OnceUponaBookshelf
You stay in control
See exactly what's shared. Change your mind whenever you like.
OnceUponaBookshelf has no user accounts, and story writing is free for everyone. Most stories are written entirely on-device, so your child's details never leave the phone. On devices that need cloud fallback, we ask your permission first and keep nothing afterwards. Everything you save stays on your device.
Privacy by design, not as an afterthought
On-device by default
Story generation runs on your iPhone using Apple's on-device Foundation Models. Your child's name, age, interests and story idea don't need to leave the device.
No accounts, no sign-up
There's nothing to register and no password to create. A child's profile lives locally on the device, not on a server tied to an identity.
No profile beyond one ad, ever
A short ad plays while a story is written unless you have Remove Ads. It's never personalised without asking first, and we don't sell or share data for marketing beyond it.
Cloud fallback only with permission
If your device can't run the on-device model, the app asks before sending a story request to Cloudflare Workers AI, and nothing is retained once the story comes back.
Narration, once, then yours
Story text is sent to ElevenLabs to generate the narration audio. Once it comes back, the audio is saved to your device and every replay happens locally — nothing is narrated twice.
Delete anything, any time
Remove a child's profile, or every story and audio file that belongs to them, from Settings — or erase everything by deleting the app.
Where cloud services are used
A few things can involve a server. Writing a story when on-device generation isn't available on your iPhone uses Cloudflare Workers AI, and the app asks your permission first. Adding narration sends the finished story text to ElevenLabs to make the audio. Unless you have Remove Ads, the short ad shown while a story is written comes from Google AdMob, and it's personalised only if you allow tracking. Syncing a shelf across your own devices uses iCloud, if you turn it on. For a side-by-side table, see our guide Do AI story apps keep your child's data private?
For the full detail — exactly what's collected, who it's shared with, and how long anything is kept — read the complete privacy policy.
Read the full Privacy Policy →Bedtime stories, kept between you and your child
Story writing is free for everyone. Remove Ads if you'd rather skip the short ad.