Parents Guide
Crossroads is a creative storytelling app rated 4+. Here's everything you need to know about what your child can do, see, and create.
What is Crossroads?
Crossroads is a platform for reading, writing, and illustrating interactive branching stories — the kind where readers make choices that shape where the story goes. Think of it as a creative writing canvas: kids pick a genre (Adventure, Comedy, Drama, etc.), describe an idea, and build a story card by card with choices at each step.
Stories can be illustrated with optional AI-generated images, or left as text-only. Finished stories can be published to the Crossroads app for other users to read.
Who is it for?
Crossroads is designed for anyone who loves stories — kids, teens, and adults alike. Because all content is user-generated and subject to our guidelines, we recommend children under 13 use the app with a parent or guardian present, particularly when publishing stories for others to read.
Content Safety
No violent content is permitted in stories or images.
Prohibited in both written stories and AI-generated images.
Stories violating content guidelines are subject to removal.
Discriminatory or hateful content is not permitted.
Users write and publish their own stories. Content is subject to our Terms of Service.
Users can read stories published by other users on the platform.
AI Features
Crossroads uses AI in two ways: to help draft story structure from a description, and to generate optional illustrations for story cards.
AI story drafting uses OpenAI's language models. AI illustrations use OpenAI's image generation (gpt-image-1), which enforces strict built-in content restrictions. These cannot be overridden by users or by Crossroads.
AI image generation automatically blocks
All image prompts are prefixed with a PG-13 style directive before being sent to OpenAI, adding an additional layer of guidance toward family-friendly results. Image generation is an optional paid feature — it requires image credits and is not enabled by default.
Accounts & Privacy
In-App Purchases
The app is free to use for reading and building stories. A Pro subscription ($5/month) is required to save and publish stories, and includes 50 AI image credits per month.
Additional image credit top-up packs are available: 20 credits for $1.99, or 100 credits for $7.99. All purchases are processed through the App Store or Google Play and subject to their parental control settings.
We recommend enabling Ask to Buy (iOS) or Family Link (Android) if your child has their own device.
Tips for Parents
- →Read your child's published stories — the story canvas shows the full branching map at a glance.
- →AI image generation is off by default and requires credits, so accidental use is unlikely.
- →Enable parental purchase controls on your device to prevent unintended subscriptions or top-ups.
- →Friend connections require a direct email invitation — your child cannot be found by strangers.
- →If you see content that violates our guidelines, use the in-app report feature or contact us.
Questions or concerns?
hello@crossroadsstories.comLast updated: April 2026 · Crossroads · Rated 4+