This Privacy Policy explains how Helpfl ("Helpfl", "we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, and protects information when you and your family use the Helpfl Family mobile application (the "App"). It covers both the parent side of the App and the child side that runs on a child's device. By using the App, you agree to the practices described here.
This policy covers Helpfl Family only. Our habit tracker, Helpfl, has its own policy at helpfl.io/habits/privacy.
1. Who We Are
The App is provided by Helpfl, LLC, located in United States, Alabama. For any privacy questions you can contact us at [email protected].
2. How the App Works
A parent creates a family account, adds a profile for each child, and sets up chores and rewards. A child's device is linked to the family with a pairing code the parent shows them (scanned as a QR code, or typed in), and the child marks a chore done by scanning an NFC tag or taking a photo of the finished chore. A parent then approves it, and the child earns points, a tracked allowance, or rewards from the family store.
Children do not create accounts, do not enter an email address or password, and never sign in with a third-party service. A child profile exists only because a parent created it, after giving the consent described in Section 8.
3. Information We Collect
We collect the minimum information needed to run the App.
From parents
Account information. Parents sign in with Sign in with Apple or Sign in with Google. We receive an email address and a unique user identifier. If you use Sign in with Apple and choose to hide your email, we receive Apple's private relay address instead. If you use Sign in with Google, we also receive the name on your Google account and a link to its profile photo. The App shows that photo on your profile and keeps a copy on your device; we store only the link, not the photo itself.
Family information. The family name you choose, the date you gave parental consent, and the list of parents in the family. Other parents in your family can see your email address.
Content you create. Chores and one-off tasks (titles, notes, schedules, deadlines, point and allowance values, lock settings), NFC tag nicknames and locations (for example "Kitchen"), rewards, and your approval decisions.
Subscription records. If you subscribe to Family Premium, we store the subscription's App Store transaction IDs, plan, purchase and expiry dates, and whether it was refunded, tied to the account that bought it, so the family's Premium features unlock. See Section 6.
About children
A parent provides, and we store:
- A display name for each child. This can be a nickname and does not have to be the child's legal name.
- An avatar, chosen from built-in symbols and colors. It is not a photo.
- Chore activity: which chores were assigned, when each was completed and how (the NFC tag's hardware ID, or a proof photo), when a parent approved or declined it, and the streak of days this adds up to.
- Rewards activity: points and allowance earned, adjustments a parent made, store purchases, and contributions to family goals. The allowance is a record only; the App never holds or moves money.
- Time off: the dates of a Vacation mode or of paused chores, if a parent gives a child a break, and when app blocking resumes, if a parent unlocks the child's apps for a while.
From a child's device
Anonymous device account. When a child's device is paired, the App creates an anonymous account for that device. A child who uses more than one device (say, a phone and an iPad) has one for each. It has no email, name, or password. Its only purpose is to link the device to the child's profile.
Device identifier. At pairing we record the device's app-specific identifier (Apple's "identifier for vendor"), which is unique to our apps on that device and cannot be used to track the device across other companies' apps.
Proof photos. For chores a parent sets to "proof photo," the child takes a picture of the finished chore with the App's in-app camera. The App does not access the photo library on a real device. The photo is uploaded to private storage that only the parents in the family can view, and it can be viewed only on the day it was taken. See Section 7 for how quickly it is deleted. Because the App is used at home, a proof photo can show the inside of your home, or your child. We ask parents to set photo chores up so the photo is of the chore, not the child.
NFC tag scans. Scanning a tag reads the tag's hardware ID so the App can check it matches the chore. Nothing else is read from the tag.
Activity signals. The App records when a child's device last opened the App, and whether Apple reports that the App is no longer installed on it. The parent sees this as "active," "not seen recently," or "may have been removed," so they know when to re-pair. To check this even for a family that hasn't opened the App in a while, we send each device an occasional silent notification. It shows nothing on screen and is used only to read Apple's delivery result.
From every device
Push notification tokens. If you allow notifications, we store the device's Apple Push Notification service token so we can alert parents when a chore is completed or a reward is requested, tell a child when a chore is approved or marked not done, and tell a child's device when its chores change. Signing out removes the token.
Screen Time / device activity data. On a child's device, the App uses Apple's Family Controls, Managed Settings, and Device Activity frameworks to block the apps a parent selects until a chore is done. The selection of apps and categories stays on the child's device and is handled by Apple's framework. We do not receive, store, or transmit the list of apps the child uses or that are blocked, and we cannot see activity in other apps.
Diagnostic information. The App keeps a short local log of its app-blocking decisions (for example "shield applied, 3 apps"). It holds internal IDs and times, not names or app lists. It stays on the device unless you tap Report a Problem, which uploads it to us with the App version, iOS version, and device model, and gives you a ticket reference to email us.
Apple Watch. A parent's Apple Watch shows chores awaiting approval. That information travels directly from the parent's iPhone to the Watch; the Watch does not connect to our servers.
Kept only on your device. The name and photo you give your Me profile, your parent PIN (stored in the iOS Keychain as a salted hash), reminder schedules, and in-app preferences. One exception: each parent's PIN also unlocks your children's devices, so we keep its salted hash (never the digits) on our servers to give to those devices. Only you can read your own back; your children's devices receive each parent's copy when it changes. It's replaced when you change your PIN, and deleted when you leave the family or delete your account.
We do not collect precise location, contacts, health data, advertising identifiers, or photos from your photo library, and we do not collect a child's email address, phone number, birth date, or real-world location.
4. How We Use Information
We use the information described above to:
- Create and secure parent accounts and link child devices to their family.
- Run the chore loop: assign chores, check tag scans and photos, send approvals, and keep points, allowance records, and rewards up to date.
