Straight answers on safety, privacy, learning, and how KindyWords actually works — the AI, the data, and what your child gets.

Questions parents ask

The one honest answer to each question parents actually ask. If yours isn’t here, write to us — a real person reads everything.

Safety & the AI

Is this really AI talking to my child?
Yes — and we say so plainly. KindyWords is an AI writing mentor, disclosed as an AI in the very first message a family sees. It replies through the parent's own account, on the parent's device, so you see every word it ever says.

What if it reads my child's writing wrong?
Then it asks — it never guesses. That's our founding rule: if we can't read the writing clearly, KindyWords says "I think you wrote because — is that right?" or simply encourages another go. A confident correction is only ever given on a confident read. This rule is built into the system, not a setting someone can forget to switch on.

Will it overwhelm my child with corrections?
No. At most one or two small things to try, always built on what your child actually wrote — never a wall of red ink. Invented spelling is a stage, not a failure, and the mentor treats it that way.

Does the AI ever contact my child directly?
No. Everything goes through the parent's account and device. Reminders and progress notes go to you — never pressure aimed at the child.

Privacy & your child's data

Where do the photos of my child's writing go?
They're read to understand the writing, then not stored — the photo is discarded and only the text becomes your child's practice history. Everything is kept in Australia, and nothing is ever posted, shared, or published.

Who can see my child's work?
You (and anyone you invite to your read-only family circle), and the system that reads it. There is no public feed, no sharing, no leaderboard, no ranking against other children.

Can I delete everything?
Yes — deletion is built in, not a support ticket. From the parent portal you can see, export, and delete your child's data any time, or close your account entirely. Child data is also removed automatically on a 12-month retention schedule.

Is KindyWords compliant with Australian children's privacy rules?
We won't claim a certification we don't hold. What's true: KindyWords is designed against the Australian Children's Online Privacy Code obligations, an independent child-privacy specialist and a lawyer reviewed it before any child used it, and their conditions — Australian data residency, child-data emails to the registered parent only, and 12-month retention — are built in. If you have a concern, you can also raise it with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Learning

Is invented spelling bad? Should I be correcting it?
Invented spelling is a normal, healthy stage of learning to write — it shows your child is listening to sounds. The evidence-informed approach is gentle, selective feedback rather than correcting everything, and that's exactly how KindyWords behaves: one or two things, warmly.

Will this replace me, or my child's teacher?
Never — and we'd say that even if it cost us the sale. KindyWords is designed for supervised practice: a shared moment between you and your child, with a patient helper who never gets tired of "read it again". Teachers teach; parents encourage; KindyWords just makes the practice loop more fun.

Does it actually work?
We're honest about this: the approach is designed with early-literacy research in mind (sound-based feedback, celebration of effort, little-and-often practice). We don't claim proven learning outcomes, and we won't until we can show them.

Practical

What do I need?
Paper, a pencil, and a phone with Telegram. Your child writes on paper; you photograph it from your device; the mentor replies with a warm voice message and your child's own page back with cheerful highlights.

What ages is it for?
Ages 4 to 9 — from first letters to confident sentences. Feedback adapts to your child's age, and grows with them.

How much does it cost?
The full child experience is free, forever. Premium adds the parent-side depth — the journal album, vocabulary map, deeper insight, voice choice, and more — from less than 30 cents a day.

Is it available outside Australia?
KindyWords is Australia-first: Australian voices, Australian data residency, Australian privacy rules. Other countries come later, each with its own privacy review first.

Still wondering how your child compares to “normal”? See Is my child on track? — and what you get with Premium.