Privacy policy
Last updated: 14 November 2026
WIY Stories (WIY stands for “Write It Yourself”) was previously called Fablefox Stories, at fablefoxstories.co.uk. Only the name and web address have changed.
- We only collect what we need to run WIY Stories, and we never sell it or show adverts.
- Children never need an email address. A grown-up creates the account and adds children by first name.
- Stories stay private to your family or school. There is no public sharing and no chat between users.
- You can delete a story, a child's profile or your whole account at any time.
- Questions? Email contact@wiystories.com.
1. Who we are
WIY Stories (wiystories.com) is a story-writing website for children aged 5 to 11, used together with a parent, carer or teacher. WIY Stories is run by [your full name], a sole trader based in the United Kingdom, trading as WIY Stories. In this policy, “we”, “us” and “our” mean WIY Stories.
For families, we are the controller of the personal information described here. We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), registration number [ICO registration number].
When a school uses WIY Stories, the school is the controller of its pupils' information and we act as its processor: we only use that information to provide WIY Stories to the school, following the school's instructions and our data processing agreement.
You can contact us about anything in this policy at contact@wiystories.com.
2. What we collect and why
| Information | Why we need it | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|
| Grown-up's name, email address and password (the password is stored scrambled and can't be read, even by us) | To create your account, let you log in and contact you about it | Contract |
| If you choose “Continue with Google” or “Continue with Microsoft”: the name, email address and profile picture link on that account (we don't use the picture), and a technical ID that links it to your WIY Stories login. We don't receive your Google or Microsoft password, contacts, files or emails | To let you log in with that account | Contract |
| Teacher's school email; school name, address, telephone number, the contact's role and the school's size; other teachers' names and school emails; for invoices, the name and email of the person the invoice goes to and any purchase order number | To set up school accounts, invite teachers, and send invoices | Contract; legitimate interests |
| For families: each child's first name, age, school year and (optionally) gender. For teacher and school accounts: a pupil code made up by the teacher instead of a name (see below), plus age, school year and (optionally) gender | To suggest story ideas and writing help that suit their age, and to draw characters in their books | Contract, with the agreement of the parent, carer or school |
| Stories, story plans, book pictures, comments and stars, progress reports and word banks. In writing competitions: the group name, the story, its plan, timings, and the marks and comments given by the AI and the teacher | This is the service itself: writing, reading, reviewing and keeping books | Contract |
| Grown-up PIN (stored scrambled) | So children can't leave their writing space or change settings without a grown-up | Contract |
| Plan, subscription status and renewal date. Card details are entered on Stripe's secure page and never reach us | To take payment and give you the right features | Contract; legal obligation (tax records) |
| A count of writing-help requests each month, and basic technical logs (such as error messages and the time of a request) | To keep WIY Stories affordable, safe and working | Legitimate interests |
School accounts use pupil codes, not names. Teachers add each pupil with a code they make up, for example AB_class_1234, and keep their own list of which code belongs to which child, outside WIY Stories. WIY Stories never needs to know a pupil's real name. In writing competitions, pupils type only a group name chosen by their teacher.
Class login. A teacher can open a class login so pupils write on their own devices. Anyone who types the 6-letter class code while it's open sees the list of pupil codes for that class, and each pupil taps their own code. The class code works only until the teacher closes it, or for 8 hours at most. A pupil's device only ever holds that pupil's own stories, and sends them to us as they write so their teacher can see them. This is another reason schools should use pupil codes, not names.
We never ask children for an email address, surname, home address, school name, phone number or photo. WIY Stories checks each line a child writes and stops personal details such as phone numbers, email addresses and addresses from being added to a story.
3. How WIY Stories uses AI
WIY Stories' spelling and grammar checks, story ideas, hints, opening lines and the planning of book pictures are produced by an artificial intelligence (AI) model provided by Anthropic. When a child adds a line, asks for a hint or finishes a book, the relevant story text, along with the child's first name and age, is sent securely to Anthropic so it can produce that help. Anthropic processes it on our behalf under its commercial terms and does not use it to train its AI models.
Children write every line of their story themselves. The AI never writes the story for them: hints are questions to get them thinking, and “wow words” are ideas they type in themselves. When the AI fixes a spelling, grammar or punctuation mistake, WIY Stories shows the child what changed and why, and any line can be changed again later. The AI never makes decisions about your child, and a grown-up can review everything.
