Last updated: August 11, 2026
Yako by the Sea (“Yako by the Sea,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a free, ad‑free educational game for young children, created by Jacob “Yako” Tanzer in Carmel‑by‑the‑Sea, California, and available at yakobythesea.com (the “Service”). We care deeply about the privacy of the children and families who use it. This Privacy Policy explains what information the Service handles, how it is stored, the third parties involved, our use of artificial intelligence, and your choices. Please read it together with our Terms of Use.
Information you provide. To personalize the game, a child (with a parent’s help) may enter a first name or nickname. You are not required to enter a real name — a nickname works fine, and we ask you not to enter full names, contact details, or other identifying information.
Gameplay information stored on your device. The game saves the following in your browser’s local storage so progress isn’t lost: the chosen name/nickname, stars and level progress, lesson statistics (such as best times and play counts), stickers earned, daily‑streak information, and preferences (language, narrator voice, sound settings, and reading‑help options). This information stays on your device unless you choose to sign in for cross‑device sync (below).
Optional account and cloud sync. The game may offer an optional “Continue with Google” or “Continue with Facebook” feature so a parent can save progress across devices. If you choose to use it, you sign in with an adult’s existing account through that provider, and your progress may be stored in a cloud database (Google Firebase). This feature is optional and is not required to play. This should be set up and used by a parent or guardian, not a child.
Information collected automatically. Like most websites, our hosting provider and any analytics or content‑delivery services we use may automatically receive basic technical information (such as IP address, browser type, device type, referring page, and pages viewed) to deliver and secure the Service and understand general, aggregate usage. Where we use analytics, we aim to use privacy‑friendly, cookieless tools that do not build advertising profiles.
The core game does not use advertising or tracking cookies. It uses your browser’s local storage (a place on your own device) to save your progress and settings, and a service worker so the game can load quickly and work offline. Third‑party services listed below may set their own cookies or receive technical data as described in their policies. You can clear local storage and offline data at any time through your browser settings.
We use a small number of third parties to run the Service. Each processes only the limited data needed for its function and under its own privacy policy:
We may add, remove, or change providers over time and will update this list. We do not sell your personal information to these or any other parties.
We want to be transparent about AI. Some of the game’s artwork, background scenes, decorative images, and voice narration were generated with AI tools (for example, image‑ and audio‑generation services) as part of creating the game. This means certain characters, scenes, and spoken lines you see and hear were produced with AI assistance. To be clear: this AI generation happened during development to make the game’s content, and the game does not transmit your personal information, voice, image, or gameplay to AI systems while you play. AI‑generated content may occasionally contain imperfections; it is provided for learning and entertainment.
The Service is intended for young children and is meant to be used with the involvement of a parent or guardian. We designed it to collect as little information as possible and to keep data on the device by default. We do not knowingly collect personal information from a child beyond the optional name/nickname used to personalize play, and we do not condition participation on disclosing more information than is reasonably necessary.
Consistent with the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the EU/UK GDPR provisions for children, any optional account creation or cloud sync is intended to be performed by a parent or guardian using their own account. Parents and guardians can review and delete the information stored for their child (see below). If you believe a child has provided us personal information without appropriate consent, please contact us and we will delete it.
We do not use personal information for targeted advertising, and we do not sell or rent it.
Data stored on your device remains until you clear it (for example, by using “Switch player,” clearing your browser’s site data, or uninstalling the app). If you use the optional cloud‑sync feature, saved progress is retained until you delete it or ask us to delete it.
The Service is served over HTTPS, and we take reasonable measures to protect information. However, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
The Service is operated from the United States. If you access it from other regions, you understand that information may be processed in the United States and other countries where our providers operate.
The Service may link to third‑party sites or services that we do not control. Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will revise the “Last updated” date above, and significant changes will be reflected on this page. Your continued use of the Service after changes means you accept the updated policy.
Questions or requests about privacy? Contact us at privacy@yakobythesea.com.
Yako by the Sea is a free, ad‑free educational game made with love for kids and families. If anything here is unclear, please reach out.