Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns the photos on Sproutly?
You, the user.
We will never user or share your photos in any way without your permission. The only people who will ever see the photos are the friends and family whom you approve. You can trust that our goal is to keep this platform private and protected.
You can also check out our
Terms and Conditions and
Privacy Policy for more specifc details, and plenty of legalese.
Who sees my family's information?
Only the people you specifically choose to see it.
If you've toggled to the "Private" choice when creating or editing a family profile, then only people who request permission to store your profile will be able to see your information. Prior to that, they will only be able to see the thumbnail with your family name and image in the search results.
If you've toggled your family profile to "Public", then any user can click your family profile thumbnail and view your information.
How will my information or data be used?
We value the Sproutly network as insulated, safe and shielded from unwanted intrusions to your digital life. To maintain this, will not share any information or sell any of your data to a third party, unless explicitly granted your permission under special circumstaces. We do not partner with third parties looking to serve you ads on other platforms.
The only use of info you share on our platform will be to display on your Sproutly profile, viewed only by other Sproutly users which you carefully select.
Does using Sproutly expose me to more ad targeting?
Just like we mentioned above, we will not be selling your data or partnering with third parties looking to serve you ads on other platforms.
Sproutly itself is ad-free, so we hope you can enjoy a pure and uninterrupted experience.
What do people who have stored my profile see?
People you've approved to store your profile will be able to access all the information you've shared on that profile page. They will also get basic notifications generated from that profile.
What notifications will I get and how do I customize them?
In addition to any approval requests, you'll get notified of the key moments from all the profiles you've stored:
A new baby is on the way
A baby is sprouted (aka born)
Birthdays of each family member
Due Dates
Three Weeks to Due Date
For all profiles you've favorited you'll get enhanced updates:
New parent comments on Child or Expecting profiles
Milestones dates that are added or reached
The gender reveal
Two weeks to a child's first birthday (friendly gift-buying reminder)
To turn off notifications for a specifc family, simply click the little bell on the right side of that Family Profile page.
To view all Sproutling activity from notifications that have been generated (even if you have app notifcations turned off in settings), check out the "Activity" screen in the menu bar.
I'm new - which type of profile should I create?
Family Profile
If you're looking to share and showcase your family with others, simply choose Family Profile. Within that you'll create an individual page for each family member along with a list of important milestone dates. For the kids in the family you can upload multiple pics and have free reign for creativty using the comment feature. Include only as much detail as you're comfortable with. Once you've registered and created this profile, you'll also be able to search for other families in your network and view
their profiles.
Individual Profile
If you're only looking to stay informed on families you care about, create an Individual Profile. Only info included is your name, birthday and a pic. We ask for your birthday so the people you connect with can get notified on the big day (don't worry, we don't reveal your age).
Connect to Existing Profile
If you're significant other has already create a Family Profile for your crew, then all you need to do is link up with that one. A request will be sent to the original creater of the Family Profile to approve you, and once approved, you'll be an owner of that profile with the ability to edit and share it.
Non-User Family Profile
We provided this option because of course there will be families in your network who don't use Sproutly, and you'll still want to have their info handy and get reminders on the big days. Creating a Non-User Family Profile will store that family in your Sproutly rolodex just like all the other profiles, but only you will be able to view and update it.
How does the Connect to Existing Profile option work?
If you're significant other has already create a Family Profile for your crew, then all you need to do is link up with that one. Once you select this option you'll be directed to the search page to choose the profile you want to connect with.
A request will be sent to the original creator of the Family Profile to approve you, and once approved, you'll be an owner of that profile with the ability to edit and share it. You'll also be able to search for, and view other Sproutly profiles just like everyone else.
One note: only the
original creator of the family profile will get the store requests from other users.
What is a Non-User Family Profile?
We provided this option because of course there will be families in your network who don't use Sproutly, and you'll still want to have their info handy and get reminders on the big days.
