Story Thyme v1.12.0 introduces a major new age-based visibility and Kids Mode system across Stories, Resources, Series, dashboards, searches, and personal libraries. This update also improves restricted content handling, unavailable saved story behavior, and overall navigation consistency throughout the platform.

New

• Added a new kids_mode_enabled user setting system
• Added support for optional Kids Mode accounts while keeping all accounts as standard Story Thyme accounts
• Added age-based content visibility system across Story Thyme
• Added restricted chapter placeholders for inaccessible series chapters
• Added direct URL protection for restricted stories and series
• Added age-based story creation rating restrictions
• Added Kids Mode compatibility for Stories, Resources, and Series
• Added “Spooky” display support for Everyone-rated Horror stories
• Added “Spooky / Horror” filter labeling system
• Added unavailable Personal Library placeholders for deleted, unpublished, or newly age-restricted stories
• Added quick “Remove from My Library” cleanup actions for unavailable saved stories
• Added guest messaging explaining that Teen and Mature ratings become available after registering
• Added unavailable story messaging system for Personal Library cards

Improvements

• Updated homepage story visibility rules based on viewer age and Kids Mode
• Updated homepage resource visibility rules based on viewer age and Kids Mode
• Updated Library story visibility rules
• Updated Library resource visibility rules
• Updated Library series visibility rules
• Updated Story Search visibility filtering
• Updated Resource Search visibility filtering
• Updated Series Search visibility filtering
• Updated Personal Library filtering to properly handle stories that later become restricted
• Updated Story Filters to only display ratings the viewer can access
• Updated Resource Filters to only display ratings the viewer can access
• Updated Series Filters to only display ratings the viewer can access
• Updated Series pages to show restricted placeholder chapters instead of silently hiding inaccessible stories
• Updated Story cards to support restricted chapter placeholders
• Updated series-to-story navigation so back buttons correctly return to the originating series
• Updated Story Edit navigation to preserve return URLs across editing flows
• Updated story creation rating selection UI based on user age
• Updated story editing rating selection UI based on user age
• Updated Horror genre presentation for child-friendly stories
• Updated logged-out browsing to allow Everyone and Older Kids content
• Updated dashboard story visibility filtering to respect age restrictions
• Updated dashboard resource visibility filtering to respect age restrictions
• Updated Personal Library behavior to preserve unavailable stories instead of silently removing them
• Updated Personal Library and dashboard cards to display restricted, deleted, and unpublished story states
• Updated story search active filter display to properly show “My Stories”
• Updated story search filtering behavior to correctly remove author filters after clearing them
• Updated logged-out Rating filter UI with registration guidance for Teen and Mature content

Security

• Added direct access protection for restricted stories
• Added direct access protection for restricted series
• Added server-side validation for story rating creation restrictions
• Added server-side validation for story rating editing restrictions
• Added published story edit protection
• Added restrictions preventing published stories from having their details, banner, or icon edited without first being unpublished
• Added safeguards preventing direct URL access to published story detail editing
• Added protection against bypassing visibility restrictions through filters, searches, bookmarks, or direct URLs

Fixes

• Fixed series back button behavior when navigating between Series → Story → Story Edit → Story
• Fixed restricted story card visibility logic
• Fixed series search rating query filtering
• Fixed Mature account search filtering issue caused by age range mismatch
• Fixed logged-in age refresh issues caused by stale session birthdate data
• Fixed dashboard Personal Library visibility inconsistencies
• Fixed Personal Library behavior for deleted stories
• Fixed Personal Library behavior for unpublished stories
• Fixed Personal Library behavior for stories that later became restricted due to rating changes
• Fixed story search author filter persistence after clearing filters
• Fixed dashboard filtering inconsistencies between Stories and Resources