Release Notes

What's new in CartoonZoo. Newest releases appear at the top. Each entry is generated automatically when a pull request is merged to master.

Unreleased

Changes merged to master that haven't been tagged yet will appear here.

2026-05-01

  • Fixed desktop navigation menu interactions. The dropdown menus on the desktop navigation bar were temporarily non-functional; this fix restores the ability to open and close them properly.

2026-04-30

  • New single-page, phone-first sign-up and sign-in. The sign-up and sign-in flows have been completely redesigned into single, streamlined pages. New accounts now primarily require a phone number (required for verification) and an optional username, making joining the platform much simpler. Social login options (Google, Facebook, X) remain available.
  • Simplified account creation. The long, multi-step sign-up wizard is gone. All required information is collected on a single page, with optional fields like email and password available for users who want more account recovery options.
  • Improved security messaging. Clear explanations for phone number requirements (for safety and robot prevention) and data security (powered by Clerk) are provided to new users, offering transparency for parents.

2026-04-29

  • Caption feed instantly updates after posting. When you submit a new caption to a contest, it now appears in the feed immediately without waiting for a network refresh, providing a more responsive, game-like experience.

2026-04-29

  • Two-step account verification for added security. New sign-ups now require both phone number and email verification. Users first enter a code sent via SMS to verify their phone number, then complete sign-up by clicking a link sent to their email. This adds an extra layer of protection for family accounts.

2026-04-28

  • Improved sign-up flow for email verification. Users who click the verification link from their email are now automatically logged in and taken directly to the app, eliminating a manual finalization step.

2026-04-27

  • Disabled text selection and copy on non-input elements. The app now prevents players from accidentally highlighting and copying text they didn't intend to, creating a cleaner, more game-like interaction.

2026-04-26

  • Disabled accidental pinch-to-zoom on mobile. The app now prevents unwanted zooming when interacting with touch gestures, improving the experience for players and parents on phones and tablets.

2026-04-25

  • Live watcher count on contest pages. Players can now see how many other people are viewing the same contest at the same time, displayed next to the countdown timer.

2026-04-24

  • Improved sign-up experience with email verification links. New users signing up now receive a verification link in their email instead of a manual code, simplifying the final step of account creation. Clicking the link instantly verifies the email and completes the process.
  • Tighter username validation. Usernames must now be at least 4 characters long and cannot exceed 64 characters, helping to maintain consistent naming across the platform.
  • Better error recovery during sign-up. If the server rejects any field during sign-up, the form now automatically navigates back to the step containing the error, making it easier to fix issues like invalid emails or usernames.

2026-04-22

  • Users can now delete their own captions. Authors of a caption can remove it from an active contest via a “Delete” option in the caption menu. Upon deletion, the caption is marked as “Removed by the author”, its upvotes no longer count toward the leaderboard, and any winning status is removed.
  • Tapping any avatar now opens that user's profile. You can tap user avatars on captions, replies, and the leaderboard to jump directly to that user's page, making it easier to explore and connect.
  • Improved rank badge visual design. Rank badges displayed under user avatars now have richer, tier‑specific gradients and shadows (gold for top 3, silver for top 10, bronze for others), making earned ranks more visually distinct.

2026-04-21

  • Enhanced contest endings and winner visuals. When a caption contest ends, the winning caption now has a special gold gradient background to celebrate its victory. The countdown timer is replaced with a clear "Ended X ago" indicator, and hovering over it shows the exact end time. Like buttons on ended contests now show a helpful "Contest ended" tooltip instead of looking broken.
  • Improved tooltips for like buttons. When you hover over a like button that is disabled because you are trying to like your own caption, a tooltip now explains "You cannot vote for yourself!" instead of just showing a blocked cursor.
  • Updated reply thread layout. Replies to captions now display the commenter's avatar larger and on the right side of the message, providing better visual balance and readability.

2026-04-20

  • Long-press to see who liked a caption. On mobile, you can now press and hold the like (heart) button on any caption to open a list of everyone who has liked it. The list includes links to their profiles.

2026-04-19

  • Restored like button function. Fixed an issue where clicking the heart icon to like a caption was not working.

2026-04.18

. Branded error pages and public documentation hub. Added custom-designed error screens (404, 500, 401) with friendly illustrations and clear instructions. The About page has been rewritten and a new navigation header now links About, Roadmap, Whitepaper, and Release Notes, creating a consistent public hub for parents and investors to learn about the platform.

2026-04-17

  • Administrator safety tools: Super administrators now have the ability to fully delete a user's account and all associated data (captions, likes, images, etc.) via a confirmation dialog, as a critical safety and cleanup measure.

2026-04-16

  • Leaderboard toggle: Wins vs Rank. Players can now switch the leaderboard between two views: Wins (sorted by number of contest wins) and Rank (the original score-based ranking). The new Wins view highlights top performers and is the default view, encouraging competition.
  • Updated rank badges. Rank badges (e.g., #1, #5) now have a cleaner look without icons, improving readability.

2026-04-15

-L Whitepaper: Added "Built for Families" and "Trust and Safety" sections. New content explains the app's design for children's development and details its multi-layered safety system (automatic filtering, community moderation, phone verification, duplication detection).

2026-04-14

  • Contest feed: prize pool display. Updated contest cards to show only the prize pool value, labeled "prize pool" instead of "pts". Tooltip now explains the +1-per-submission rule.