Creating a Non-User Family Profile will store that family in your Sproutly rolodex just like all the other profiles, but only you will be able to view and update it. You'll be able to pull this profile up easily in search and will get the same notifications the Family Profiles generate. You'll just have to remember to update it when that family sprouts any major changes.
Again, no one else will be able to see this profile, it's only for your personal use.
What does Favoriting a profile do?
First of all, nobody will no whether or not you've favorited their profile, so the pressure's off. Clicking the little heart either in the search thumbnail or the profile page itself will do a couple things.
One - it enables you to get increased notifications from that family. Those additional notifcations include:
Parent comments on Child or Expecting profiles
Milestones dates that are added or reached
The gender reveal
Two weeks to a child's first birthday (friendly gift-buying reminder)
Two - it filters this family into the "Favorites" section on the search page so the profile can be pulled up more easily.
How do Milestone Dates work?
Within the "Edit/Share Profile" section you'll find the Milestone Dates tab for your family.
In addition to all the bithdays and due dates in your family which are automatically included, you can added add up to 9 customized dates to share with others.
People who have Favorited your profile will get notified whenever you add a new milestone and on the dates any future milestones are reached.
If you've reached the max of 9 and want to add more, you can always edit or delete milestones that have past or are no longer relevant.
How can I upload a gift registry?
In the "Edit/Share Profile" section you'll have the ability to add a gift registry to any expecting or sprouted child's profile page. Simply go into that child's individual page and click the "Upload link to gift registry" option next to the little gift icon. It's as easy as copying and pasting the link to your registry into that field and hitting submit.
Once you've saved this, the registry link will automatically appear as a "My Gift Registry" button for others to see on your child or future child's individual page.
How do I share a Sproutly profile with other people?
There are multiple ways to share a Sproutly profile. You get there through the "Edit/Share Profile" option in the menu. Once you select the profile you want, the "Share" button will be at the bottom of the Edit Profile page. Tapping this button will give you two options.
You can use the "Text, Email or Social" option to send a message containing a link to your profile through iOS applications like text, email, WhatsApp or Skype. You can also use this feature to share a link to your profile on social media feeds like Twitter or Facebook.
The other options is "Sproutly Only". This will share the profile via a Sproutly notifcation. The notificaiton will only go to users in your contacts who have
not already stored your profile.
How do I contact Sproutly with concerns or feedback?
Simply email us at contact@thesproutlyapp.com or submit a comment in our website's contacts form.
We'd love suggestions on how we can improve your experience and make the app as useful and user-friendly as possible.
And of course, if there's any concerns or hesitations you have about using the app we want to hear those as well.
How do the parent comments work?
There's only one type of commenting within Sproutly, and it comes from the parents. This offers another way to provide brief, custom updates about your own children. No one can comment on another person's profile.
Using the "Edit/Share Profile" section, parents can add a comment to the indovidual page for their child or baby on the way.
Once you enter the text in the comment field and hit "Save Profile", the comment will appear on that child's individual page for other users to see. Saving the comment will also generate a push notifcation to all people who have stored your Family Profile.
To change the comment and add a new one, just edit the text and hit "Save Profile" again.
Are there social engagements within Sproutly?
Not social engagement elements you're accustomed to seeing on platforms like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
This is in line with our goal of having Sproutly be that pure and insulated environment, free from the stresses of digital "Sharenting".
Active particiaption on those other platforms certainly have its value, but with Sproutly you won't have the expectation of receiving likes, reactions or comments from other users after you post an update or new picture of your family.
The only time you'll have a direct interaction with someone else is when they request to store your profile. Other than that, the only messaging you'll get from other users is through push notifications that provide updates on their own family and go to a larger group.
None of this is meant to crush the interactive elements that make other social platforms so popular. It's just not what our app is about.
How do I delete my account?
Send an email to contact@thesproutlyapp.com with the subject line "Delete Account" and we will remove your account and all its data right away. We'd love some feedback as to why you are deleting the account, if you are comfortable providing that.