Privacy notice: Story Classrooms

DRAFT 2026-10-19 (updated 2026-10-21: parents and guardians, teachers' videos and recordings), for legal review. Not yet in force. Facts come from data-inventory.md.

Applies to the classroom sites of Story Warriors (classroom.ourstorywarriors.com) and Story Ninjas (classroom.storyninjasrock.com), run by [COMPANY]. Last updated: [DATE].

The short version

• Students don't use email. They sign in with a made-up writing name and a password. Their teacher sees their first name and last initial, like "Maya R.", never a full name.
• Student work belongs to the classroom. Only the student's own teacher can read it. The school sees totals, never the stories.
• Work is deleted at the end of the school year (after June 30), or sooner if the school or teacher chooses.
• Parents and guardians get email only if the teacher adds them, with their agreement. Every email has a link to stop them. (2026-10-24: this feature is switched off on every site, so no parent or guardian addresses are collected. Section 3 stays here for the day it is switched on again; until then it does not apply.)
• No ads, no tracking, no selling data, and no artificial intelligence reads students' work.
• Questions: [PRIVACY CONTACT].

1. Who we are

Story Classrooms is run by [COMPANY] ("we"). When a school or school board uses Story Classrooms, the school or board is in charge of its students' information, and we handle it on its behalf under a written agreement. When a teacher signs up on their own, we are responsible for the teacher's account information, and the teacher decides how their class uses it.

Our privacy officer is [NAME], reachable at [PRIVACY CONTACT].

2. For students (and their families)

What we keep about you

• Your first name and the first letter of your last name (only your teacher sees it).
• Your account: a writing name you make up (what the class page calls you, and what you sign in with) and a password you make. We store only a scrambled version of the password, so nobody can read it, not even us.
• The stories and writing you send, any recordings you make, your story plan and notes, and your answer to "how did you use AI?"
• If you choose to, a recording of you reading your sent story out loud. Your teacher can listen to it; you can delete it until they have. Nobody else hears it, and it is never emailed.
• If your assignment has pages (one step at a time): what you write on each page, the pages you hand in, your teacher's replies and your answers, and any drawings, photos of your paper work or recordings you add.
• If your teacher turns on the story idea spinner: the story idea you spun (a who, when, where and what) and how many spins you used. Your teacher sees it next to your work.
• How your writing grew: each time you send, the page also sends a step-by-step history of the story box (what was typed, what was pasted in, what came from speaking or from your plan, and when). Your teacher can play it back to see how your story was built. It is kept and deleted with the work it belongs to.
• Your teacher's feedback and grade on your work.
• Notes your teacher writes about your work to help with report cards. Only your teacher can see them.

Your account. You have one account for your school. You sign in with your writing name and password to write and to see your teachers' feedback, and you join each class with it from the link or QR code your teacher gives you. Each of your teachers sees your name and writing name, and only the work you do in their class. Your writing name can't have your real name in it. Keep your password to yourself. If you forget it, any of your teachers can give you a one-time password, and you make a new one. Your account is deleted with your classes' work at the end of the school year.

Story codes from before. If you sent work with a code like TIGER-LAMP-42, type it once on the class page to make your account: your work comes with you, and after that the code only tells you to sign in.

On a shared computer. While you're signed in, your work in progress is saved to your class as you write, so you can carry on from any computer. Your teacher doesn't see it until you send it. It's also kept on the computer you're using, so it isn't lost if the page reloads; that copy is removed when you press "Not you?" or "I'm done on this computer", once you send your final version, or after 10 hours. The copy saved to your class is removed once you send your final version, or with the rest of your work at the end of the school year.

Live words. When you tell your story out loud, the words that appear on screen come from your browser's speech service (Google, on Chrome and Android). Your voice goes to that company while you record, under the browser's own rules. On iPhone and iPad we only record, without live words. You can always type instead.

Read it to me. The button that reads your story, instructions or feedback out loud sends the words, one sentence at a time, to Microsoft's speech service in Canada, where a computer voice turns them into sound and sends it straight back. It gets only the words being read, never your name or story code. Your words and their sound are not saved. The sound of our own lesson pages (the writing lessons every class gets) is made once and kept, so the voice does not have to make it again for each class; none of it is yours. If that voice isn't available, your device's own voice reads instead; if your device only has an online voice, the words go to that voice's company (Google, on Chrome), and the page tells you so next to the button.

Videos, recordings and pictures from your teacher. Your teacher can put a recorded instruction, a video, pictures of textbook pages or readings at the start of an assignment. Files your teacher uploads are kept by us like the assignment itself. If your teacher adds a YouTube, Vimeo or Google Drive video, it plays inside the page but comes from that company: when you press play, your browser connects to it, and it can see your device's internet address and use its own cookies under its own rules. YouTube videos use YouTube's privacy-enhanced mode. We don't send that company anything about you.

Word sounds. In a language lesson (Tahltan, Plains Cree, Carcross Tlingit), the Listen button on a word card plays a recording kept on our platform, made by a fluent speaker your school or the language's community chose, with their name under the words. Nothing about you is sent anywhere when you press it. The “Look it up” link beside it opens the community's own dictionary in a new tab, under that site's rules.

