Prickly Jar App is built for parents, by a parent. Your family's information belongs to your family — not to us, and never to an advertiser. This page explains, in plain language, what we collect, why, and what control you have over it.
Who this policy covers
This policy applies to anyone who creates a Prickly Jar account: the parent or legal guardian who downloads the app, signs in, and manages their family's token jar. It also explains how information about your children is handled, since you'll be entering that information on their behalf.
Information we collect
From you, the parent (your account):
- Your name and email address, provided either by you directly or through Sign in with Google, Sign in with Apple, or the sign-in provider you choose.
- Basic device information needed to sync your account (e.g., a notification token so your watch and phone stay in sync).
About your children (entered by you):
- First name and age (we recommend an age, not a birthdate, to keep this as minimal as possible).
- Token activity: when tokens were earned or removed, the category (chore, consequence, or reward), and any note you choose to add.
We do not collect information directly from children. We do not know a child's information until a parent enters it, and we never ask a child to create a profile, log in, or provide information themselves.
Signing in
You can create a Prickly Jar account using Sign in with Google, Sign in with Apple, or your own email and password. Whichever you choose, we only receive the minimum needed to set up your account — typically your name and email address. We never receive your Google or Apple password, and we don't use these sign-in options to track you across other apps or websites.
How we use information
- To operate the core features of the app: tracking token balances, syncing across your devices, and showing your family's reward catalog.
- To keep your account secure and to respond if you contact us for support.
- To send you product updates you've opted into (like our launch announcement emails) — never anything related to your children's token activity.
We do not use your family's information for advertising, and we do not build advertising profiles from it.
Voice assistants (Siri, Google, Alexa)
Prickly Jar supports checking balances and adding or removing tokens by voice. How that works depends on the assistant:
| Assistant | How it works |
|---|---|
| Siri & Google Assistant | Runs on your device — your request is handled locally by the app itself. |
| Alexa | Alexa's cloud processes your spoken request to route it, then only the token balance or a simple add/remove instruction is sent to Prickly Jar — never notes or reasons behind a token change. |
Any voice command that changes a token balance requires a PIN or confirmation step first, so a child's voice alone can never add or remove tokens. We don't store recordings of your voice commands.
Who we share information with
We keep two things strictly separate, on purpose:
- Your family's data (child profiles, token history) lives in our secure database (Firebase/Google Cloud) and is never shared with our marketing or operations tools.
- Business operations — like our email newsletter (EmailOctopus) and internal task tracking (Zapier, Todoist) — only ever sees that you signed up or left a review. It never has access to your children's names, ages, or token activity.
We do not sell your information or your family's information to anyone, for any reason.
How we protect information
- Your family's data is scoped to your account only — our database rules are built so one family's data cannot be read by another family, or accessed without your authentication.
- Information is encrypted in transit (industry-standard TLS) and encrypted at rest on Google Cloud infrastructure.
- We maintain a written internal security program, reviewed at least annually.
We're continuing to strengthen this over time — for example, we're evaluating additional on-device encryption for sensitive notes you write about a token entry, so that even we can't read them. This policy will be updated if and when that ships.
How long we keep information
We keep your family's information for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we remove your data [within — days/immediately, confirm your retention window here]. If you'd like your data removed sooner, or you'd like a copy of it, contact us at the email below.
Your rights as a parent
- You can review, correct, or delete any child profile and its token history at any time from within the app.
- You can request a copy of your family's data, or ask us to delete your account entirely, by emailing us.
- You can withdraw consent for us to collect your child's information at any time — doing so means removing that child's profile, since the app can't function for that child without it.
Children's privacy (COPPA)
Prickly Jar is not directed at children and is not listed in Apple's Kids Category or Google's Designed for Families program — it's a tool for parents. Because parents enter information about children under 13, we treat that information as covered by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and handle it accordingly: minimal collection, no direct collection from the child, no third-party advertising use, and parental control over access and deletion at all times.
Changes to this policy
If we make a material change to how we collect or use information — for example, when voice assistant features expand, or if we introduce new data protections — we'll update this page and change the "last updated" date above.
Contact us
Questions, requests to review or delete your family's data, or anything else — reach us at pricklyjarapp@gmail.com.