or to any third party. It stays on the device — included in the device's own backups if you have those turned on generally (e.g. iCloud or Finder backup), but never synced to any server we operate, because we don't operate one.

Permissions the app requests, and why

Microphone & Speech Recognition — to listen to a child read aloud and check their words against the book, entirely on-device.
Camera — only if you choose to add a custom story by photographing pages; used to capture and read the text.
Face ID / Touch ID — to keep parent settings private from young readers sharing the same device.
Family Controls (Screen Time) — to let a parent choose apps that unlock once a reading goal is met.
Notifications — for optional reading-streak reminders you can turn on or off at any time.

You can decline any of these permissions; the related feature just won't be available.

Payments

Subscriptions are purchased and processed through Apple's App Store using StoreKit. We never see or store your payment details — Apple handles billing and gives us only a confirmation of your subscription status.

Third parties

We don't use third-party analytics, advertising, or crash-reporting services. The app doesn't connect to any server we run, because it doesn't need to — everything works locally. The only outside party involved at all is Apple, for App Store purchases and for the on-device system frameworks (Speech, Family Controls, Face ID) the app uses.

Children's privacy

ReadingGator is designed for children to use under a parent's supervision, and it's built with that responsibility in mind, in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA):

We don't collect more than a child's first name, and that name never leaves the device.
There are no accounts, no chat or messaging features, no ads, and no in-app purchases available to a child directly — subscriptions and all settings sit behind a parent Face ID/Touch ID gate.
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children beyond what's described here, and we never use a child's information for advertising or share it with third parties.

If you're a parent with questions about your child's information, see Contact below.

Your choices and control over your data

Because everything is stored on your device:

Deleting a reader profile in the app removes that reader's stored data from your device.
Deleting the app removes all of its data, including every reader profile, reading history, and custom story.
There's nothing to request "deleted" from us, because we never hold a copy anywhere else.

California users

ReadingGator complies with the California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA). As described throughout this policy, we don't collect personally identifiable information through the app, don't track you across third-party sites or services, and don't distribute personal information to outside parties without your consent.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we'll update the "Last updated" date above and, for material changes, note it within the app.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or how ReadingGator handles information can be sent to: hello@readinggator.com