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:
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:
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.
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.
Users can add other users as friends on Imagine Forest. There are two ways to add friends on the site:
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:
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!
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.
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:
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:
Here is a list of additional settings for Parent accounts:
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:
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 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.
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.
You may also find the following documents helpful: