Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Hatsu Studios operates Storybook / Storieboek at storyboek.co.za. We are committed to compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) of South Africa and, where applicable, the GDPR for users in the European Economic Area.

2. Children’s Privacy

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Our Service enforces a minimum age of 13 at signup. For users aged 13–17, we collect only what is necessary and apply age-appropriate content restrictions automatically.

If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, contact us at hatsustudiosza@gmail.com with subject line DATA PROTECTION QUERY — MINOR ACCOUNT.

3. What We Collect

Information you provide: email address, name, date of birth, password (stored as a secure hash — never in plain text), language preference, reading preferences, story content (themes, characters, plot directions), and feedback.

Collected automatically: usage data, device and browser type, IP address, general location (country/region only), and session data.

From third parties: if you sign in with Google, we receive your email address and name from Google.

Payment information: we do not collect or store card details. Payments are processed by PayFast.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to: create and manage your account, generate personalised stories, process payments, send account-related emails, and detect fraud.

AI Improvement Disclosure: We use anonymised and aggregated versions of story content to improve AI generation quality. All personal identifiers are removed before any such use. We do not use your personal information in identifiable form to train AI models, and we do not share your data with third parties for this purpose.

5. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with service providers who help operate the Service:

6. Data Retention

We retain your data while your account is active. If you delete your account, your personal information and story content will be deleted within 30 days. Anonymised analytics data may be retained indefinitely. Payment records are retained for up to 7 years for legal compliance.

7. Your Rights

Under POPIA you have the right to access, correct, delete, and port your personal information, and to object to certain uses. EU users have additional rights under the GDPR. To exercise any right, email hatsustudiosza@gmail.com with subject line DATA PROTECTION QUERY.

To complain to the South African Information Regulator: inforeg@justice.gov.za

8. Security

Passwords are stored using bcrypt hashing. All data is transmitted over HTTPS. We restrict access to personal data to authorised personnel only. In the event of a data breach that poses risk to your rights, we will notify affected users and the Information Regulator as required by POPIA.

9. Cookies and Tracking

We use authentication tokens and preference data stored in your browser’s local storage to keep you logged in and remember your settings. We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or serve advertisements. Storybook products are ad-free.

10. Changes to This Policy

We will notify you of material changes by email or in-app notification. The date at the top of this policy indicates when it was last updated.

11. Contact

Hatsu Studios
Email: hatsustudiosza@gmail.com
Data protection queries: subject line DATA PROTECTION QUERY
Response time: within 5 business days