Secure Registration
Registration is required to use Imagine Forest, as many features including books can only be used or read by members of the site. When you register to Imagine Forest, we always ask for the minimum required data:
- Username: Used to reference your account around the site. Also needed to log in to your account.
- Password: Needed to log into your account. Password must contain at least one number and one capital letter for security reasons.
- Email: This is optional for student accounts. You must verify your email address to use Parent and Regular account types.
- School Name (Teacher Account Only): To link a teacher account to a specific school.
- Classroom Code (Student Account Only: To link a student account to a classroom created by a teacher on Imagine Forest.
- Age Group (Regular & Student Accounts): Age groups control access to certain features on the site.
Book Publishing
Depending on the user's account type, the user will see different privacy options for their books when publishing them:
| Account Type | Publishing Status Options |
|---|---|
| Teacher Account |
★ Private (only me) ★ Friends Only or Classmates & Teacher ★ Public - Everyone |
| Student Account * |
★ Private (only me) ★ Friends Only or Classmates & Teacher |
| Parent Account |
★ Private (only me) ★ Family Only ★ Friends Only or Classmates & Teacher ★ Public - Everyone |
| Child Account * |
★ Private (only me) ★ Friends Only or Classmates & Teacher ★ Family Only |
| Regular User Account ** |
★ Private (only me) ★ Friends Only or Classmates & Teacher ★ Public - Everyone |
*Public option only available if the parent or teacher enables this option in the child’s/student’s account settings. By default, this option is disabled on all child and student accounts.
**Regular user accounts can only be created by 13+ aged users. Their email address must be verified before they can log in.
We have explained each publishing status below. This list has been ordered by the safest option first:
- Private (only me): This book can NOT be viewed by anyone else. Only you, the creator can read this book. No share options exist for this type. This book can be accessed from the 'My Books' library tab.
- Family Only: Only available for parent and child accounts. The book can be read by the linked parent account and any other sibling child accounts. This book can be accessed from the 'Family' library tab.
- Friends Only or Classmates & Teacher: Any friends that the user has added can also read this book. If you have a student account then your teacher and fellow students (in the same classroom) can also read this book and vice versa for teacher accounts. This book can be accessed from the 'My Friends' library tab. For student and teacher accounts, these books can be accessed from the 'School' or 'Class' library tab.
- Public - Everyone: All registered members of the site that have access to the public library can read this book. Also, non-logged-in users can view the book cover only (not inside pages). This book can be accessed from the 'Public' library tab.
Book Moderation
Imagine Forest has strict book moderation rules. All books by new members are sent to be moderated manually by our team before they are published in the library. Excluding ‘Private’ status books which do not require any moderation.
Books may also be sent to moderation automatically for all members if they contain personal information or information that could be potentially inappropriate. If your book has been sent to moderation, you will get the following message after publishing your book: Your book will be reviewed and published very soon.
The book moderation process can take up to 48 hours. During this process, books can not be edited or deleted. They will also not appear in the library. You will see the following message on the book, “This book is currently being reviewed.” in the draft stories section inside the story creator:
Our team members will manually read these books. If the book meets our rules and is appropriate for young readers (users under 18 years old), then it will be published straight away. However, if your book has some issues, then we will send the book back to the user with a notification that includes the reason why this book was not published. If a book is completely inappropriate and breaks our rules, then we may also delete the book.
Book Commenting
Imagine Forest does not offer any custom commenting feature. All comments left on books are predefined comments. In other words, users can select a pre-written comment option from a drop-down list. By limiting the commenting feature, we can ensure 100% safety for all our users. This is the same for all account types:
A little tip here: If you refresh the page, you may see different options in the commenting drop-down list.
Adding Friends
Users can add other users as friends on Imagine Forest. There are two ways to add friends on the site:
- Entering a unique friend code and answering a unique friendship question about the other user.
- Using the 'Add Friend' button found on another user's profile.
By default student and child accounts can only add friends via option one above. Regular user, parent and teacher accounts can add friends via both the options above.
Once you have added a user as a friend, you can do the following:
- View friend's book/s in the 'My Friends' library tab
- See friend's published books, along with badges earned on the Activity Feed Page.
- React to activity feed posts
- Read, like, favourite and select predefined comments on friend's books
Use of Images/Photographs
This section is a quick one for us. On Imagine Forest users CAN NOT upload their own images - full stop. You can not upload your own images in books, nor as profile pictures on the site. Instead Imagine Forest provides an extensive library of built-in photographs, illustrations and stickers to use in books. We also have a few pre-made Imagine Forest avatars that can be used as profile pictures. So there is no need to worry about users uploading personal photographs or inappropriate images on our site!