Every line is checked in two ways before it is added to the story. A writing check keeps spelling, grammar and punctuation correct and helps the story flow. A content check makes sure each line is friendly and suitable for children. If a line isn’t suitable, the child is gently asked to write it a different way. If the content check can’t run for any reason, for example because of a connection problem, the line isn’t added until a grown-up has read it and approved it with their PIN.
Book pictures. When a book is finished, and if a grown-up chooses to make a fully illustrated version, short descriptions of what to draw on the cover and each page (based on the story, with no names other than the characters' first names or pupil codes as written in the story) are sent to Google's Gemini image service, which paints the pictures. We use Google's paid service, under which Google does not use the descriptions or pictures to train its models. The pictures are stored privately in your WIY Stories account and are deleted with the book or the account.
Writing competitions. Teachers can run timed competitions where there is no writing help while pupils write. Afterwards, if the teacher chooses, the story and the teacher's marking criteria are sent to Anthropic so the AI can highlight mistakes and wow words and predict a mark. The AI's marks are only suggestions: the teacher reviews them, can change or reject them, and makes every final decision.
4. Who we share information with
We only share information with the companies that help us run WIY Stories, under contracts that require them to keep it safe and use it only for us:
| Company | What they do for us | Where the data is held |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Accounts, logins, database and our server code | London, United Kingdom |
| Netlify | Delivers the website pages to your device | Global network (website files only, no stories) |
| Anthropic | AI writing help, and planning what the book pictures show | United States |
| Google (Gemini API) | Book pictures: the cover of every finished book, and fully illustrated versions | United States and other countries where Google runs its services |
| Google (Cloud Text-to-Speech) | "Read it to me": the words of a finished book are turned into speech with a UK voice. The audio is saved privately in your account and deleted with it | United States and other countries where Google runs its services |
| Stripe | Payments and subscriptions | United Kingdom, European Union and United States |
| Resend | Sends account emails (sign-up codes, password resets, teacher invites) | Ireland, European Union |
When information is processed outside the UK, it is protected by the UK's approved safeguards, such as the UK–US data bridge or the UK International Data Transfer Addendum. We will also share information if the law requires it, or to protect a child's safety.
We never sell personal information, never use it for advertising, and never share it with other users. Books stay inside WIY Stories: they can be read in the app but not downloaded or printed from it. When printed books become available to order, we will update this policy to name our printing partner and what we share with them (only what is needed to print and post the book).
5. How long we keep information
- Your account and stories: for as long as your account is open. You can delete a story, a child's profile or your whole account at any time in Settings or the grown-up area. Deletion is immediate and permanent.
- Inactive accounts: if nobody logs in to a family account for 2 years, we will email you before deleting it, so you can log in to keep it.
- Unfinished sign-ups: accounts whose email address was never confirmed are deleted after 30 days.
- School accounts: kept while the school's subscription is active and deleted 12 months after it ends, or sooner if the school asks.
- Payment records: kept by Stripe and us for 6 years, because UK tax law requires it. These don't include stories or children's details.
- Backups: deleted information disappears from our backups within 7 days.
6. Cookies and storage on your device
WIY Stories doesn't use advertising, analytics or tracking cookies. We store a small amount of information on your device to keep you logged in and to open your stories quickly. This is strictly necessary for the service to work, so we don't need to ask for consent. Signing out removes the stories saved on your device.
7. Keeping information safe
Information is encrypted while it travels and while it's stored. Each family, teacher and school can only reach its own data. Passwords and PINs are stored scrambled. Only the people who run WIY Stories can access the systems, and only when needed to support you or keep the service working.
8. Children and the Children's Code
WIY Stories is designed for children and follows the ICO's Age Appropriate Design Code (the Children's Code). Privacy settings are high by default. There is no public profile, no chat, no location tracking, no adverts and no features designed to keep children online for longer. Only adults aged 18 or over can create an account.
9. Your rights
You can ask us to:
- give you a copy of your information
- correct anything that's wrong
- delete your information
- give you your information in a format you can take elsewhere
- stop or limit how we use it, or object to how we use it
Email contact@wiystories.com and we'll reply within one month. Children can ask too, or a grown-up can ask for them. If your child's school set up WIY Stories, you can also ask the school.
If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, please tell us first so we can put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.
10. Changes to this policy
Whenever we change this policy, we'll email every account holder with a short summary of what has changed and when it takes effect. The date at the top shows when this policy was last updated.