For parents · For guardians · For schools
For parents and guardians
Journal Genie is a personal AI built around private journaling, grounded research, and surveys. This page explains how we handle age, minors, and parental concerns in plain language.
We don't accept accounts for people under 13
Journal Genie is intended for people 13 and older. At signup we ask for a date of birth. If the date indicates an age under 13, we block the signup right there, without creating any account and without storing the date of birth anywhere on our servers. This aligns with the United States Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Age is self-declared. We do not verify with a government ID or a third-party age-verification service. We rely on people being honest. If you're a parent or guardian and you believe a child under 13 has created an account, please email us — see below.
For self-declared 13–17 users, extra safety protections are on automatically
When a 13–17 user signs up, Journal Genie automatically turns on a higher-sensitivity version of our in-product crisis-resource reminder. That means the reminder triggers earlier in a journal draft that looks like it might be describing a crisis, resources for younger people show up first, and the reminder cannot be turned off without affirmatively declaring 18+.
The detection itself runs entirely in the user's browser. No journal text leaves their device for that purpose. We don't store any record of who saw the safety reminder.
We do not currently offer a formal parental-consent flow under COPPA for the 13–17 cohort. The Terms of Service require 13–17 users to have parental or guardian permission, but we do not collect a written consent record today. If a school or district program is being considered, please contact us before any deployment — that is a different posture.
What we promise about all journals, regardless of age
- We do not train AI on user journals, sources, or chats.
- We do not sell user data.
- We do not run ads.
- Users can export everything in plain markdown at any time, and delete their account with proof of deletion sent within seven business days.
See our privacy posture and trust commitments for the full picture.
Contacting us
For any concern involving a minor, an under-13 account discovery, a deletion request as a parent or guardian, or a school inquiry, please email privacy@journal-genie.com. We acknowledge within five business days and most requests complete within seven.