Effective October 4, 2026
Who we are
Growing Garden LLC operates Growing Garden in the United States. Contact us at info@growinggardenai.com.
Information we collect
We collect parent account details, family preferences (including parent interview answers), subscription information, service usage, and conversations submitted through the child experience.
Sign-in methods
You can sign in with your account email and password, Google Sign-In, or Sign in with Apple in the iOS app. Google provides an identity token containing a Google user ID, a verified email address, and a name when available. We verify the token and use the verified email address to find your existing parent account; we do not store a separate Google user ID as an account link.
For Sign in with Apple, we receive an Apple user ID, a verified email address, and a name when available. If you choose Hide My Email, Apple supplies a private relay email address instead of your personal email address. We store the Apple user ID to recognize your linked account. We also exchange the authorization code for an Apple refresh token, which we store encrypted solely so we can revoke Sign in with Apple access when you delete your account. We do not return that refresh token to the app.
Purchases and subscription information
Subscriptions can be purchased on the web through Stripe or in the iOS app through Apple in-app purchase. Stripe processes web payments; Apple processes App Store payments. We never receive your payment card details for App Store purchases, and we do not receive or store full payment card details for web payments. We receive subscription and transaction information needed to verify access and operate billing.
We use RevenueCat to verify and track App Store subscription status. Our app supplies RevenueCat with the signed-in parent account ID as the app user/household identifier. RevenueCat receives App Store purchase information through its purchase SDK and Apple. Our server checks RevenueCat for the household's subscription status and stores a short-lived verification snapshot, including subscription dates. Purchase and restore actions in the iOS app are restricted to parents and require parent PIN verification.
Managing subscriptions and refunds
Web subscribers can manage or cancel their subscription through Parent Dashboard → Manage Subscription, which opens the Stripe billing portal. Contact info@growinggardenai.com with questions about web payments or refund requests; contacting us does not guarantee a refund.
For App Store subscriptions, manage or cancel in iPhone or iPad Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions, or use Apple subscription settings. We cannot cancel Apple subscriptions for you. App Store refund requests must be submitted to Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com and are handled by Apple. Deleting your Growing Garden account or removing the app does not cancel an Apple subscription; the parent must cancel it separately in Apple settings.
Children and parental consent
Growing Garden is a paid service for elementary- and middle-school families, purchased and configured by an adult parent or legal guardian. Adult registration does not create a child profile. Before collecting child preferences, interview answers or chat text, we require a verified parent email, an explicit guardian/data-sharing declaration, and a completed qualifying payment tied to the parent account through a payment system notifying the primary account holder. Payment verification is performed automatically during consent and after checkout. There is no document-upload step. A checkbox, Parent PIN, active-subscription flag, trial, billing exemption or sandbox purchase alone is not payment evidence. Subscription and consent status. Children must not create parent accounts or purchase subscriptions. Essential security/network identifiers may be processed solely for necessary internal operations before consent; they are not used for advertising or profiling.
How we use information
We use information to authenticate accounts, provide and personalize AI responses, enforce parental settings, operate subscriptions, secure and improve the service, respond to support requests, and meet legal obligations. Parent interview answers and preferences, and child chat text, may be sent to Google Gemini for AI reply generation and validation when the parent has given this explicit consent. A parent may review consent status, withdraw consent, or provide consent again from AI consent settings. If consent is withdrawn, Google Gemini-dependent features may be unavailable until the parent consents again. When automated systems detect a possible self-harm or suicide concern, we email the parent account so the parent can check on the child; the child's message is not included in that email. We do not sell personal information or use child conversations for advertising.
Service providers
We use service providers including Replit for application hosting and database infrastructure, Google for Google Sign-In, Google Cloud Vertex AI for Gemini AI processing, Stripe for web billing, Apple for App Store payments and Sign in with Apple, RevenueCat for App Store subscription management and verification, and Resend for transactional parent emails. AI processing through Google Cloud Vertex AI is governed by the Google Cloud terms and Cloud Data Processing Addendum. Google does not use the parent interview answers, preferences, or child conversations we submit to Vertex AI to train its models. Information is shared only as needed to provide those services, maintain security, or comply with law.
- Google Cloud Vertex AI receives plaintext interview/chat text, relevant conversation history, and family guidance to generate/review replies. This is integral to the AI service, not separate advertising. Child web grounding is disabled; any future enabling of enterprise search requires privacy/attribution/link controls and a new notice where material.
- Resend receives adult email addresses and transactional/security/consent notices. Safety emails can include a child display name and event time, but not the child's message.
- Stripe, Apple and RevenueCat receive adult/household billing identifiers, transaction/subscription data and applicable device information needed for purchases; not child chat or interview text for billing. Google/Apple sign-in receive adult authentication information. Apple and Google Play distribute the apps and may process their own store/platform diagnostics.
