Frequently asked questions
Everything about how Cheddar works and how we keep your family's photos private.
What ages is Cheddar for?
Cheddar is designed for kids ages 3–6 — pre-readers especially. The whole app uses giant, color-coded buttons and no text to read, so little ones can take photos, hear them described, and record stories entirely on their own.
How much does Cheddar cost?
Cheddar is completely free. There are no ads, no in-app purchases, and no subscriptions or upsells of any kind.
Is Cheddar safe for young kids?
Yes. Cheddar is a walled garden: there's no way to reach the internet, no ads to tap, and nothing to buy. It has no accounts and collects no personal information, and every setting, share, or delete sits behind a grown-up “math gate” that little hands can't solve. Photos stay on your device by default. You can read the specifics on our privacy page.
Does Cheddar have ads or track my child?
No. The app contains no advertising, no analytics, and no third-party tracking SDKs, and there are no accounts — no sign-up, no login, no profiles. We don't build a profile of your child or measure their behavior. Full details are on our privacy page.
How does the “Say Cheese” voice shutter work?
Long-press the big yellow shutter and simply say “cheese!” Cheddar listens for the word — using your phone's built-in speech recognition — and takes the photo with a friendly spoken countdown. It's hands-free, so it's perfect for wobbly hands and group photos.
What is “Cheddar Says”?
Cheddar Says is an optional feature where the app looks at a photo and describes it out loud in a silly character voice — Santa, Robot, Wizard, Pirate and more. To create the description, the photo is sent to Google's Gemini AI. It's completely optional and switched on or off by a grown-up.
Which silly voices can Cheddar use?
Cheddar Says can narrate in ten characters — Cheddar, Santa, Robot, Wizard, Vampire, Pirate, Superhero, Royal, Alien, and Poet — or “Surprise Me” to pick one at random. A grown-up chooses the voice in settings.
What are Stories?
Stories let a child record their own voice telling the tale of a photo, up to 20 seconds long. It plays back in a cosy “storytime mode” with a slow cinematic zoom — like a tiny movie in their own words. Story recordings stay on the device.
Where are my child's photos stored?
Photos are saved locally on your device, in the system gallery (DCIM/Cheddar) — just like photos from any other camera app. They never leave the device except in two cases, both controlled by a grown-up: using the optional Cheddar Says feature (sent to Google's Gemini AI), and explicitly sharing a photo through the device's share sheet.
How does sharing photos work?
Sharing is always started by a grown-up, from behind the math gate, through your phone's normal share sheet. You can share a photo, or turn a Cheddar Says or a Story into a little video — photo, gentle zoom, and the narration — to send to family.
Does Cheddar need an internet connection?
Taking photos, the gallery, and recording Stories all work fully offline. Only Cheddar Says needs a connection, because it uses Google's Gemini AI to describe a photo. Once generated, that audio is cached on the device so it can replay without going online again.
How do the parental controls work?
All grown-up settings live behind a simple math gate that kids can't solve. From there you can set photo limits per hour, session-break timers, a selfie lock, a gallery lock, delete protection, and switch Cheddar Says on or off.
Can I limit how many photos my child takes or how long they use the app?
Yes. You can cap photos per hour (5, 10, 15, or 20 — it resets each hour) and set a session-break timer that gently suggests a break after a set number of minutes. There are deliberately no streaks or notifications nudging kids to keep going.
Can I turn off the selfie camera?
Yes. A Selfie Lock (behind the math gate) turns off the front camera so Cheddar only uses the back camera. You can also switch on a Gallery Lock to hide saved photos for a pure camera-only mode.
How does Cheddar use the microphone?
Two things, and nothing else: (1) listening for the word “cheese” during the Say Cheese countdown, handled by your device's built-in speech recognition; and (2) recording Story narrations, which are saved only on the device.
Is Cheddar on iPhone and iPad?
Cheddar is on Android now, and an iOS version for iPhone and iPad is coming soon. Want to know when it lands? Drop us a line on the contact page.
How do I delete photos or app data?
You (or your child) can delete any photo — and its story and description — right inside the app, behind the math gate. Uninstalling Cheddar removes all app data, except photos already saved in your system gallery, which stay under your control like any other photo on your phone.
How do I get support?
Email us any time at support@cheddarcam.com or from the contact page. We're a very small team (one parent!), so replies may take a day or two.
Still have a question that isn't answered here? Send us an email or use the contact form and we'll get back to you.