Help with the app
Questions about episodes, credits, plans, billing or your account.
HootPODS support
We're happy to help with the HootPODS iPhone app. Email us, or use the quick fixes below for billing, your account and listening. Many answers are also in the FAQ.
Contact us
Privacy and your data
Questions about your data or your child's data, and privacy or data requests.
From the app
Open Profile and tap Contact Support under Help & Legal. It starts an email to us.
What to put in your message
These details help us find your account and see what went wrong:
- The email address on your HootPODS account. If you sign in with Apple and chose to hide your email, tell us that.
- Your iPhone model and iOS version (Settings, then General, then About).
- The episode title, if your question is about an episode.
- What happened, and what you expected to happen. A screenshot helps.
- For a purchase, the plan or Credit Pack and the date you bought it.
Subscriptions and billing
Plans and Credit Packs are bought in the app with your Apple account, so Apple takes the payment and manages your subscription.
Cancel a subscription
HootPODS plans are billed by Apple, so you cancel them in your Apple Account's subscription settings, the same way as any App Store subscription. You can't cancel from inside HootPODS. Deleting the app or your HootPODS account doesn't cancel it either, and we can't cancel it for you.
On your iPhone or iPad:
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap your name at the top.
- Tap Subscriptions.
- Tap HootPODS.
- Tap Cancel Subscription, then confirm. You may need to scroll down to see the button.
On a Mac: open the App Store, click your name at the bottom of the sidebar, then click your name again on the page that opens. Click Subscriptions, click HootPODS, then click Cancel Subscription.
Online: go to the subscriptions page of your Apple Account, sign in, choose HootPODS and cancel.
After you cancel, your plan stays active until the end of the period you've already paid for, then it doesn't renew. If there's no Cancel Subscription button, or you see an expiration date in red, it's already cancelled.
Don't see HootPODS in the list? It was probably bought with a different Apple Account. Search your email for "receipt from Apple", check which Apple Account is on the HootPODS receipt, and sign in with that account to cancel. If a family member's Apple Account is on the receipt, they need to cancel it. Apple's guide to cancelling a subscription has more help.
To see the plans in the app, open Profile and tap View Plans, or Manage Plan if you already subscribe.
Restore a purchase
If a plan you bought doesn't show up, for example on a new iPhone, open Profile, tap View Plans or Manage Plan, then tap Restore Purchases at the bottom. Use the same Apple account you bought it with.
Refunds
Apple handles refunds for purchases made in the app. Request one at reportaproblem.apple.com, signed in with the Apple account you used to buy.
Credits
Standard narration uses 10 credits a minute and premium narration uses 40. The app shows the price before you create. New accounts start with 200 free credits, and free accounts are topped back up to 100 credits each month.
Monthly plans run from Story Time ($4.99 for 600 credits) to Story Master ($24.99 for 6,000 credits). A Credit Pack adds 300 credits for $3.99, once. Every plan is on the pricing section of the home page.
Your account
Signing in
Sign in with Apple, Google or email. If you already have a HootPODS account, sign in with the same Apple, Google or email account. It is the same account, with the same credits.
Delete your account
Open Profile and tap Delete Account. Your account and its data are deleted after a 30-day grace period. If you change your mind, sign back in before then and tap Keep My Account in Profile. If you don't want to wait, sign back in and tap Delete now in Profile to delete it straight away.
If you signed in with Apple, Apple asks you to confirm, so HootPODS can be disconnected from your Apple ID. Deleting your account does not cancel an Apple subscription, so cancel it in your Apple Account first. You can also ask us to delete your account by emailing support@hootpods.com from the address on your account.
AI consent
To stop sharing information with the AI services that write, narrate and illustrate episodes, open Profile and tap Withdraw consent under AI & Your Data. You won't be able to create new episodes until you agree again. Episodes you already made stay in your library. Withdrawing can't recall information that was already sent.
Parent check
The parent check asks a quick multiplication question before sharing, printing or saving coloring pages, and before links that leave the app. Turn it on or off in Profile. Turning it off asks the question one more time, so a child can't switch it off by accident.
Fix common problems
An episode is taking a while
An episode takes about a minute to make, and you can start listening while the rest is still being made. If notifications are allowed for HootPODS in your iPhone's Settings, you'll get one when the episode is ready. If an episode seems stuck, check your internet connection, then email us with its title.
I can't hear anything
Turn up the volume with the buttons on the side of your iPhone, and check that it isn't set to silent. If the sound is going to AirPlay, a Bluetooth speaker or headphones, open Control Center and choose where audio plays.
An episode won't play offline
Finished episodes are saved on your iPhone, so they play without a connection. An episode that is still being made needs a connection to finish. iCloud Backup is optional: turn it on in Profile if you want a copy in iCloud.
Read-along doesn't follow the audio or highlight words
The line-by-line read-along and the sight word highlights come with episodes made while sight words were turned on for that child. Other episodes show the plain transcript. To get highlights, turn on sight words in the child's profile, then make a new episode.
Still stuck?
Email support@hootpods.com with the details listed above.
More help
FAQ
Answers about credits, sight words, privacy and more.
Privacy policy
How HootPODS handles your family's information.
Terms of use
The terms for using HootPODS.
Quick answers
How do I cancel my HootPODS subscription?
Cancel it in your Apple Account, like any App Store subscription. On iPhone or iPad: open Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, tap HootPODS, then tap Cancel Subscription. Deleting the app or your HootPODS account does not cancel it. Step-by-step help for iPhone, iPad, Mac and online is above.
How do I get a refund?
Apple handles refunds for purchases made in the app. Request one at reportaproblem.apple.com.
I bought a plan but can't see it. What should I do?
Open Profile, tap View Plans or Manage Plan, and tap Restore Purchases. Use the same Apple account you bought it with. If it still doesn't show, email support@hootpods.com.
How do I delete my HootPODS account?
Open Profile and tap Delete Account. Your account is deleted after a 30-day grace period, or straight away if you choose Delete now. You can also email support@hootpods.com.
Why didn't I get a notification when my episode was ready?
Check that notifications are allowed for HootPODS in your iPhone's Settings, under Notifications. You'll find finished episodes in your library either way.
How do I contact HootPODS?
Email support@hootpods.com. For privacy questions and data requests, email privacy@hootpods.com.
Make your first episode tonight.
Free to download, with 200 free credits to start. iPhone, iOS 18.6 or later.