Dot Dash Privacy Policy
The short version. Dot Dash is a messaging device for children, set up and controlled by a parent. We collect only what the device and the parent app need to work. We don't sell personal information, show ads, or use anyone's information for marketing. A parent can see their child's messages, remove contacts, and delete everything at any time.
1. Who this covers
This policy covers the Dot Dash device, the Dot Dash parent app (on the web at app.dotdashdevice.com and on iOS), the Dot Dash chat page for contacts invited by link (dotdashdevice.com/c/), and Dot Dash's SMS notifications. It describes information about three groups of people:
- Parents, who create the account and pair the device.
- Children, who use the device.
- Link contacts, meaning adults a parent invites by private link, such as a grandparent, who exchange messages with a child's device on our chat page or in our app, and may choose to get SMS notifications.
2. Children's privacy
Dot Dash is designed for children, including children under 13, and we follow the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
- A parent sets everything up. A child can't create an account. The parent creates the account, pairs the device, and chooses the child's screen name. The parent decides who the child can message, and can change that at any time.
- What we collect from or about a child: a screen name and a four-digit birthday code chosen by the parent (month and day only, no year), which together form the child's Dot Dash ID; the messages the child sends and receives; and activity on the device, such as game scores, points and timers.
- Parental review. The parent app shows the parent the messages their child sends and receives.
- Parental rights. A parent can review their child's information, stop its further collection, and have it deleted. They can do this in the app (unpair the device or delete the account), or by contacting us at support@dotdashdevice.com.
- We don't require a child to share more information than the activity needs, and we don't use children's information for advertising or marketing.
3. What we collect
| Information | From | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Email address and password (the password is stored by our sign-in provider, never by us in readable form) | Parent | Account sign-in and password reset |
| Parent's Dot Dash ID | Parent | So the parent can message their child |
| Child's screen name and birthday code | Parent | The child's Dot Dash ID, which friends use to message them |
| Friends list and quick-message phrases | Parent | Who the device may message, and its shortcuts |
| Messages to and from the child's device | Child, friends, parent, link contacts | To deliver them, and to show them to the parent |
| Device details: hardware (MAC) address, firmware version, battery level, Wi-Fi network name and connection status, and when it last checked in | Device | Pairing, updates, low-battery alerts, Find My Dot Dash, troubleshooting |
| Wi-Fi network names and passwords the parent enters | Parent | To connect the device. A password is kept only until the device confirms it has saved that network, then deleted from our servers. |
| Game scores, points, timers, settings | Device, parent | The device's games and rewards, and parent approvals |
| Push notification tokens | Parent's phone | To notify the parent (for example, a message to them or a friend request) |
| Link contact's name, the messages they exchange, and (if they turn notifications on) a browser notification address | Parent, link contact | Chat between a link contact and the child's device (section 5) |
| Link contact's mobile number, only if they choose SMS notifications | Link contact | Telling them a new message is waiting (section 5A) |
We don't use advertising trackers or third-party analytics in the app, and we don't collect precise location.
4. How we use information
Only to provide and improve Dot Dash: delivering messages, pairing and updating devices, notifying parents, keeping the service secure, and answering support requests. We never sell or rent personal information, and we never use it for advertising or marketing.
5. Contacts by link
- Instead of a phone number, a parent can give an adult a private link to a chat page with their child's device. No phone number, account or app is needed. The link works only on the first device that connects with it.
- Messages between the link contact and the device are kept on our server so the chat page can show them: at most the 50 most recent, and none older than 30 days.
- If the link contact turns on notifications, we store the notification address their browser gives us, and use it only to tell them about new messages from the device.
- The link contact can choose Leave this chat at any time, which ends the connection and deletes the chat history and notification address. A parent can remove a link contact, or replace their link, at any time; removing them deletes everything about them. A link that's never opened is deleted after 14 days, and a contact who left is deleted after 30 days.
5A. SMS notifications (optional)
- SMS notifications are optional. No one has to receive SMS messages to use Dot Dash. A parent never enters anyone's phone number, and creating an account is not consent to receive SMS.
- Only the link contact can sign up, on the chat page: they type their own mobile number and tick a box (unticked to start with) agreeing to receive SMS notifications from Dot Dash. Nothing is ever sent to a number before that. Someone using the Dot Dash app gets app notifications instead and is not asked.
- After signing up, they get one confirmation message. After that, they get a message only when a new message is waiting for them: at most one until they've looked at the chat again, and never two within a minute. Notifications never contain what anyone wrote. They say a message is waiting and link to the chat page.
- Reply STOP at any time to stop SMS notifications, or HELP for help. Replies to a notification aren't delivered to anyone. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply.
- Mobile numbers are stored encrypted and are never shared with third parties for marketing or promotional purposes. Mobile opt-in data and consent are not shared with any third party, except the SMS provider that sends the notifications (section 6).
- Turning SMS notifications off on the chat page, leaving the chat, or the parent removing the contact deletes the number.
6. Who we share information with
We share information only with the service providers that run Dot Dash, and only for that purpose:
- Google Firebase: account sign-in, the database, and push notifications.
- Apple: push notifications on iPhone.
- DigitalOcean: the server that relays messages between devices and runs the parent app.
- Twilio: sending SMS notifications to link contacts who sign up for them. Twilio receives their mobile number and the notification, which never contains message content.
- Browser notification services (such as Apple, Google or Mozilla, depending on the link contact's browser): delivering notifications to link contacts who turn them on. Notifications are encrypted so only the contact's browser can read them.
We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect the safety of a child or anyone else. We don't share information with anyone else. If Dot Dash is ever sold or transferred, this policy will continue to apply to the information collected under it.
7. How long we keep information
- Messages pass through our server and are removed from it once the device or the parent app has received them. The device keeps its 10 most recent messages. The parent app's history keeps the 200 most recent messages to the parent and the 200 most recent entries in the activity feed; older ones are deleted automatically.
- Wi-Fi passwords are kept only until the device confirms it has the network.
- Device and child information is kept while the device is paired. Unpairing removes the device from the parent's account.
- Link contacts, and the mobile numbers of those who chose SMS notifications: as described in sections 5 and 5A.
- Everything else is kept until the parent deletes their account.
8. Deleting your information
Delete My Account in the parent app's Settings unpairs every device and erases the account's devices, messages, activity feed, push tokens, profile, Dot Dash IDs and contacts (including any SMS notification numbers), then closes the account. You can also ask us to delete your information by emailing support@dotdashdevice.com. We'll confirm when it's done. Copies in encrypted backups kept by our providers expire on their normal schedule.
9. Security
All connections to Dot Dash are encrypted. Each device is moving to its own login, so a device can reach only its own messages. Phone numbers are encrypted at rest. Access to our servers is limited to the operator. No system is perfectly secure, and if we learn of a breach that affects your information, we'll tell you.
10. Changes to this policy
If we change how we collect, use or share children's information, we'll notify parents and, where the law requires it, ask for their consent again before the change applies. The effective date at the top always shows the latest version.
11. Contact
Samuel Posner, doing business as Dot Dash
467 Van Buren St., Brooklyn, NY 11221
support@dotdashdevice.com