1. On the website

The website has no accounts, sign-up forms or payments. We collect:

• Messages you send us. If you email hello@chrismaus.com, we receive your email address and whatever you choose to include.
• Usage information. We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the site — for example, pages viewed, approximate location, device and browser type. This uses cookies; see our Cookie Policy.
• Technical logs. Our hosting provider automatically records basic request data such as IP address, browser type and the time of the request, to keep the site secure and working.

2. In the app

When you use the Chris Maus app, we collect:

• Sign-in details. You sign in with Google, Apple or Facebook. That service tells us an account ID it uses for you and, if it shares one, your email address. We never see your password, and we don’t keep your name or profile picture.
• Your age confirmation. Accounts are for adults, so we record that you confirmed you are 18 or older.
• Your display name. Other members see a display name, not your real name. We pick one for you until you choose your own.
• What you create. The stories you play and the choices you make, the words and pictures the AI storyteller creates for you, the characters and adventures you make, your saved storybooks, and your ratings and follows.
• Usage counts. How many stories, scenes, pictures and characters you create, so we can apply your plan’s limits and fair use.
• A sign-in cookie. It keeps you signed in on chrismaus.com sites for up to 30 days after your last visit (90 days at most). It isn’t used for advertising.
• Usage information and technical logs, the same as on the website.

3. How the AI storyteller works with what you write

To write and illustrate your story, we send the text you type, the choices you make and the story so far to our AI providers: Anthropic (Claude) writes the scenes and helps us check that content is suitable, and Google (Gemini) draws the pictures, with fal.ai as a backup. They process it to create your story under their terms for business customers. Please don’t type personal details, such as addresses or phone numbers, into your stories.

4. Who can see what

• Adventures you publish, characters you make public, your ratings, your follows and your display name can be seen by other signed-in Chris Maus members.
• Stories you play and characters you keep private are visible only to you.
• Your Chris Maus account is separate from accounts on any other storytelling site. Nobody outside Chris Maus sees it.

5. How we use information

• to run the app: create your stories, save your storybooks and keep you signed in;
• to apply your plan’s limits and fair use;
• to credit storytellers and character creators when their work is used;
• to reply to your messages;
• to understand which parts of the site and app are useful and improve them;
• to keep the site and app safe, check content and prevent abuse; and
• to meet legal obligations.

6. Sharing

We don’t sell your personal information or share it for advertising. We share it only with service providers that help us run the site and app, under their own data-protection terms, or when the law requires it:

• Amazon Web Services — hosting and storage, in the United States;
• Google, Apple and Meta (Facebook) — sign-in, for the service you choose;
• Anthropic, Google and fal.ai — writing and illustrating stories, and checking content;
• Google Analytics — usage information.

7. Payments

Memberships and printed books aren’t on sale yet. When they are, payments will be handled by Stripe — we will never see your card number — and we will update this policy before anything goes on sale.

8. How long we keep it

We keep your account information until you delete your account, and your creations as part of the app until you delete them or ask us to. We keep emails for as long as needed to respond, analytics data for the retention period set in Google Analytics, and technical logs for a limited time for security.

9. Deleting your account

You can delete your account at any time: in the app, open your Me page and choose Delete my account. We then remove your email address and your sign-in connections, sign you out everywhere, and replace your display name. The stories, characters and adventures you made stay in the app without anything that identifies you. If you’d like those removed too, email hello@chrismaus.com.

If you signed in with Facebook and remove the Chris Maus app from your Facebook settings, Facebook tells us and we delete your account the same way. You’ll receive a confirmation code you can check at play.chrismaus.com/deletion.

10. Your choices and rights

You can ask us to forget your email at any time, and you can block or delete analytics cookies in your browser settings. Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export or delete your personal information, or to object to how we use it. To make a request, email hello@chrismaus.com.

11. Children

Chris Maus is a family story, but accounts are for adults 18 and older. Children can enjoy the stories with a grown-up, on the grown-up’s account. The website and app are not directed to children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

12. Where your information is stored

Our servers are in the United States. If you use the site or app from elsewhere, your information is transferred to and processed in the United States.

13. Changes to this policy

When we change this policy, we update the date at the top of this page. If a change significantly affects how we use your information, we will tell you in the app before it takes effect.

14. Contact

Questions or requests about privacy: hello@chrismaus.com.