Age and Children's Safety

The short version

Turtle FM is not for children under 13. In India, it is for adults (18+) only.

Teens aged 13–17 (outside India) can listen to stories rated 13+ only. They can’t use character chat, can’t see 16+ or 18+ stories, and can’t turn on mature content.

We don’t use teens’ data for targeted ads, and all optional data uses are off by default.

Parents: contact us at contact@turtletechsai.com about your child’s account and we’ll help, including deleting it.

Zero tolerance for child sexual abuse material. We remove it and report it to the authorities.

1. Age limits

Who	What they can do
Under 13 (everywhere)	Cannot use Turtle FM
13–17 (outside India)	Listen to stories rated 13+. No character chat. No 16+ or 18+ stories. No mature-content setting
Under 18 in India	Cannot use Turtle FM
18+	Everything, including character chat. 18+ stories appear only after turning on Mature stories (18+) in Profile and confirming age

2. How the age gate works

The first screen asks “How old are you?” with three equal choices: Under 13, 13–17 and 18+. We don’t pre-select an answer or suggest which to pick.
If you choose Under 13, the app shows a block screen. Nothing is sent to our servers — the app only stores a flag on the device so it doesn’t ask again.
If you choose 13–17 in a country where the minimum age is 18 (currently India), the app explains that Turtle FM is for adults in your region and does not create an account.
We store only your age band (13–17 or 18+), never your date of birth.
To see 18+ stories, an adult must also switch on Mature stories (18+) in Profile and confirm they are 18 or older.

Age is self-declared. We do not check identity documents. If we learn that a user is under the minimum age, we close the account and delete the data (see section 5).

3. Protections for teens (13–17)

No character chat. AI character chat is blocked for 13–17 accounts in every country, on our servers as well as in the app.
Age-appropriate stories only. Only series rated 13+ are shown. 16+ and 18+ series are hidden and can’t be opened.
Privacy by default. Personalisation, analytics, notifications and ad tracking are all off unless turned on. We will not use teens’ personal data for targeted advertising, and if we add ads in future, any ads shown to teens will not be personalised.
No dark patterns. Real countdowns, prices shown in coins and local currency, auto-unlock off by default, no pressure to buy. See our Terms of Use.
Purchases. We recommend parents use Apple’s Ask to Buy / Screen Time or Google Play’s purchase approval and Family Link to approve purchases on a teen’s device.
Reporting. Every story has a Report button, including a Harmful to minors reason, handled as urgent (target: 3 hours).

4. India: adults only

India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 treats everyone under 18 as a child and requires verifiable consent from a parent or guardian before processing a child’s personal data. It also prohibits tracking, behavioural monitoring and targeted advertising directed at children. Turtle FM does not collect parental consent, so we do not offer the Service to anyone under 18 in India.

5. Children under 13 and COPPA

Turtle FM is a general-audience service that is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, so we do not ask for parental consent under the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) or similar laws.

If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 — or from a child under 18 in India — we will delete the account and its data promptly.

6. For parents and guardians

If you think your child is using Turtle FM below the minimum age, or you want help with your teen’s account:

Email contact@turtletechsai.com with the subject “Parent request”. Tell us what you’d like us to do (for example close the account) and anything that helps us find it — for example the email address used to sign in, or roughly when the app was installed.
You can also delete the account directly from the device: Profile → Delete account and data.
Remember to cancel any VIP subscription in the App Store or Google Play — deleting the account does not cancel it.

We’ll reply within 3 business days. We may ask you to confirm you are the parent or guardian, in a way that collects as little information as possible.

7. Child sexual abuse material — zero tolerance

We have zero tolerance for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and for any sexualisation of children, real or fictional, in any form, including AI-generated material.

Our stories never contain sexual content involving anyone under 18 or characters presented as under 18. Every script and every episode is reviewed by a person before publication.
Character chat is adults-only, blocks sexual content in both directions, and characters are instructed never to produce it. Attempts to get sexual content involving minors are a serious breach of our Terms and lead to account closure.
If we find or are told about CSAM, we remove it immediately, preserve evidence as the law requires, close the accounts involved, and report it to the relevant authorities — in India, through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in) and to law enforcement as required by the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012; in the US, to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline; and to the appropriate authorities in other countries.

To report: use Report → Harmful to minors in the app, or email contact@turtletechsai.com with “URGENT – child safety” in the subject. If a child is in immediate danger, contact the police (112 in India, 911 in the US, 999 in the UK, 000 in Australia).

8. Helplines

If a young person needs help:

India: CHILDLINE 1098 · Tele-MANAS 14416
US: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988)
UK: Childline 0800 1111 · Samaritans 116 123
Canada: Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868 · 988
Australia: Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 · Lifeline 13 11 14