BuggyBox Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 8, 2026

This policy explains what BuggyBox ("we", "us") does with information when you and your child use the app. We built BuggyBox to be safe for children and to comply with the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and Apple's guidelines for kids' apps.

Information stored on your device

Everything your child creates lives only on the device and is never sent to us:

• Explorer profiles — a first name (or nickname) and age that a grown-up enters during setup, plus the chosen starter bug.
• Bug Box — which bugs each profile has discovered, and the friendly place label they pick ("Back garden", "The park", etc.).
• Settings — theme and content preferences.

This information stays on the device, is not transmitted to us, and is removed if the app is deleted or reset in the grown-up settings.

Camera & bug photos

To identify a bug, your child takes a photo with the camera. We first try to recognize the bug entirely on the device — in that case the photo never leaves the phone and is not sent anywhere.

Only when a bug can't be recognized on-device do we send that single photo over a secure connection to our identification service to look it up, and it is then discarded. We do not store the photo, do not keep a copy, and do not use it to identify your child or for any purpose other than naming the bug in that moment. Photos are never shared, sold, or used for advertising.

For the look-ups that do happen, we use two service providers who act on our behalf and only to process that request:

• Cloudflare — securely receives the photo and runs our identification service.
• Anthropic (Claude) — the AI that recognizes the bug from the photo.

Neither provider is permitted to use the photo to build profiles, to track users, or for advertising.

Anonymous usage analytics

To understand which parts of the app are helpful and where kids get stuck, we collect a small amount of anonymous, aggregate usage information — for example, how many times a screen was opened, or how many bugs were identified. This data:

• contains no names, no device identifiers, no advertising IDs, and nothing that can identify a child or a device;
• is just counts of events added together across everyone who uses the app;
• is not used to track anyone across time, apps, or websites, and is never linked to a person;
• is used only by us to improve BuggyBox.

We do not use any third-party advertising or third-party analytics SDKs.

What we do not do

• No accounts, logins, or passwords.
• No advertising of any kind.
• No chat, messaging, or social features.
• No location collection.
• No selling or sharing of personal information.
• No tracking across apps or websites; no advertising identifiers.

Children's privacy (COPPA)

BuggyBox is designed for children and intended to be used with a grown-up's help. Because the app uses no accounts and keeps profiles on the device, we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. The only data that leaves the device is a bug photo (processed and discarded as described above) and anonymous, non-identifying usage counts.

Parents and guardians are in control: a grown-up gate protects settings, and you can remove a profile or reset all data at any time in the app's grown-up settings. If you have questions about your child's privacy, contact us at the email below.

Data retention

• On-device data — kept until you delete the app or reset it.
• Bug photos — many are recognized on-device and never sent anywhere; any photo that is sent for look-up is processed in the moment and discarded, never retained.
• Anonymous usage counts — aggregate totals kept for up to about 180 days.

Changes to this policy

If we change how the app handles information, we'll update this page and the "Last updated" date above.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or your child's privacy? Email us at privacy@buggybox.app.