Fanous is an app that creates Arabic stories and songs for children using artificial intelligence. Because it is used by families and children, we have written this policy as plainly as we can, and it describes what actually happens to your data and to the content of your stories.
Please read the section "Content that is published publicly" before you create a story.
Who we are
Fanous is operated by Anas Bourani, Al Reem Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. We are responsible for the data collected through the Fanous app and the fanous.world website.
For any privacy question or data request: [email protected]
The account is held by a parent or guardian, who is responsible for the child profiles created within it.
What we collect
Account data: your email address, your username, and your password (stored hashed with argon2id — we cannot read it).
Child profiles: the name you choose for each child, their age in years, gender, reading level, and selected character. We do not ask for a date of birth, an address, or a school.
Content: the story idea you type or dictate, and the stories, chapters, images and songs generated from it, along with any characters you create.
In-app activity: which stories were started, completed, liked, shared or skipped; points, levels and achievements; and any content reports you send us.
Technical data: your IP address and browser or app user agent when you sign in or renew a session; device identifier, operating system and app version; and a notification token if you enable notifications.
Subscriptions: your subscription status and transaction identifiers from Apple and RevenueCat. Payments are handled entirely by Apple — we never see or store your card details.
Fanous contains no tracking, analytics or advertising of any kind: no Google Analytics, no Firebase, no tracking pixels, no ad networks, and no sale or sharing of data for marketing.
Photos and voice
When you upload a photo to create a character or a child avatar, we store it in private storage that is not publicly accessible, strip its embedded metadata (such as EXIF data and capture location), and send it to OpenAI to generate the cartoon drawing.
We delete the original photo from our storage as soon as the generation finishes, whether it succeeds or fails. If you upload a photo but never start a generation from it, it remains in private storage until you ask us to delete it.
The resulting drawing is not a photograph of your child, but it is derived from their features. See "Content that is published publicly" for where that drawing may appear.
When you dictate a story idea, the app uses Apple’s speech recognition and the audio is processed by Apple under its own privacy policy. We do not store the recording; we receive only the resulting text.
Reading stories aloud inside the app runs entirely on your device — that audio never leaves it.
How we use data
We use data only to run the service, specifically to:
- Generate the stories, characters, images and songs you request.
- Tailor what each child sees to their age, reading level and what they have liked before.
- Manage your account, subscription and credits, and process and restore purchases.
- Send essential service email: welcome, email verification, and password reset.
- Protect the service: prevent abuse, review reports, and keep accounts secure.
- Improve the quality and child-safety of generated content.
We do not use children’s data for advertising, and we do not sell it to anyone.
Content that is published publicly
This is the most important section of this policy. Please read it before creating a story.
When a story you create finishes generating and includes a song, Fanous automatically publishes it as a music video on the public Fanous YouTube channel (@Fanous-Stories). The video is uploaded as public and marked as made for kids. This applies to every completed story that includes a song — not only to stories from our own library — and there is currently no setting in the app to turn it off.
- The video’s title and description are taken from the story, so any name you give a character — including your child’s name, if you use it — may appear publicly.
- The video contains the story’s illustrations. If you created a character from an uploaded photo, the character drawn from that photo appears in the video.
- The video contains the generated song and its Arabic lyrics.
Separately, the images and audio Fanous generates are stored on a public content delivery network, and anyone with the direct link can open them without signing in.
Stories created in the app are also stored as public. They are not shown to other families on the home screen or in search results, but a signed-in user who has a story’s link can open it.
Deleting a story, a character, a child profile or your account does not remove anything already published to YouTube, nor files already uploaded to our content network. If you want a published video or image removed, email [email protected] and we will remove it.
If you would prefer that nothing relating to your child is published publicly, do not use their real name in stories or characters, do not upload their photo, and contact us before creating stories.
Children’s privacy
Fanous is designed for children, but the account is opened and managed by a parent or guardian. You create the child profile, and you decide what goes into it.
A child profile contains only what you enter: name, age, gender, and the selected character. We recommend using a first name only, or a nickname.
We ask children not to share personal information inside story text, and we screen generated content automatically for safety, but we cannot prevent personal information being typed into a story idea. That responsibility rests with the parent or guardian.
Fanous does not currently operate a separate verifiable parental-consent mechanism beyond the account being registered to the parent, who accepts this policy and the Terms of Service at sign-up.
If you believe a child has created an account without your permission, or you want a child’s data deleted, email [email protected] and we will action it.
Where data is stored
Your data is stored on DigitalOcean servers in the United States (San Francisco region). Most of the providers listed above are US companies, which means your data is processed outside your country of residence.
By using Fanous you agree to your data being transferred to and processed in those countries.
How long we keep data
We keep account data, child profiles and generated content for as long as the account exists.
Uploaded source photos are deleted as soon as generation finishes, as described above.
Videos published to YouTube remain publicly available until we remove them at your request.
We keep subscription and transaction records for as long as accounting and legal requirements demand.
You can ask us to delete all of your data at any time by emailing us, and we will action it within a reasonable period.
Your rights
You can access your data, correct it, ask us to delete it, object to its processing, and request a copy of it.
You can edit your account details and child profiles directly in the app.
When you delete your account from the app, we deactivate the account and sign you out of every device immediately. That step alone does not delete generated content, files already on our content network, or videos already published to YouTube.
For complete and permanent deletion of everything relating to you — including stories, images, songs and published videos — email [email protected] and we will action it.
Data security
We hash passwords with argon2id, store session and reset tokens hashed rather than in plain text, use encrypted connections (TLS) for every request, and keep uploaded photos in private storage that is not publicly accessible.
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, however. If you discover a security vulnerability, please tell us at [email protected].
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the service changes. The date of the last update is shown at the top of this page, and we will notify you in the app or by email if a change is significant.
Contact us
For any privacy question, complaint, or data deletion request:
Fanous — Anas Bourani, Al Reem Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.