Stories With Friends Privacy Policy

Effective date: 25 July 2026

Last updated: 1 October 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Stories With Friends (“the App”, “we”, “us” or “our”) collects, uses, stores, discloses and protects information when you use the Stories With Friends mobile application and related services.

1. Information we collect

Account and profile information

When you create or use an account, we may collect:

• Username and display name
• Email address
• Mobile phone number, when you choose SMS account verification
• Firebase account identifier and related user IDs
• Country selected by you
• Profile photograph, if you choose to upload one
• Email- or mobile-verification status
• Account settings, preferences and subscription or Pro-status information

Passwords and SMS verification are handled by Firebase Authentication. We do not receive or store your password in readable form. If you choose SMS verification, your mobile number is used to send a one-time verification code and link the verified number to your account.

User-created content and social information

We collect information you create or submit through the App, including:

• Stories, story titles, descriptions, genres, chapters and story contributions
• Chain turns, moderation settings and story visibility settings
• Completed stories and contribution attribution
• Ratings, bookmarks, reading progress and saved preferences
• Friend connections, friend requests, invitations, blocked users and groups
• Reports, moderation decisions, report reasons and related moderation records
• Profile images you choose to upload

Story cover images are generated by the service for eligible Pro users or automatically assigned from built-in cover designs for non-Pro users. Users do not upload personal photos for story covers.

AI story-cover generation

When an eligible user requests an AI-generated story cover, we create an image-generation prompt using information associated with that story. This may include the story title, summary, genre, content classification, story format, title styling choices and any cover description or visual direction entered by the user.

The generated prompt is sent to Replicate, an external AI image-generation service provider, which currently processes the request using a FLUX image generation model. Replicate processes this information on our behalf to generate the requested cover artwork.

We do not send your Stories With Friends password or payment-card details to Replicate for AI cover generation. The generated cover image is returned to our service and stored with our Firebase / Google Cloud infrastructure so it can be displayed with the relevant story.

AI story recap generation

Eligible Pro users can choose to generate an AI recap for a qualifying collaborative story. When a user selects “Generate Recap”, the accepted, non-removed story contributions needed to create that recap are sent to OpenAI, an external artificial-intelligence service provider, for processing.

OpenAI processes the story text to return a structured recap that may include a summary of the story so far, the current situation, important characters, unresolved story threads and continuity notes. We do not send your Stories With Friends password or payment-card details to OpenAI for this feature.

The resulting recap is stored with the relevant story in our Firebase / Google Cloud infrastructure so eligible participants can reopen the same recap without generating it again. If the accepted story content changes, a later request may generate and store a new recap.

Using the “Generate Recap” feature is optional. By selecting it, you are requesting that the relevant accepted story text be processed by OpenAI for the purpose of generating the recap.

Notifications and device-related information

To provide push notifications and protect the service, we may collect:

• Firebase Cloud Messaging registration tokens
• Notification settings and notification interaction information
• Technical identifiers and integrity signals generated by Firebase App Check
• Basic service and security records, such as timestamps and request information

Profile photo access

The App may request access to your camera or photo library when you choose to take or select a profile photograph. We only use the image you select or capture for your profile. The App does not collect your full photo library.

Information stored on your device

The App may store preferences, cached content, bookmarks, reading progress and other local app information on your device to improve functionality and support offline or faster use.

2. Information we do not collect

The App does not request or collect precise device location, phone contacts, calendar information, call logs, SMS content, health information or payment-card details. Google AdMob may process advertising identifiers, approximate location, app interactions and diagnostic information as described below.

3. How we use information

We use collected information to:

• Create, authenticate and manage user accounts
• Provide collaborative story-writing, reading and social features
• Display usernames, profiles, contributions and completed stories as intended
• Send invitations, turn alerts, moderation updates and other notifications
• Save preferences, bookmarks, ratings and reading progress
• Upload and display profile photographs
• Operate reporting, blocking, moderation and community-safety features
• Prevent fraud, abuse and unauthorised access
• Maintain, secure, troubleshoot and improve the App
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our rights

4. How information is shared

We do not sell your personal information.

Other users and the public

Information you intentionally publish or share may be visible to other users. Depending on the story’s settings, this may include your username, profile image, story content, contributions, ratings and completed stories. Public stories may be viewable by a broader audience. Private stories are intended to be limited to authorised participants, subject to the App’s access controls.

