Privacy Policy

Account Information (Provided by Parent/Guardian):

• Parent/Guardian email address (for account verification and communication)
• Child's first name or nickname (for personalization)
• Child's age range (to provide age-appropriate content)
• Login credentials (securely encrypted)

User-Generated Content:

• Photos and videos of recycling projects (moderated before publication)
• Audio recordings for podcast stories (moderated and optional)
• Text descriptions and comments (AI-moderated for safety)
• Likes and interactions with educational content

Usage Data (Automatically Collected):

• Videos watched and learning activities completed
• Challenge participation and progress
• Time spent on different features (for improving educational content)
• Device information and IP address (for security and fraud prevention)

What We DON'T Collect:

• ✓ Full names or last names
• ✓ Home addresses or phone numbers
• ✓ School names or locations
• ✓ Social security numbers or government IDs
• ✓ Precise geolocation data
• ✓ Financial information (app is free)

Educational Purposes:

• Provide personalized learning recommendations
• Track progress through learning paths and challenges
• Award points, badges, and achievements
• Display age-appropriate educational content

Safety & Moderation:

• AI-powered content moderation to ensure child safety
• Filter inappropriate language, bullying, or unsafe content
• Detect and prevent sharing of personal information
• Human review of flagged content by trained moderators

Platform Improvement:

• Analyze usage patterns to improve educational features
• Fix bugs and enhance user experience
• Develop new age-appropriate content and activities

Communication:

• Send important updates to parent/guardian email
• Notify about account activity or moderation decisions
• Respond to support requests

Limited Sharing With:

• Service Providers: Trusted third parties who help us operate the platform (e.g., cloud hosting, AI moderation tools). All providers are contractually required to protect children's data and comply with COPPA.
• Legal Requirements: When required by law, court order, or to protect the safety of children (e.g., reporting child abuse to authorities).
• Public Content: Projects, stories, and comments approved through moderation are visible to other users. Only first names/nicknames and age are shown - never last names or contact information.

Security Measures:

• Industry-standard encryption for data transmission (SSL/TLS)
• Encrypted storage of passwords and sensitive information
• Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments
• Limited employee access to personal data (need-to-know basis)
• Secure backup systems to prevent data loss

Content Moderation:

• AI-powered screening of all user-generated content
• Human moderator review of flagged content within 24 hours
• Automatic detection of personal information (emails, phone numbers, addresses)
• Age-verification for account creation (parent/guardian consent required)

Parent/Guardian Rights:

• Review: Request to review all personal information collected from your child
• Delete: Request deletion of your child's account and all associated data
• Refuse Consent: Refuse further collection or use of your child's information
• Correct: Update or correct inaccurate information
• Export: Receive a copy of your child's data in a portable format

How to Exercise Your Rights:

Email us at: privacy@ecosparkkids.org

We will respond to your request within 30 days. You may need to verify your identity as the parent/guardian before we can process certain requests.

We retain personal information only as long as necessary to provide our educational services and comply with legal obligations:

• Active Accounts: Data is retained while the account is active
• Deleted Accounts: Personal data is deleted within 90 days of account deletion
• Public Content: Projects and stories may remain published (with only first name/age) unless deletion is requested
• Legal Hold: Data may be retained longer if required by law or ongoing legal proceedings

EcoSpark uses trusted third-party services that are compliant with children's privacy laws:

• Authentication: Secure login and user management (Base44 platform)
• Cloud Storage: Secure file hosting for photos and videos (AWS/Supabase)
• AI Services: Content moderation and recommendations (OpenAI, ElevenLabs for voice)
• Analytics: Anonymous usage statistics to improve educational content (no personal data shared)

All third-party services are contractually obligated to comply with COPPA and maintain the same level of privacy protection as EcoSpark.

EcoSpark operates globally. If you access the platform from outside the United States, your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States or other countries where our service providers operate.

We ensure that international transfers comply with applicable data protection laws through:

• Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission
• Adequacy decisions for data transfers
• Additional safeguards as required by local laws (GDPR, CCPA, etc.)

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. When we make material changes:

• We will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page
• We will notify parents/guardians via email
• We will request renewed consent if required by law

We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect children's information.