How can we help?

My Story is a storybook maker for kids 5 to 11. Children write, draw and narrate their own picture books, then share them or order a printed copy. Younger siblings can join in with a grown-up.

Choose Start your first book free and a grown-up creates the account. You'll confirm that you're 18 or older and a parent, guardian or teacher, then agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy. After that you'll be asked to set a parent PIN, and you can add an author profile for your child and create a first book.

Every book belongs to an author. Each child (or student) gets their own author profile with a name and an avatar, and their own library. We suggest a first name, initials or a nickname. A grown-up can protect each author's library with its own 4-digit PIN.

No. Children can't create accounts. They use My Story under your account, with you nearby. On iPad and iPhone an account is optional: the app works offline, and a grown-up can sign in to keep books in sync.

You can use My Story in a web browser on a computer or Chromebook, with nothing to install, and as an app on iPad and iPhone. See My Story on the web.

Sign in to the same My Story account on the web and in the iPad or iPhone app, and your books stay in sync. You can also export a book as a .mystory file and import it on another device.

Creating and sharing books is free. Some extras are optional and paid: Story Sparks, which power the Magic tools, and printed books.

Open the book's menu in the library and choose Publish book. A grown-up check comes first. Flip through a preview of every page, choose a cover type, enter the delivery details, pick a shipping option, review the full cost and pay securely with Stripe. Learn more on the printing page.

The printed book matches the format you chose for the story: square (8.5 × 8.5 in), landscape (11 × 8.5 in) or portrait (8.5 × 11 in). You can choose softcover or hardcover, and hardcover needs enough pages to bind. A landscape softcover is coil bound, so it lies flat.

At least 4 pages. The most a book can have depends on the cover type. If your book doesn't fit, the app tells you how many pages to add or remove.

The price depends on the format, cover, page count, shipping and tax, and the full cost is shown before you pay. You aren't charged until the printer accepts your order. Each book is printed on demand, which typically takes 3 to 5 business days before it ships. Delivery estimates for your address appear at checkout.

Yes. Enter the recipient's name and shipping address, for example Grandma's. Books are printed and shipped by our print partner, Lulu, and deliver to many countries. Some destinations need a recipient tax ID, and duties or import charges may apply to international deliveries.

Each book is printed to order, so orders generally can't be canceled once printing begins. If a book arrives damaged, misprinted or not as ordered, contact support and we'll put it right.

Story Sparks are a virtual currency that pays for the Magic tools in the web app, such as Magic Pages, Magic Animate and Magic Characters.

Each tool shows its Sparks cost before you use it. Sparks are used when the tool returns a result, and if a tool fails to return one, you aren't charged.

Sometimes. We may give you Sparks at no charge, for example when you first sign in. Your balance is shown in the app.

Open the Story Spark Store in the app and choose a pack. A grown-up check comes first, your parent PIN or a grown-up puzzle if you haven't set one, and then you pay on Stripe's secure checkout page. We never see or store your card number. Each pack's price is shown in the store before you buy.

Sparks don't expire while your account is open. They have no cash value and can't be transferred or gifted. Purchases are final once the Sparks are added to your balance, except where the law says otherwise. If you were charged in error, or a purchase was made without your permission, email support@mystory.co and we'll look into it. Nothing here limits refund rights you have under local law.

Purchases made in the iPad and iPhone app go through the App Store, so Apple handles their refunds.

In the web app, go to Settings, then Account, and choose Export my data. You get a ZIP with every book as a .mystory file, plus pictures, voice recordings and your account details. The download stays available for 7 days. A grown-up check comes first.

Go to Settings, then Account, and choose Delete my account. It permanently removes your authors, books, recordings, share links, settings and sign-in, and anything you published to the Community Library. It can't be undone, so export anything you want to keep first. Unused Story Sparks are lost, and records we must keep for tax are kept with your name and email removed.

In Settings, under Account, you can change your password, add one if you signed up with Google or Apple, or connect another sign-in method.

In Settings, open Content & AI. You can switch off the Community Library, sharing and comments, outside photo, video, GIF and 3D sources, and each Magic tool. Switching something off applies right away, and switching it back on needs a grown-up.

For an author's PIN, tap Forgot PIN? on the PIN screen, or edit the author, and a grown-up can set a new one. For the grown-up PIN, check the hint you set with it, or email support@mystory.co and we'll help you reset it.

Use the Cookie settings button at the bottom of any page, or Settings, then Privacy, in the web app. For privacy questions or requests about your child's information, email support@mystory.co. More on the safety page and in the privacy policy.