Activity Feed
The activity feed on Imagine Forest lets you stay up-to-date with the latest books published by your friends. It also shows the latest badges earned by your friends. All posts are automatically created by the website. The only thing a user can do here is react to the generated posts or click on them to read the book published.
It DOES NOT allow you to post your own content or posts. You also can not comment on the Activity Feed posts.
Additional Safety Settings
Imagine Forest has a range of additional safety mechanisms in place, along with additional settings for Parent and Teacher accounts. The most important safety feature is the 'Report' button. This 'Report' button can be found in the following places on the site:
- On every book on the library page. Click the book, and you should see the 'Report' button below the book pages or text.
- Next to every comment. The Report button is on the right-hand side of the comment posted. The main reason a predefined comment would be reported is if the user was spamming the same comment over and over again.
- Next to every Activity Feed post. The Report button is on the top right-hand side of the post.
As well as the Report button, Parent and Teacher accounts get the following additional settings for managing their child or student accounts.
Here is a list of additional settings for Teacher accounts:
- Block All Comments (Student-Level): Student will not be able to comment on any books for X amount of days.
- Block Story Creator (Student-Level): Student will not be able to publish a book using the story creator for X amount of days.
- Allow students in this class to publish and read 'Public' book (Class-Level): This setting is switched off by default. If enabled by the Teacher account, students in that classroom will be able to read and publish books in the public library.
- Show 'Add Friend' button on student account? (Class-Level): This setting is switched off by default. If enabled, the 'Add Friend' button will display on the student's profile, allowing other members of the site to add them as a friend without the need for a friend code and friendship question answer.
- Reported Issues List: This displays a list of 'Report' button incidents that your student account was involved in. You can click the 'Manage' button to remove content or send reported books into manual moderation, so our team can review the book.
Here is a list of additional settings for Parent accounts:
- Allow child to publish and read 'Public' books: This setting is switched off by default. If enabled by the Parent account, then the child will be able to read and publish books in the public library.
- Show 'Add Friend' button on child account: This setting is switched off by default. If enabled, the 'Add Friend' button will display on the child's profile, allowing other members of the site to add them as a friend without the need for a friend code and friendship question answer.
- Allow other users to add this child as a friend via unique friend codes: This setting is switched off by default. If enabled, other users can add this child as a friend by entering in their unique friend code and friendship question answer.
- Allow child to view and be included in the site leaderboard: This setting is switched off by default. If enabled, this child will be able to view the leaderboard page on the site. They may also appear on the leaderboard if they meet the relevant board criteria.
- Reported Issues List: This displays a list of 'Report' button incidents that your child account was involved in. You can click the 'Manage' button to remove content or send reported books into manual moderation, so our team can review the book.
Rule Breaking
Due to all the previous online safety mechanisms, Imagine Forest does not get many rule-breakers. However in the situation where someone continuously publishes inappropriate books, or if a user is spamming the comments section, then we take the following actions:
- Send books to moderation: All books by the rule breaker will be sent straight away to moderation for X amount of days. Our team will manually review each one before it is published on the site.
- Block comments: The rule-breaker will no longer be able to comment on the site for X amount of days. The predefined comments drop-down will disappear from their account.
- Block story creator: The rule-breaker can access the story creator, but will not be able to press the 'Publish' button for X amount of days.
- Ban user: The user will not be able to log into the site for X amount of days. If it is a serious violation, then the rule-breaker will be permanently banned from the site.
HTTPS Security
All pages on Imagine Forest use an HTTPS protocol. HTTPS encrypts any private data, such as email addresses and passwords used on login or sign-up forms. This adds an extra layer of security to information that users enter on the site.
Online Safety Guide
Online safety and data protection are massively important to us. You can see from our list of safety features above, that we put a lot of effort into keeping our members safe online. As part of this mission, we continuously review our safety and data protection measures to make sure we continue to offer a safe and secure place for all our members.
We even created this Online Safety Guide that outlines general tips for staying safe online. These tips are not just for Imagine Forest, but also for other websites and apps that our users may use.
Got A Question?
We hope that we have covered everything you need to know about online safety and Imagine Forest on this page. However, if you have any concerns or questions about online safety or even data protection, please do not hesitate to contact our team.
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