YouGuard

Privacy Policy

Last updated: January 27, 2026

1. Introduction

YouGuard ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our family safety and accountability service, which includes YouTube monitoring, SMS/MMS monitoring, and AI-powered content analysis.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Account Information

When you create an account, we collect:

  • Name and email address (from Google Sign-In)
  • Profile picture (from Google)
  • Account preferences and settings

2.2 YouTube Data

With your explicit consent, we access the following YouTube data through the YouTube API:

  • Subscriptions: Channels you or monitored accounts are subscribed to
  • Liked Videos: Videos that have been liked
  • Channel Information: Public channel names, descriptions, and thumbnails

We do NOT access: Watch history, private videos, passwords, or payment information.

2.3 AI Analysis Data

We use AI to analyze content from different sources. The AI infrastructure used depends on the data source:

YouTube Data (Processed Exclusively via Google Vertex AI)

All YouTube-derived data is analyzed exclusively through Google Vertex AI Model Garden (Gemini), ensuring full compliance with Google's API Services Terms of Service, the Google API Services User Data Policy, and the Limited Use requirements:

  • Video transcripts (for content safety analysis)
  • Channel names and descriptions
  • Video titles and descriptions
  • Family context you provide (child's age, interests, parenting goals)

Critical Privacy Guarantee: YouTube data is NEVER sent to Anthropic, OpenAI, or any non-Google AI provider. Your YouTube data remains entirely within Google's infrastructure during AI processing. Per Google's Vertex AI data governance documentation, customer data is not used to train Google's foundation models.

SMS/MMS Data (Multiple AI Providers)

SMS and MMS message content (which is not derived from Google services) may be analyzed using:

  • Google Vertex AI (Gemini models)
  • Anthropic Claude AI
  • OpenAI

The specific provider depends on system configuration and availability. All providers are selected for their enterprise-grade privacy practices. SMS/MMS data is subject to the privacy policies of the AI provider used for analysis.

2.4 Usage Data

We automatically collect:

  • Log data (IP address, browser type, pages visited)
  • Device information
  • Feature usage patterns

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

  • Provide and maintain the YouGuard service
  • Sync YouTube data for monitoring purposes
  • Generate AI-powered content analysis and safety ratings
  • Send alerts about concerning content (if enabled)
  • Improve our service and develop new features
  • Communicate with you about your account and service (see Section 3.1)
  • Ensure security and prevent fraud

3.1 Communications

By creating an account, you consent to receive the following types of communications from YouGuard via email:

  • Transactional: Account verification, password resets, security alerts, and payment receipts
  • Service Updates: Changes to features, scheduled maintenance, and service interruptions
  • Product Announcements: New features, product releases, and platform improvements
  • Administrative: Policy updates, Terms of Service changes, and compliance notices

Transactional and administrative communications are essential to your use of the service and cannot be opted out of while your account is active. You may opt out of product announcements and non-essential service updates by using the unsubscribe link in any such email or by updating your notification preferences in your account settings.

4. Data Sharing

4.1 With Monitoring Partners

If you are part of a monitoring relationship (parent-child or accountability partnership), the following data is shared with your monitoring partner:

  • YouTube subscriptions
  • Liked videos
  • AI analysis results

4.2 Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services:

  • Google/YouTube API: To access YouTube data (subject to Google's Privacy Policy)
  • Google Vertex AI Model Garden (Gemini): For analyzing all YouTube-derived data. This is a first-party Google service, ensuring YouTube data never leaves Google's infrastructure for AI processing. We authenticate using Google Workload Identity Federation with short-lived OIDC tokens. (Subject to Google Cloud Terms of Service and Vertex AI Data Governance)
  • Anthropic Claude AI: For analyzing SMS/MMS content (non-Google data only). No YouTube data is sent to Anthropic. (Subject to Anthropic's Privacy Policy)
  • OpenAI: May be used for analyzing SMS/MMS content (non-Google data only) as an alternative provider. No YouTube data is sent to OpenAI. (Subject to OpenAI's Privacy Policy)
  • Neon Database: For secure data storage
  • Vercel: For hosting the application
  • Cloudflare R2: For secure storage of MMS media attachments
  • Resend: For sending email notifications
  • Stripe: For COPPA parental consent verification (credit card pre-authorization only - no charges are captured)

