Privacy Policy
Last updated: February 2026
Overview
HootRated ("we," "our," or "us") is a parent-directed service that helps families find age-appropriate books for their children. This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your information.
What We Collect
Anonymous Visitors (No Account)
- Session cookie (hw_sid) — A random ID used to limit AI-powered searches to 5 per day. Expires in 24 hours. Contains no personal information.
- Search queries — We log search terms anonymously to improve our service. Not linked to any identity.
- Standard web analytics — Page views, referrer, browser type (via Vercel Analytics). No cookies for analytics.
Registered Users (Phase 2 — Coming Soon)
- Parent email — Required for account creation and optional newsletter
- Display name — Optional, for your dashboard
- Child first name — For your dashboard ("Emma's Reading List"). First name only.
- Child birth year — For age-based recommendations. Year only, not full date of birth.
- Child reading preferences — Grade level, interests, and content sensitivities you set
- Reading history — Books you mark as read, ratings you provide
- Custom book lists — Lists you create and optionally share
What We Do NOT Collect
- Child's full name, date of birth, email, photo, or any identifying information beyond first name and birth year
- Location data beyond country (for legal compliance)
- Financial information (payments handled by third parties if applicable)
- Social media profiles or contacts
How We Use Your Data
- Personalized recommendations — Your child's profile (age, grade, interests) helps us suggest better books
- Newsletter — If you opt in, we send grade-segmented book picks using your child's reading grade
- Service improvement — Anonymous, aggregated data helps us identify popular books and improve ratings
- AI-powered search — When using our "Discover" search, your query is sent to OpenAI for natural language processing. We send the query only — no personal data.
Third-Party Services
| Service | Purpose | Data Shared |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Database & authentication | Account data (encrypted at rest) |
| Vercel | Hosting & analytics | Page views (no cookies) |
| OpenAI | AI search re-ranking | Search queries only (anonymized) |
| Buttondown | Newsletter delivery | Email + grade tags (if subscribed) |
| Amazon | Affiliate links | None from us (standard Amazon cookies) |
Children's Privacy (COPPA)
HootRated is a parent-directed service. Parents create accounts and manage their children's profiles. Children never interact with HootRated directly.
- We require age verification at signup: "I confirm I am 13 or older, or a parent/guardian"
- Child data is minimal: first name + birth year only
- Child data is never shared with third parties except as anonymized aggregates
- Parents can export or delete all data at any time
Your Rights
- Access — Download all your data from your dashboard settings
- Deletion — Delete your account and all associated data permanently
- Correction — Update any information in your dashboard
- Opt-out — Unsubscribe from newsletters at any time
Data Retention
- Account data: retained until you delete your account
- Search logs: anonymized after 90 days
- Session cookies: expire after 24 hours
Contact
For privacy questions or data requests, contact us at privacy@hootrated.com.