It's tempting to add every good idea to a product. But every feature costs maintenance, complexity and attention. That's why we keep an explicit no-list.
1. No ads
Storytale lives close to personal creative moments — an evening with friends, a story you make together. You don't want a banner ad in the middle of that. Full stop.
2. No tracking cookies
We have one cookie: a random player ID we need to keep you in a game. No Google Analytics, no Facebook Pixel, no "improved based on your behaviour." No cookie banner either.
3. No mandatory subscription
The base game — all modes, all features — stays free. If we ever introduce a paid tier, it's for extras (own domain, classroom tools, longform mode), not for the core game.
4. No AI that overwrites your sentence by default
Spell correction can be optionally turned on. The AI is not allowed by default to replace your contribution in substance. What you type stays yours. Otherwise it's no longer collaborative writing.
For those who really want it: an opt-in "AI rewrite" toggle is coming that rewrites your sentence in your chosen tone. Not as a default, not for the group — only for yourself, only when you explicitly turn it on. Some people find that useful (typing on a phone, dyslexia, uncertainty about tone). For everyone else, the hand stays in silence mode.
5. No leaderboard you have to pay for
If we ever introduce a leaderboard of the best stories, it's free to view and free to participate in. No "premium leaderboard" or "paid votes."
6. No NFT, blockchain, web3, or any variant thereof
Stories are not scarce. We're not uploading your wedding game book onto a chain to turn it into a tradeable token. Nobody asks for it, and morally it's an attack on what this project should be.
7. No mandatory registration
You can play without an account. An account is only needed for specific features (generating your own portraits, in the future tracking donations). A game? Just click and play.
Why this list?
For ourselves, to stay reminded of what and why we're building. For you, so you know where Storytale stands. And for future investors who might suggest "growth-driven" features — sorry, here's our no-list.