Epic! is essentially the Netflix of kids' books — a subscription service (or ad-supported free version) with thousands of picture books, early readers, chapter books, audiobooks, and videos. It's wildly popular in schools and homes because it genuinely does make reading accessible and fun. Kids get personalized recommendations, can build reading lists, earn badges, and parents get reports on what they're reading.

The app is designed for ages 4-12, though plenty of 2-3 year olds use it with parent supervision. And that's where things get interesting from a privacy standpoint.

Epic! collects a lot of reading data:

In the paid version, this data is used to improve recommendations and personalize the experience. In the free version, it's also used to serve targeted ads. Epic's privacy policy states they don't sell personal data to third parties, but they do share anonymized, aggregated data with publishers and partners.

For a preschooler who's just learning to love books, having every reading choice tracked and analyzed feels... heavy. These are 3-5 year olds clicking on dinosaur books because dinosaurs are cool, not because they need an algorithm optimizing their literary journey.

The free version of Epic! includes ads for other books and content on the platform. These aren't random banner ads for toys, but they're still ads designed to influence what a young child chooses to read next.

Here's the thing: preschoolers don't have sophisticated defenses against persuasive design. When a shiny badge or animated character tells them to check out a certain book, they're going to click it. The line between "recommendation" and "advertisement" is blurry for adults, let alone a 4-year-old.

Epic! requires an adult email to create an account, and you can set up profiles for up to four kids. The parental controls are decent — you can set reading levels, filter content, and review reading history. But here's what's sketchy: the free version requires you to enter payment information for a "trial" that auto-renews.

Many parents report getting charged unexpectedly after the trial period, which is a dark pattern that feels predatory. If you're using the free version, set a calendar reminder to cancel before the trial ends, or just accept that you'll probably end up paying for it anyway.

Epic! is technically COPPA-compliant (the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act), which means they follow federal rules about collecting data from kids under 13. They require parental consent, don't share personal info with third parties for marketing, and allow parents to review and delete data.

But COPPA is a pretty low bar. It was written in 1998, before smartphones existed. Being COPPA-compliant doesn't mean an app is privacy-friendly — it just means it's not illegally collecting data from children.

For $12.99/month (or $79.99/year), Epic! Unlimited removes ads, unlocks unlimited reading, adds more audiobooks and learning videos, and gives you better parental controls. Most importantly, you can disable personalized recommendations, which stops the app from tracking reading behavior to build profiles.

Is it worth $13/month? If your kid is a voracious reader and you're already buying books regularly, probably yes. If you're just dipping your toes into digital reading with a preschooler, maybe start with your local library's digital collection first.

Epic's terms of service say users must be 4+. This isn't arbitrary — it's tied to COPPA and developmental appropriateness. A 2-year-old using Epic! with a parent is fine, but the app isn't designed for that age, and the data collection assumes a slightly older child with more independent reading skills.

If you're using Epic! with a toddler, treat it like a shared reading experience, not independent screen time. You're the one navigating, choosing books, and reading together.

The parent dashboard shows you exactly what your child is reading, for how long, and at what level. This can be genuinely useful for understanding their interests and progress. It can also make you weirdly anxious about whether they're reading "enough" or choosing "good" books.

Remember: the goal is to build a love of reading, not to optimize metrics. If your preschooler wants to read the same book about trucks 47 times, that's developmentally normal and good, even if the app is judging you for it.

If the privacy concerns are giving you pause, here are some options:

Check out our full guide to alternatives to Epic! for more options.

Ages 2-3: Use Epic! as a together activity, not independent screen time. You control the device, you choose books together, you read aloud. Disable recommendations if possible (paid version). Consider whether you even need a digital library at this age — physical books build different motor skills and don't track data.

Ages 4-5: Can start navigating Epic! more independently, but still needs guidance on choosing books and understanding that "recommendations" are trying to influence them. The paid version is worth it at this age if you're committed to the platform. Set clear time limits — 20-30 minutes of reading time is plenty.

Ages 6+: More independent reading, can benefit from the recommendation algorithm and reading level progression. Still worth having conversations about how the app tracks what they read and why it shows certain books.

If you're using Epic! with a preschooler, here's how to reduce privacy concerns:

Epic! is a genuinely useful tool for building reading habits, and the book selection is impressive. But the free version's ad-supported model and extensive data collection are real concerns, especially for preschoolers who can't understand or consent to being tracked.

If you're going to use Epic! with a young child, pay for the subscription and disable personalized features. At that point, it's basically a digital library with reasonable privacy practices. If you're not willing to pay, the library's digital collection is a better choice for preschoolers — fewer books, but zero data harvesting.

The bigger question is whether a 3-4 year old needs a personalized digital library at all. Physical books are still magic at this age. They don't need charging, they don't collect data, and they're way better for bedtime. Epic! can be part of your reading ecosystem, but it probably shouldn't be the foundation for a preschooler.

Want to dig deeper into how much data kids' apps are really collecting? Let's talk about it.