Children's Privacy

Is CapKin safe for my kids?

CapKin is a shared household budgeting app, not a bank or a card. A child uses a “capture-only” role designed for kids: they can log what they spent, and every entry waits for a parent's approval before it counts. There is no debit card, no real money movement, no bank connection, and no advertising. Everything a child does stays inside your household and under your control.

What a child can and cannot do

A child with the capture-only role can log expenses by typing (and, only if you enable it, by voice). Each entry is saved as pending and does not count toward any budget total until you approve it. A child cannot manage the household, change caps, approve their own entries, or sign up on their own. The role exists to teach kids to record spending, with a parent always in the loop.

Only a parent can create a child account

A child account can only be created by the household owner — an adult who already has a CapKin account. The child cannot sign up on their own. We keep a record of when and by whom each child account was created.

What we store about a child

A child account stores only a display name, the expenses the child enters, their savings goals, and their activity in the built-in money lessons and quizzes. We do not ask children for their full name, age, home address, phone number, or any other personal contact details.

Voice is off by default for children

Voice input is turned off for children until you, the household owner, turn it on. When you do, we show you exactly how voice data is handled at that moment. Once enabled, it works the same way as for adults: the audio is transcribed and immediately deleted, no recording is kept, and no voiceprint is created. Voice never asks a child for personal information — it is only a way to log an expense instead of typing it.

No advertising, ever

We show no ads to anyone, and we will never use a child's data for advertising of any kind. We do not sell data.

You stay in control

• —Review everything. You can see every entry a child has logged.
• —Approve or reject. Nothing a child enters counts until you approve it.
• —Turn voice off. You can switch voice input off for a child at any time.
• —Export or delete. You can export or delete a child's data, and remove the child from the household, whenever you choose.

How this lines up with COPPA

CapKin is built to comply with the US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Because a child account can only be created and controlled by a parent (the household owner), that step serves as verifiable parental consent, and we log when and by whom it was given.

We collect only the minimum a child needs to use the app, ask children for no personal contact information, never use children's data for advertising, and let parents review, export, and delete their child's data at any time. Voice input requires a separate parental opt-in and is off until you turn it on.

Questions

Questions about children's data go to getcapkin@proton.me. You can also read our full privacy policy and security overview.