Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

From Parents and Guardians:

• Account Information: Name, email address, password
• Payment Information: Credit card details (processed securely through Stripe)
• Communication Data: Support requests and correspondence

From Children (with parental consent):

• Profile Information: First name, age
• Learning Progress: Completed lessons, quiz scores, earned badges
• Usage Data: Time spent on activities, content preferences

We do NOT collect: Full names, addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, or any other sensitive personal information from children.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use collected information for the following purposes:

• Provide and improve our educational services
• Track learning progress and personalize content
• Process subscription payments
• Send important account updates and notifications
• Respond to support requests
• Analyze usage patterns to improve content quality
• Comply with legal obligations

3. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We do NOT sell, rent, or share children's personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.

We may share information only in the following circumstances:

• Service Providers: Trusted partners who help operate our service (e.g., Stripe for payments, hosting providers)
• Legal Requirements: When required by law or to protect our rights
• Business Transfers: In the event of a merger or acquisition (with continued privacy protection)
• With Parental Consent: When you explicitly authorize sharing

4. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information:

• Encrypted data transmission (SSL/TLS)
• Secure password hashing
• Regular security audits and updates
• Limited employee access to personal information
• PCI-DSS compliant payment processing

While we take extensive precautions, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

4a. Verifiable Parental Consent (COPPA)

Under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), we are required to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from a child under 13. We do this through the following process:

1. An adult (parent or legal guardian) creates the parent account using their own email and a credit/debit card. The cardholder verification step at checkout serves as our primary identity-verification mechanism, consistent with FTC-approved methods.
2. The parent then creates a child profile (first name + age only) inside their authenticated account.
3. The parent receives a confirmation email summarizing what data is collected from the child and how to revoke consent at any time.
4. Parents may withdraw consent and delete the child profile at any time from Account Settings → Manage Subscription, or by emailing hello@emekaexplores.com. Deletion is processed within 30 days.

We do not condition a child's participation in any activity on the disclosure of more personal information than is reasonably necessary.

5. Parental Rights and Control

Parents and guardians have the right to:

• Review their child's personal information
• Request deletion of their child's information
• Refuse to allow further collection of their child's information
• Update or correct information
• Export their child's learning data

To exercise these rights, please contact us at hello@emekaexplores.com.

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to:

• Maintain login sessions
• Remember user preferences
• Analyze site usage and performance
• Improve user experience

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling cookies may affect service functionality.

7. Third-Party Services

We use the following trusted third-party services:

• Stripe: Payment processing (PCI-DSS compliant)
• Hosting Providers: Secure data storage and service delivery

These services have their own privacy policies and security measures. We carefully vet all partners to ensure they meet our privacy standards.

8. Data Retention

We retain information for as long as necessary to:

• Provide our services
• Comply with legal obligations
• Resolve disputes
• Enforce our agreements

When you delete your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal information within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.

9. International Users

Our services are operated in the United States. If you are accessing from outside the U.S., your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from your country. By using our service, you consent to this transfer.

9a. Your Rights Under GDPR (EU/UK Residents)

If you are located in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom, you have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK GDPR:

• Right of access — request a copy of personal data we hold about you
• Right to rectification — correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten") — request deletion of your data
• Right to restrict processing — limit how we use your data
• Right to data portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format
• Right to object — object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Right to withdraw consent at any time, without affecting prior lawful processing
• Right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority

To exercise any of these rights, email hello@emekaexplores.com. We will respond within 30 days.

9b. Your Rights Under CCPA/CPRA (California Residents)

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (as amended by the CPRA) gives you the following rights:

• Right to know what personal information we collect, use, disclose, and (if applicable) sell
• Right to delete personal information we have collected
• Right to correct inaccurate personal information
• Right to opt out of "sale" or "sharing" — we do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising
• Right to limit use of sensitive personal information
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising any CCPA right

We do not sell or share your personal information. To exercise any other rights, email hello@emekaexplores.com with the subject line "California Privacy Request." We verify requests by matching the email on file with the requesting account.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify you of significant changes via:

• Email notification
• Prominent notice on our website
• In-app notification

Continued use of the service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us: