Your Child's Safety & Privacy

The short version: We built KidsFocus for our own child first. We collect the minimum data needed to make the app work, we never sell data, we never show ads, and you can export or delete everything at any time — no emails, no waiting.

Built for our family before yours

KidsFocus was created by a dad and his 12-year-old daughter in Canberra, for children with ADHD. Every privacy decision we make starts with one question: would we be comfortable with this for our own child? If the answer is no, it doesn't ship.

Parents are always in control

  • Parental consent comes first. A parent or guardian must create the account and give consent before any child profile is created or any data is collected. Children can't sign up on their own.

  • You can see everything. Your parent dashboard shows exactly what information is stored about your child.

  • Export or delete, any time. Download all of your child's data, or permanently delete it, directly from your parent dashboard. No support ticket required. When you delete, it's gone — we don't keep hidden copies.

  • You control the rewards. Any custom rewards (like screen time or treats) are created and managed by you, not by us.

What we collect — and what we don't

We collect only what the app needs to work:

  • Parent account details (name, email, sign-in method)
  • Child profile basics you choose to share: a first name or nickname, an avatar, and a favourite colour theme
  • The tasks, routines, goals, Stars and streaks you and your child create
  • Sleep and outdoor-play entries you choose to log
  • Basic usage information that helps us fix bugs and improve the app

We don't:

  • Sell or rent your data to anyone, ever
  • Show advertising, or use your child's data to target ads
  • Track your child across other apps or websites
  • Ask for your child's exact location, contacts, photos or messages
  • Use dark patterns to keep children hooked — KidsFocus is designed to be finished with, not endless

About the AI coach

KidsFocus includes an AI coach that suggests tasks, goals and motivational strategies tailored to your child's progress.

  • The coach only works from the task and progress information inside the app — the same information visible in your parent dashboard.
  • AI suggestions are supportive guidance, not medical, psychological or diagnostic advice. KidsFocus is a routine and habits tool, not a clinical service.
  • AI requests are processed by OpenAI. Data sent through OpenAI's API is not used to train OpenAI's models.

How we protect data

  • All data travels over encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS), and account authentication is handled by Clerk, a specialist identity provider — we never see or store your password.
  • Access to production data is restricted to the founders and is logged.
  • Data is hosted on secure US-based cloud infrastructure — Replit (running on Google Cloud) with our database provided by Neon — and KidsFocus is operated from Australia.
  • If something ever goes wrong that affects your child's data, we will tell you promptly and plainly.

The legal bit

KidsFocus is an Australian product and handles personal information in line with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles. Because KidsFocus is used by children under parental consent, we also design for the spirit of international children's-privacy standards (including COPPA and GDPR-K): minimum data, parental control, no advertising, easy deletion.

For the full legal detail, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Talk to a human

Questions about your child's data? Email hello@kidsfocus.org — you'll reach the founders directly. We typically respond within 1–2 business days.

KidsFocus is based in Canberra, Australia. Made with care for kids with ADHD.