Service providers

We use Google Firebase services to operate the App, including Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Cloud Storage, Cloud Functions, Firebase Cloud Messaging and Firebase App Check. We also use Google AdMob to display advertisements to users who do not have an active Pro subscription. Google may process information on our behalf to provide these services, subject to Google’s applicable terms, privacy and security commitments.

We use Replicate as a service provider for AI-generated story covers. Information needed to create a cover may be transferred to Replicate for processing on our behalf, including a generated prompt based on the story title, summary, genre, content classification, story format, title styling choices and any cover description supplied by the user. Replicate returns the generated artwork to our service. Its processing is also subject to its applicable privacy, security and service terms.

We use OpenAI as a service provider for the optional AI Story Recap feature. When an eligible user requests a recap, accepted, non-removed story text is transferred to OpenAI for processing so the recap can be generated. The generated recap is returned to our service and stored with the story. OpenAI's processing is subject to its applicable privacy, security and service terms.

Legal and safety reasons

We may disclose information where reasonably necessary to comply with law, respond to lawful requests, protect users, investigate abuse or security incidents, enforce our rights, or protect the App and its services.

Business transfer

If the App or its operations are transferred, reorganised or sold, relevant information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to applicable law and appropriate protections.

5. Advertising and consent

Stories With Friends uses Google AdMob to display advertisements to users who do not have an active Pro subscription. Users with an active Pro subscription are not shown advertisements.

Google and its advertising partners may process information such as device or advertising identifiers, app interactions, diagnostic information and approximate location where permitted and applicable. Advertising may be personalised or non-personalised depending on your location, consent choices, device settings and applicable law.

Where required, the App displays a consent message before requesting ads. Eligible users can later review or change their advertising privacy choices using the “Privacy choices” option in the Profile screen.

6. Data storage and international processing

Information is stored and processed using Firebase and Google Cloud infrastructure. Depending on service configuration and operation, information may be processed in Australia, the United States or other countries where Google or its service providers operate. Those countries may have privacy laws different from those in your location.

7. Data security

We use reasonable technical and organisational safeguards designed to protect information, including encrypted network connections, Firebase Authentication, access controls, Firestore and Storage security rules, server-side functions, and Firebase App Check. No service can guarantee absolute security, and users should use a strong, unique password and protect access to their account.

8. Data retention

We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide the App, maintain security, resolve disputes, enforce agreements and meet legal obligations. Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and why it is held.

• Active account and profile information is generally retained while the account remains open.
• Active chains, moderated chains, private account records, friendships, notifications, reports, ratings and uploaded personal files are removed or anonymised as part of verified account deletion, subject to the exceptions below.
• Completed stories remain available after account deletion so that completed collaborative works are not lost. The deleted user’s account link and personal attribution are removed or replaced with an anonymous label such as “Deleted User”.
• Contributions within retained completed stories may remain as part of the creative work but are disconnected from the deleted account.
• Limited security, fraud-prevention, moderation and legal records may be retained where reasonably necessary to protect users and the service, investigate misuse, comply with legal obligations or enforce our terms. Voluntary account deletion does not by itself permanently prevent a person from creating a new account later, unless a restriction is required for safety, abuse-prevention or legal reasons.
• Information may remain temporarily in encrypted backups until those backups are overwritten through normal retention cycles.
• Information may be retained where required for legal, security, fraud prevention, dispute-resolution or enforcement purposes.

9. Account deletion and privacy requests

You can delete your account through the account-deletion option in your profile within the App.

You may also request account and associated data deletion without the App at: https://stories-with-friends-514c6.web.app/account-deletion/

You may contact us to request access, correction or deletion of personal information. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. Some information may not be deleted where retention is permitted or required for the reasons described in this policy.

10. User choices

• You may update certain profile and country information in the App.
• You may choose whether to upload a profile photograph.
• You may allow or decline notification permission through device settings.
• You may use blocking and reporting tools where available.
• You may delete your account using the methods described above.
• Where available, you may review or change advertising consent through the Privacy choices option in the App.

11. Third-party links

The App may contain links to external websites or content. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third parties, and you should review their privacy policies before providing information.

12. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when the App, our data practices or legal requirements change. We will publish the updated policy at this location and revise the “Last updated” date. Where appropriate, we may provide additional notice in the App.