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), and Dot Dash's SMS messaging feature. It describes information about three groups of people:
- Parents, who create the account and pair the device.
- Children, who use the device.
- Phone contacts, meaning adults a parent approves, such as a grandparent, who exchange SMS messages with a child's device.
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, phone 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) |
| Phone contact's name and mobile number | Parent | SMS messaging with the child's device (section 5) |
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. SMS messaging with phone contacts
- SMS messaging is optional. No one has to receive SMS messages to use Dot Dash: the device, the app and messaging between Dot Dash devices all work without it. Opting in to SMS is a separate choice that only the person receiving the messages can make.
- A parent can approve a phone contact for their child's device by entering the contact's name and mobile number in the app.
- We never message a phone number first. The contact opts in themselves by sending the keyword START to the Dot Dash number. Until they do, nothing is sent to them, and nothing they send reaches the child.
- After opting in, the contact and the child's device can exchange messages. Messages from the child are sent to the contact as SMS messages, and the contact's replies are shown on the child's device. The parent can see these messages in the app.
- The contact can reply STOP at any time to stop receiving messages, and HELP for help. 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 carries the messages (section 6).
- Our servers don't keep a copy of SMS message content. Messages pass through to the device or to the contact's phone.
- When a parent removes a contact, their number is deleted. We keep a keyed, one-way fingerprint of the number together with the Dot Dash number it used. That record can't be turned back into the phone number without a secret key held only on our server. It exists only so that Dot Dash number is never later connected to a different child's device. A contact who never sends START is deleted after 14 days.
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 and receiving SMS messages for phone contacts. Twilio receives the contact's number and the message content to deliver 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.
- Phone contacts: as described in section 5.
- 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 phone contacts, 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