Stay safe. Don't put your full name, your address, or your school's name in your story.

Who can see your work. Your teacher, and your parents or guardians if your teacher emails it to them (see section 3). Not other students (the class story wall on the class page shows only how many stories the class has sent and finished, never anyone's story or name), not your school's office, and not us, except where we must to keep the service running or fix a problem.

Book rewards. When you finish six stories, books unlock for you on the class page. We work this out from your account; nothing extra is collected.

When it's deleted. At the end of the school year (after June 30), or earlier if your school or teacher picks an earlier date or deletes it. Your teacher gets a reminder two weeks before, so they can save grades first.

3. For parents and guardians

How you get on the list. Only your child's teacher can add you, by typing your email address (and, if they like, your name) under your child, or by pasting a class list. The teacher must confirm that you agreed to get emails about your child's writing. A child can have up to three parents or guardians on the list. Students never see or give out these addresses.

What we keep about you: your email address, your name if the teacher typed it, the date the teacher confirmed you agreed, and whether you asked to stop. We also keep a record of each email the teacher sent you: the date, what kind of thing was in it (feedback, grade, writing or a note) and how many people it went to, never the email itself.

What you may receive. Only what the teacher chooses to send, after previewing it: their feedback on your child's work (only once your child can see it too), the grade and rubric, your child's writing, and/or a short note. Your child is named by first name. Teachers' private notes and report card notes are never emailed. Each parent or guardian gets their own copy, so nobody sees the other addresses. Emails come from the classroom site's address with the teacher's name; when you reply, your reply goes straight to the teacher's own email, not to us.

Stopping the emails. Every email has a "To stop them" link. Open it and press Stop the emails: you get no more emails from that teacher through Story Classrooms, and your address can't be added again in that classroom. To remember that, we keep only a scrambled (one-way hashed) copy of your address, until the classroom's deletion date. You can also reply to the teacher or write to [PRIVACY CONTACT].

When it's deleted. With the class's work at the end of the school year (after June 30), or earlier if the school or teacher picks an earlier date, deletes all student work, or closes the classroom. The teacher can also remove you at any time. Emails already delivered stay in your mailbox.

4. For teachers

What we keep: your name as students see it, your email address, your password (stored only as a one-way hash), an optional photo, your classroom name, grade band, welcome message, school, assignments and rubrics, files you add to assignments (recorded instructions, videos, pictures, readings) and links, and the grades, feedback, private notes and report card notes you write. If you send a feedback email to an address you type, we keep that address only as long as the student work it's about. If you add parents or guardians, see section 3. Story Ninjas teachers who bought individually: your order number.

Signing in: email and password; emailed links only to set or reset your password. You're signed out after 12 hours without use.

How long: your account stays while you use it. To close it, use Settings → Delete my classroom: it deletes your classroom, all of its student work and your account details at once, and emails you a confirmation. You can also ask [PRIVACY CONTACT].

Your responsibilities: use Story Classrooms for your class, follow your school's rules on student information, and don't ask students for more than the first name and last initial. Add a parent's or guardian's email only when they have agreed to get emails from you about their child's writing, and only for your own students. Videos and files you add should be ones you may share with your class.

5. For schools and school boards

School contacts see each classroom's totals, the teacher invitation link, and the deletion date, and can delete all of the school's student work at once. They never see student work. The details of how we handle student information for a school or board are in our data agreement with that school or board, which takes precedence over this notice.

6. Why we use information

Only to run Story Classrooms: show students their class page, deliver their work to their teacher, let teachers grade and give feedback, send the emails the service needs (sign-in, welcome, feedback, the emails teachers send to parents and guardians, deletion reminders), keep it secure (stopping spam and abuse), and answer support questions. We use counts (never content) to bill schools by teacher seats.

We do not sell or rent information, show ads, build profiles of students, use student work to train artificial intelligence, or use tracking or advertising cookies.

7. Services that help us

Some of these companies store or process information outside Canada, including in the United States, where it may be accessible to authorities under those countries' laws. [VERIFY: storage location; boards may require Canada or North America only.]

8. Keeping it safe

Encrypted connections everywhere; passwords (teachers' and students') and codes stored only as one-way hashes; each teacher can reach only their own classes; limits on repeated guesses and sign-in attempts; the admin page behind a second lock; content-free logs; a record of who opened which piece of work. No system is perfect: if a breach affects your information, we'll tell the school or teacher responsible without undue delay and report it where the law requires.

9. Your rights

You can ask to see, correct or delete information about you.

• Students and families: ask your teacher or school first; they control the work and can view, correct or delete it right away. You can also write to [PRIVACY CONTACT].
• Parents and guardians on an email list: use the stop link in any email, ask the teacher to correct or remove your address, or write to [PRIVACY CONTACT].
• Teachers: most of it you can change yourself in Settings; for the rest, write to [PRIVACY CONTACT].
• If you're not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or your provincial privacy commissioner.

10. Changes

If we change this notice in a way that matters, we'll update the date above and tell teachers and schools by email before it applies.

11. Contact

[COMPANY], [ADDRESS]. Privacy officer: [NAME], [PRIVACY CONTACT].