- Keep every device in the family in sync.
- Send the notifications you've allowed, including a child's local chore reminders.
- Block and unblock apps on a child's device as the parent has set up.
- Show parents whether a child's device is still connected.
- Process and validate subscriptions.
- Respond to support requests.
We do not sell personal information. We do not show advertising in the App, use personal information for advertising, or track anyone across other companies' apps or websites. No advertising or analytics software runs in the App, for parents or for children.
5. How Information Is Stored and Shared
Within your family. Everything in the family (children, chores, tags, rewards, activity, and proof photos) is visible to every parent in the family. A child's device sees only that child's own chores, points, and rewards, plus the family store. Any parent can invite another parent with a one-time code. Only the parent who created the family (the "owner") can remove one, at any time, and that parent's access to the family's information ends immediately (see Section 7).
Backend hosting (Supabase). Account data and family content are stored using Supabase, a cloud database, storage, and authentication provider, acting as our data processor. Data is protected in transit using encryption (HTTPS/TLS), and database access rules limit every read to the caller's own family.
Apple. Sign in with Apple, subscription purchases, push notification delivery, and Screen Time are handled by Apple under Apple's own privacy policy. Notifications pass through Apple's push service and may include a child's display name and a chore or reward title. We never receive your full payment card details.
Google. If you choose Sign in with Google, the sign-in is handled by Google under Google's own privacy policy (policies.google.com/privacy). Google's sign-in component may also collect technical information about the sign-in, such as device identifiers and usage data, as that policy describes. Google is never involved with a child's device.
Links to Amazon. The App links to NFC tags for sale on Amazon. That is an Amazon Associates affiliate link: we may earn a commission, and Amazon may collect information when you follow it, under Amazon's own policy. The App itself sends Amazon nothing.
We disclose information only to these service providers as needed to operate the App, where required by law, or to a successor entity in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets (in which case this Policy will continue to apply until amended). We never disclose children's information to third parties for any other purpose.
6. Subscriptions
Helpfl Family offers an auto-renewing subscription ("Family Premium"). Purchases and renewals are processed by Apple through your Apple Account. When you subscribe, the App sends us Apple's signed record of the purchase, and Apple tells our servers directly when the subscription renews, expires, or is refunded. We check each record's signature with Apple and keep the subscription records listed in Section 3, which unlock Premium for your family. A purchase is linked to the parent account that made it, so it can't be used by anyone else. We do not receive your payment details. See the Terms of Use for subscription terms.
7. Data Retention and Deletion
Proof photos can be viewed only on the day they were taken. At the end of that day a photo expires, whether or not a parent has reviewed it, and the App stops showing it. A parent can still approve the chore or mark it not done; there's just no photo left to look at. Expired photos are deleted from our servers automatically, usually within a day after they expire. Deleting a chore or removing a child also deletes their photos.
Removing a child. A parent can remove a child's profile at any time from the Children tab. This deletes the child's profile, chores, activity, points, allowance records, and rewards history, and the child's device stops working with the family.
Removing a parent. The family's owner can remove another parent from Me → Family in the App. The removed parent immediately loses access to the family's children, chores, rewards, and photos, any notifications still queued for them are cancelled, and outstanding invitations to join the family are voided. They are not notified. Their own account is not deleted; they can delete it themselves as described below.
Deleting your account. You can delete your account at any time from Me → Delete account inside the App.
- If you're the only parent in the family, deleting your account deletes the whole family: every child profile, chore, tag, reward, record, and proof photo.
- If other parents remain, your account and membership are deleted and the family stays with them. If you were the owner, the parent who has been in the family longest becomes its owner.
If you signed in with Apple, you'll confirm with Apple first, and we ask Apple to revoke the App's access to your Apple Account.
A paired child device keeps its anonymous device account, which contains no personal information, so the App on that device can find that its family is gone and turn off app blocking.
Deleting your account removes your data from our live systems immediately. Residual copies in our encrypted backups are overwritten on our backup cycle and are fully purged within thirty (30) days, except records we must retain for legal, security, or accounting purposes. Problem reports you've sent us are kept after deletion, without being linked to you, so we can finish helping with them. Deleting your account does not cancel a Family Premium subscription; manage that in your Apple Account settings.
8. Children's Privacy
The App is designed for families and is used by children under 13. We comply with the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and comparable laws.
Parental consent. Before any child profile can be created, the parent must confirm they are the child's parent or legal guardian and consent to the collection described in this policy. We record the date of that consent. Children cannot create a profile, sign up, or pair a device on their own; the pairing code comes from a parent's signed-in App.
What we collect from children is limited to what the App needs to work: the activity listed under "About children" and "From a child's device" in Section 3. We do not ask a child for more information than a chore needs, and we do not condition a child's use of the App on providing more.
Parents' rights. A parent can at any time:
- Review their child's information: it's all shown in the App's Home, Children, and Store tabs.
- Stop further collection by unpairing the child's device (Settings on the child's device, behind the parent PIN, or removing the device from the child's devices in the parent's App) or removing the child.
- Delete the child's information by removing the child or deleting the family account (Section 7).
You can also email [email protected] to make any of these requests. We'll verify that you're a parent in the family before acting on one.
If you believe we have collected information from a child without a parent's consent, contact us and we will delete it.
9. Your Rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export, or delete your personal information. You can exercise deletion directly in the App, or contact us at [email protected] for other requests.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version here and revise the "Last updated" date above. Material changes will be communicated in the App where appropriate. Before we make a material change to how we collect or use children's information, we will ask parents for consent again.
11. Contact Us
Questions about this Privacy Policy? Email [email protected], or write to Helpfl, LLC, 363 Rock Terrace Dr, Helena, AL 35080, United States.