Newslings
Privacy notice for the friends beta · updated October 16, 2026
Newslings is a daily news podcast and website for kids. Right now we're testing it with a small group of invited families. This page explains, in plain language, what we collect and why. A parent or guardian sets up each family; kids never sign up themselves.
What we collect
| What | Why | Where it's kept |
|---|---|---|
| Your first name (the grown-up) | So friends you invite can see who invited them | Our server |
| Each kid's first name, optional last initial, age, colour and app settings | To make a profile for each kid and pick the right reading level | Our server and your device |
| Progress: stories heard, quiz answers, points, reading-coach scores, time spent | To show progress in Grown-ups and keep it in sync across your devices | Our server and your device |
| "Reads below age level" (optional) | To start reading practice at an easier level | Only on your device. We never send it to our server. |
| Leaderboard name (first name and last initial, or a nickname), colour, age group and points | The shared leaderboard. You can switch this off for each kid. | Our server. Only other signed-in beta families can see it. |
| Usage statistics: which parts of an episode were played and for how long, which features were used (quizzes, reading, Word Jar, map), quiz and reading scores, app errors, and the type of device, browser and screen size | To see what works, what kids skip and what breaks, so we can improve Newslings during the beta. Kids appear only as an internal number (like "k2"), never by name. | Our server, deleted after 13 months |
| One grown-up email address (optional) | Only to send an email after each episode, if you turn episode emails on in Grown-ups | Our server. Unsubscribing deletes it. |
| A grown-up's email address, if you ask for an invite on the welcome screen | Only to send you an invite | Our server. Deleted 30 days after we send the invite, and all of them on February 3, 2027. |
| Problem reports, ideas and feedback you send us | To fix mistakes and decide what to build | Our server |
Reading coach
When a kid reads out loud to the reading coach, the browser's own speech recognition turns the speech into text. In Chrome, Google processes that audio; in Safari, Apple does. Newslings gets only the text, works out the score in the app, and doesn't record or keep reading-coach audio. A grown-up can switch the reading coach off in Grown-ups. (AI reading tips are switched off during the beta. If we switch them on, we'll update this notice first.)
Voice messages
Voice messages are switched off during the beta. When they come back, a parent or guardian will have to agree first, and we'll update this notice.
Episode emails (optional)
If a grown-up turns them on, we store one email address for your family, only to send an email after each episode. We send one email to confirm first, and nothing else until you tap it. If you choose, the email includes each kid's week: their first name and progress in the app. Resend delivers the emails for us. We don't track whether you open them or which links you click. Every email has an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing deletes your address. Deleting your family account deletes it too.
Asking for an invite
If you leave your email on the welcome screen, we store it only to send you an invite. We don't email you anything automatically: Kyle sends the invite himself. We delete it 30 days after we send the invite, and all of them on February 3, 2027, a month after Newslings opens to everyone. Email hello@newslings.xyz to have it deleted sooner.
Listening in a podcast app
If you listen in a podcast app (like Spotify or Apple Podcasts), each episode download passes through OP3, an open podcast statistics service, so we can count how many times episodes are downloaded. Like any download, it sees the listening device's internet address and app name; we only see totals. No names or Newslings account details are involved. The podcast app you use has its own privacy policy.
What we don't do
- No ads, no ad trackers, and no selling or sharing of data for marketing.
- No full names, birth dates, photos, schools or home addresses.
- No advertising or social-media trackers on the site. Our usage statistics stay on our own server.
- No use of your kids' voices or data to train AI.
Your choices
- Switch a kid off the leaderboard in Grown-ups.
- Stop episode emails with the unsubscribe link in any email, or in Grown-ups → Family account.
- Send us an idea or feedback any time: Grown-ups → Family account → Tell Kyle.
- Delete everything: Grown-ups → Family account → Delete our family account. This removes your account, progress, leaderboard scores, usage statistics, messages and email address from our server right away.
- Free month: if a friend invited you for a free month and you don't continue, we delete your family account and everything in it 90 days after the month ends. Until then your progress is kept in case you come back.
- Backups: we keep an encrypted backup of our server, so we can recover if something breaks. Backups are kept for 30 days, so anything you delete is also gone from the backups within 30 days. Voice messages are never included.
- Questions, or want a copy of your data? Email hello@newslings.xyz.
Kids' privacy law
Newslings is made for kids under 13. We follow the US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA): a parent sets up the account and agrees before anything about a kid is stored, collects only what the features need, can review and delete it, and can withdraw consent at any time by deleting the account. This is a test, and we'll update this notice before Newslings opens to the public.