Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

myInkwell ("we," "us," or "our") operates the myInkwell website and service. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our service to create personalized children's books.

By using myInkwell, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

2. Information We Collect

Account Information

When you create an account, we collect your name and email address through our authentication provider (AWS Cognito).

Story Content

We store the content you create, including character names, descriptions, story text, and AI-generated illustrations. This content is associated with your account and stored on our servers.

Payment Information

Payment processing is handled by Stripe. We do not store your credit card number or full payment details. We receive confirmation of payment status and transaction identifiers from Stripe.

Usage Data

We collect basic usage data such as pages visited, features used, and error logs to improve the service. This data is not sold to third parties.

3. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

myInkwell is designed for use by parents, guardians, and authorized adults to create storybooks on behalf of children. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13.

When you place a print order, the payment transaction serves as verifiable parental consent under COPPA — an FTC-approved method of confirming your identity as a parent or guardian.

If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately at support@myinkwellbooks.com and we will delete it promptly.

4. How We Use Your Information

• To generate and store your personalized storybooks
• To process print orders and payments
• To authenticate your identity and protect your account
• To send order confirmations and service-related communications
• To improve our AI models and service quality (using aggregated, de-identified data only)
• To respond to support inquiries and feedback

5. AI-Generated Content

myInkwell uses Google Gemini AI to generate story text and illustrations based on your inputs. Your prompts and character descriptions are sent to Google's API for processing. Please refer to Google's Privacy Policy for information about how they handle data.

We do not use your story content to train our own AI models. Generated content belongs to you, subject to our Terms of Service.

6. Data Sharing and Third Parties

We share your information only with the following service providers:

• AWS Cognito — authentication and account management
• Stripe — payment processing
• Lulu — book printing and fulfillment (name and shipping address for orders)
• Google Gemini — AI text and image generation

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.

7. Data Retention and Deletion

Your account data and story content are retained as long as your account is active. You may request deletion of your account and all associated data at any time by contacting us at support@myinkwellbooks.com.

Upon account deletion, we will remove your personal information and story content within 30 days, except where retention is required by law or for legitimate business purposes (e.g., completed order records).

8. Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), secure authentication tokens, and access controls. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your data
• Object to or restrict certain processing
• Data portability (receive your data in a structured format)

To exercise these rights, contact us at support@myinkwellbooks.com.

10. Cookies

We use essential cookies and local storage for authentication and session management. We do not use third-party advertising or tracking cookies.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the updated policy on this page with a revised effective date. Your continued use of the service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:
support@myinkwellbooks.com