Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Notice
Last updated: September 10, 2026.
DearSanta.com (the "Site" or the "Service") is operated by DearSanta LLC, P.O. Box 502, Baldwinsville, NY 13027 ("DearSanta," "we," "us," or "our"). This notice explains how we comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and how we handle information from children under 13. It supplements, and should be read together with, our full Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.
No Child Can Create Their Own Account
A child is never permitted to sign up for the Service on their own. When a child starts the
sign-up process, we do not create an account or collect any information from them beyond a
parent's email address, which we use only to invite that parent to create the family account.
A child's account, login, and password are always created by a parent or legal guardian, who
must first verify their own email address and agree to these terms before adding any child to
the family.
Verifiable Parental Consent
Before we collect, use, or allow access to any personal information from a child, we require
a parent or legal guardian to create and verify a family account, and to expressly set up and
confirm each child added to it. Creating the family account requires the parent to confirm
they are 18 years of age or older, verify ownership of their email address with a one-time
code, and agree to our Terms and Conditions and to this COPPA Notice before an account can be
created.
Information We Collect From Children
Once a parent has set up a child's account, the information collected from the child is
limited to what is reasonably necessary to provide the letter-to-Santa and wish list features:
a nickname or username chosen by the parent or child, an optional email address for delivering
Santa's reply, letters written to Santa, and wish list items. We do not require a child to
disclose more information than is reasonably necessary to use these features, and we do not
condition a child's participation in an activity on disclosing more information than is
reasonably necessary.
How We Use Children's Information
Information collected from a child is used solely to operate the Service for that child and
their family — for example, generating and sending Santa's reply to a letter, or displaying a
wish list to family members the parent has chosen to share it with. We do not use information
collected from children to serve targeted or behavioral advertising, we do not sell children's
personal information, and we do not enable a child to make their letters, wish lists, or
profile information publicly visible outside their family account.
Disclosure to Third Parties
We do not disclose personal information collected from children to third parties, except to a
service provider that helps us deliver email (such as Santa's reply) strictly on our behalf,
or where required by law. We do not permit any third party to collect personal information
from children through the Service for their own purposes.
Parental Rights: Review, Correction, and Deletion
A parent or legal guardian may, at any time:
- Review the personal information we have collected from their child, through the family dashboard or by contacting us below.
- Request that we correct or delete their child's personal information, or delete the child's account entirely.
- Refuse to permit our further collection or use of their child's information, which may mean the child can no longer use the letter-to-Santa or wish list features.
We will verify that any such request comes from the child's parent or guardian before acting on it. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@dearsanta.com or by mail at DearSanta LLC, P.O. Box 502, Baldwinsville, NY 13027.
Data Retention and Security
We retain a child's information only for as long as the family account remains active, or as
needed to provide the Service and comply with our legal obligations, and delete it upon a
verified parental request as described above. We use industry-standard safeguards, including
password hashing, to protect information collected from children, though no method of
transmission or storage over the internet is ever 100% secure.
Changes to This Notice
We may update this COPPA Notice from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page,
with the "last updated" date above reflecting the most recent revision.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this notice or our children's privacy practices, contact us at
privacy@dearsanta.com or by mail at DearSanta LLC, P.O. Box 502, Baldwinsville, NY 13027.