4.3 We Do NOT

  • Sell your personal data to third parties
  • Share your data with advertisers
  • Use your data for targeted advertising

5. Data Security

We implement appropriate security measures including:

  • Encryption of data in transit (HTTPS)
  • Secure database storage with encryption at rest
  • OAuth 2.0 for secure YouTube authentication
  • Regular security audits

However, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Data Retention

We retain your data as follows:

  • Account data: Until you delete your account (see deletion process below)
  • YouTube sync data: Until you delete your account or disconnect YouTube
  • AI analysis results: Until you delete your account
  • SMS/MMS data: Until you delete the monitored account
  • Log data: Up to 90 days

6.1 Account Deletion Process

When you delete a monitored account, we use a two-phase deletion process for your protection:

  • Immediate (Soft Delete): The account is immediately marked as deleted and becomes inaccessible. All OAuth tokens are revoked, syncing stops, and the data is no longer visible in your dashboard.
  • 30-Day Recovery Window: Your data is retained for 30 days in case you need to recover an accidentally deleted account. During this period, you can contact us to restore the account.
  • Permanent Deletion: After 30 days, all account data is permanently and irreversibly deleted from our systems, including all associated YouTube data, SMS/MMS messages, AI analysis results, and monitoring history.

7. Your Rights

You have the right to:

  • Access: Request a copy of your data
  • Correction: Update inaccurate information
  • Deletion: Delete your account and all associated data
  • Revoke YouTube Access: Disconnect your YouTube account at any time
  • Export: Request an export of your data

7.1 Revoking YouTube Access

You can revoke YouGuard's access to your YouTube data at any time by visiting your Google Account permissions and removing YouGuard from the list of connected apps.

7.2 Account Deletion

To delete a monitored account and all associated data, use the account deletion option in your dashboard settings. The account will be immediately inaccessible and permanently deleted after 30 days (see Section 6.1 for details on our deletion process).

To delete your entire YouGuard account, contact us at support@youguard.app. Within 30 days, you can request restoration of accidentally deleted data.

8. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

YouGuard is committed to compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and similar child privacy regulations worldwide (including GDPR-K).

8.1 Age-Based Tiers

YouGuard implements a three-tier age-based system:

  • Children Under 13: Read-only supervision mode. We use YouTube's read-only API scope and do not perform any write actions on the child's YouTube account. Parents can view activity insights but must make any changes directly on YouTube.
  • Teens (13-17): Full functionality with documented parental consent and teen acknowledgment. Parents can use all supervision features with the teen's knowledge.
  • Adults (18+): Full functionality for accountability partnerships between consenting adults.

8.2 Verifiable Parental Consent

For children under 13, we require verifiable parental consent as mandated by COPPA. We offer the following consent verification methods:

  • Credit Card Verification: A $0.50 pre-authorization charge (not captured) is used to verify the parent's identity. This charge is immediately released and not collected.
  • Google Family Link: If the child's YouTube account is supervised through Google Family Link, parental consent is verified through Google's existing infrastructure.

8.3 Data Collection for Children

For children under 13, we collect and process:

  • YouTube subscriptions and liked videos (read-only access)
  • AI-generated safety analysis of public channel content
  • No personal information is collected directly from the child

All data is managed by and accessible only to the verified parent/guardian.

8.4 Parental Rights

Parents of children under 13 have the right to:

  • Review all data collected about their child
  • Delete all child data at any time
  • Revoke consent and disconnect the child's YouTube account
  • Request a copy of all child-related data

8.5 Data Use Restrictions

Data from children under 13 is never used for:

  • Advertising or marketing purposes
  • Behavioral profiling or targeting
  • Sale to third parties
  • Any purpose other than family safety supervision

9. YouTube API Services

YouGuard's use of information received from YouTube APIs adheres to the YouTube API Services Terms of Service and the YouTube API Services Developer Policies.

Additionally, by using YouGuard, you acknowledge and agree to the Google Privacy Policy.

10. Cookies

We use essential cookies for authentication and session management. We do not use tracking cookies or third-party advertising cookies.

11. International Data Transfers

Your data may be processed in the United States where our servers are located. By using YouGuard, you consent to this transfer of data.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

14. California Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including the right to know what personal information we collect and the right to request deletion. To exercise these rights, contact us at the email above.