There is no sale of child information, behavioral advertising, or disclosure for an unrelated optional commercial purpose. If that changes, we will seek separate parental consent before that disclosure. We limit processors to the necessary service purpose and require applicable written confidentiality, security and deletion assurances. Provider contracts, backup/log periods and account-level security settings must be reviewed by our security coordinator; a provider's public policy alone is not evidence that every account setting has been verified.
Retention and deletion
Child data retention and deletion
We do not keep child information indefinitely or for speculative future use. Automated maintenance removes expired app records using the limits below. Parents can delete earlier. Cleanup is checked hourly while the production service is running and must also run on a daily scheduled job so deletion does not depend on visits.
| Information | Purpose | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Child chat text, AI replies, titles and linked response reviews/reports | Provide conversations, parent review and safety moderation. | 365 days from each message; linked reviews/reports are removed with the message. Empty conversations are removed. Earlier on parent deletion or family inactivity. |
| Parent interview answers and interview AI replies | Configure and let parents review family guidance. | 365 days from each message; earlier on account deletion or 12 months of family inactivity. |
| Child profiles and derived family preferences | Age-appropriate personalization under parent control. | While the family uses these features; deleted after 12 calendar months without family AI/consent activity, or earlier on account deletion. Adult account/security credentials are not a child profile. |
| Account-linked analytics | Understand basic service use and reliability; not behavioral advertising. | 90 days from creation; earlier on household deletion or inactivity. |
| Safety-alert records | Notify parents and retry delivery of a detected safety concern. | 90 days from creation; earlier on household deletion/inactivity. The local alert does not contain the child’s message. Delivered parent emails are controlled by the recipient. |
| Monthly message-usage totals | Apply the household subscription allowance. | 90 days after the billing period ends; earlier on account deletion. |
| Adult signed verification scans | Review a returned parental consent form. | 30 days after submission, including approved/rejected forms. No child data or government ID should be submitted. |
| Minimal adult consent evidence | Document notice, guardian declaration, verification method, dates, payment reference or reviewed-form hash, and withdrawal/deletion. | An encrypted audit copy expires 3 years after each consent event. Current consent is retained while needed for active family use; removed on withdrawal/account deletion/inactivity, with only the bounded audit evidence retained. This is our chosen evidence period, not a COPPA-mandated three-year rule. |
| Parent account and local billing information | Authenticate adults, manage subscriptions and handle payment obligations. | While the adult account/billing relationship exists; removed from household app records on completed account deletion. Subscription verification snapshots: 30 days after last check; webhook IDs: 90 days. Payment providers retain financial records under their legal requirements and published policies. They do not receive chat/interview text for billing. |
| Security identifiers, sessions and recovery tokens | Protect accounts and support essential internal operations. | Sessions and sign-in challenges expire on their specified deadline; recovery tokens are deleted at expiry or within 7 days after consumption. Rate-limit counters expire at their configured request-window deadline; aggregate security telemetry is kept for 31 days and swept automatically. |
| Hosting, platform diagnostics and backups | Operate and recover the service securely. | No separate child crash-reporting SDK/database is configured. Hosting/store logs and backup copies follow their provider’s retention/deletion cycles; active-database deletion does not instantly erase every provider backup. We do not claim an unverified provider retention period. Restores require deletion reconciliation before returning to service. |
In the PIN-protected Parent Dashboard, review and delete child conversations and review/edit family guidance. You may withdraw consent to stop new child AI collection/processing; withdrawal alone is not account deletion or subscription cancellation. For access, export, correction, deletion of other child information, or questions about processor deletion, contact info@growinggardenai.com from your parent account email. We verify authority before disclosing/deleting information. Do not email a PIN, password, government ID or child transcript.
Account deletion removes household app data after required billing/revocation steps succeed. Cancellation of web subscriptions is included; Apple subscriptions must be cancelled separately in Apple settings. If a required step fails, data remains so the parent can retry. Minimal adult consent evidence is kept separately for the stated, finite period.
For an Apple-linked account, we revoke the stored Sign in with Apple token before completing account deletion. If revocation or another required deletion step fails, deletion is not completed and household data is retained so you can retry. Revoking Apple sign-in access is separate from canceling an App Store subscription.
Security
Growing Garden LLC maintains a written information security program overseen by a designated security coordinator, covering risk assessment, access controls, processor oversight, incident response and annual review. We use encrypted network connections, encrypted sensitive transcripts and consent evidence, hashed passwords/PINs and restricted parent/admin access. No online service can guarantee absolute security.
Your choices and rights
Parents may review, withdraw, or provide Google Gemini consent again through AI consent settings. Parents may also request access, correction, export, or deletion of account and child information, or ask privacy questions by emailing info@growinggardenai.com. Email deletion requests are reviewed and verified before deletion is carried out. Do not send your PIN or password.
Changes
We may update this policy as the service changes. Material changes will be communicated through the service or by email when appropriate.
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