Privacy notice
Last updated October 16, 2026
Who uses Frugal Santa
Accounts belong to adults. A grown-up (18 or older) creates the account by paying for minutes and starts every call. Grown-ups can talk with Santa themselves; when a child talks with Santa, the account holder is their parent or guardian and stays with them. Children do not create accounts or type information into the site. Paying with a card is how the account holder confirms they are an adult.
What we collect
From the account holder: email address, payment details (handled by our payment processor; we never see the full card number), and the minutes bought and used. For a call: who is calling (the account holder, their child, or the family), the caller's first name, an optional age for a child, and an optional note for Santa. During a call, the caller's voice is turned into text so Santa, an AI video character, can answer. We keep a rough location (about 10 km) of each call (not of guest calls, below) to show a gift on our public globe; it is never linked to a name or account on the page. For free minutes: the account's share link, how many friends bought minutes with it (we show the account holder a count, never who), and whether the account holder joined Santa's email list.
Call videos
We save a video of a call only when the account holder ticks "Save a video of this call" before that call starts. The video shows Santa and records the voices on the call. It is private to the account holder. They can make a share link that anyone who has it can watch (the link is not listed or searchable, and has no comments), stop sharing, download the video or delete it at any time. We delete every video one year after the call. Without that box ticked, we do not save audio or video of the call.
Gift minutes
When a grown-up buys minutes as a gift, we store the first names and the short message they type, to show them on the gift card and to whoever opens the code. We also keep which account redeemed the code, and when. The buyer sees whether their gift has been used, never who used it or their email.
Santa's interview links
An account holder can send a link that lets other grown-ups talk with Santa on the account holder's minutes. Before the call, the guest sees who sent the link and confirms that they are 18 or older and that Santa shares their wishes, what they like and don't, details such as sizes, and a short summary of the call with the sender. From a guest we collect their first name and what they say on the call (turned into text so Santa can answer). We don't keep a location for a guest's call. After the call we add to the sender's account: the guest's wishes, a short summary, and short lists of what they like, what they don't, and details such as sizes or colors. The guest sees the same notes right after the call, and again in the same browser for 7 days. The sender keeps these until they remove them from their wish list (deleting the link keeps them), or asks us to close the account. The text of the call is deleted once the list is written. Guests don't create accounts. Opening the link remembers the sender's share code in a cookie for 30 days, the same as a share link.
What we keep, and for how long
The text of a call is used to write the wish list and then deleted from our systems. The wish list, call times and minutes stay in the account until the account holder deletes them or asks us to close the account. Saved videos follow the one-year rule above.
Who processes it
We use service providers to run the video call, the speech and conversation, payments, price lookups, email and hosting. They process information only to provide those services to us. We do not sell personal information and we show no ads.
Your choices
The account holder can review the wish list at any time, remove items, delete saved videos, leave Santa's email list from the Free minutes page or any email, and ask us to delete the account and everything in it by writing to help@frugalsanta.lol. We answer within 30 days.