Privacy Policy
1. Who we are
Choose Squad ("we", "us") is a learning game for children in 2nd and 3rd grade, at choosesquad.academy and play.choosesquad.academy. The operator is Choose Squad Inc. Privacy questions: privacy@choosesquad.academy.
2. Children's Privacy Notice (COPPA)
Choose Squad is made for children under 13. We follow the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the FTC's COPPA Rule.
- Parents create the account. Children do not sign up with an email. A parent or guardian creates the account, reads this notice and gives consent before a child profile exists.
- We collect as little as possible from children: a nickname, grade, age, birthday month and day, avatar choices, game progress and, only if a parent turns it on, messages to friends that parent has approved.
- We never ask a child for their real full name, email, phone number, home address, school, photo or location. We do not show ads, sell data, or use children's data to train AI models.
- Social features need extra consent. Chatting, calls and the garage sale with friends let a child share game information with another child. These stay off until a parent turns them on and approves each friend, and we use a stronger parental consent method for them.
- A parent can review, download or delete the child's information, and can stop further collection at any time (see section 6).
3. What we collect
| From whom | What | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Parent | Email, password (stored encrypted), consent record, settings for each child | To run the account, send sign-in codes and important notices, and record consent |
| Child (with consent) | Nickname, grade, age, birthday month and day, avatar, picture PIN (stored encrypted) | To show the right level of questions and run the game |
| Child (with consent) | Game progress: money, stars, answers right/wrong/skipped, pets, house, items, friends list | To save the game and show parents how it's going |
| Child (only if parent turns it on) | Chat messages to approved friends; call history (who, when, how long) | To let approved friends play together, and so parents can review it |
| Device | Technical data such as IP address and browser type, kept in server logs | Only to run, secure and fix the service ("support for internal operations"), never to track a child across other sites |
We do not record or keep audio or video from calls. If voice typing is offered, the audio is turned into text and deleted right away.
4. How we use information
To run the game, save progress, match questions to the child's grade, let approved friends play together, keep the service safe, answer parents' requests, and meet legal obligations. We do not use children's information for advertising, profiling or selling.
5. Who sees it
- Approved friends see the child's nickname, avatar, house, pets, mood, garage sale items and the messages sent to them.
- Service providers that host and operate Choose Squad for us (for example hosting and email), under contracts that require them to protect the data and use it only for us. If we later use an AI provider for optional features, it will never receive a child's personal information.
- When the law requires it, or to protect a child's safety.
We do not sell or rent personal information, and we do not share children's information with third parties for advertising.
6. Parents' rights and choices
From the parent area, or by writing to privacy@choosesquad.academy, a parent can:
- See and download the information we have about their child.
- Correct it, or delete the child's profile and all its information.
- Turn chat, calls or the garage sale off, remove friends, and stop any further collection.
- Withdraw consent. We will then delete the child's information, and the child will no longer be able to play with that profile.
We verify that a request comes from the parent before acting on it, and we answer within 30 days.
7. How long we keep information
- Chat messages: 90 days, then deleted.
- Game progress: while the profile is active. Profiles with no activity for 12 months are deleted after an email warning to the parent.
- Everything about a child: deleted within 30 days after a parent asks, or after consent is withdrawn.
- Server logs: 30 days.
We do not keep children's information longer than needed for these purposes.
8. Security
We keep a written information security program: encrypted connections, encrypted passwords and PINs, access only for people who need it, database rules that keep each family's data separate, encrypted backups, and a yearly risk review.
9. Website visitors and the beta list
On choosesquad.academy we do not use advertising or tracking cookies. If you join the beta list, we keep the parent's email and the child's grade only to contact you about the beta, and delete them if you ask or when the beta ends.
10. Changes
If we change how we collect, use or share children's information in a material way, we will tell parents and ask for new consent before the change applies to their child.
11. Contact
Choose Squad Inc · privacy@choosesquad.academy