COPPA Compliance & Child Safety

1. What is COPPA?

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is a U.S. federal law that protects the privacy of children under 13 years old. It requires websites and online services to:

• Obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children
• Provide clear notice about data collection practices
• Give parents control over their children's information
• Maintain reasonable security measures to protect children's data
• Retain children's information only as long as necessary

2. Age Requirements

MySmartMind has the following age requirements:

Individual Accounts

• United States: Users must be at least 13 years old
• European Union/UK: Users must be at least 16 years old (or the age of digital consent in their country)
• Brazil: Users must be at least 13 years old with parental consent
• Other Countries: Users must meet the minimum age required by local law

Family Plan Accounts

Our Family Plan allows parents and guardians to create supervised accounts for children:

• The primary account holder must be 18 years or older
• Parents can add children aged 13+ (or 16+ in EU/UK) to the Family Plan
• Parents have full control and visibility over children's accounts
• Children cannot create accounts without parental authorization

3. Information We Collect from Children

For children using MySmartMind through a Family Plan, we collect only the minimum information necessary to provide our Services:

Required Information

• First name: To personalize the AI experience
• Age or date of birth: To verify age requirements and provide age-appropriate content
• Parent/guardian email: For parental notifications and consent

Optional Information

• Learning preferences: Topics of interest for educational content
• Language preference: English, Portuguese, or Spanish
• Progress data: Course completion and learning achievements

Automatically Collected Information

• Usage data: Features used, time spent, and interaction patterns (aggregated and anonymized)
• Device information: Device type and operating system (for technical support)
• Error logs: Technical issues for troubleshooting (no personal content)

4. Parental Consent & Control

Parents and guardians have complete control over their children's MySmartMind accounts:

How We Obtain Consent

Before a child can use MySmartMind through a Family Plan, we require verifiable parental consent through:

• Email verification: Parent must verify their email address
• Payment authorization: Parent must authorize the Family Plan subscription
• Explicit consent checkbox: Parent must acknowledge and agree to child's account creation

Parental Rights & Controls

Parents can:

• Review: Access all information collected about their child
• Modify: Update or correct their child's information
• Delete: Request deletion of their child's account and all associated data
• Refuse further collection: Opt out of optional data collection
• Monitor: View their child's learning progress and AI interactions
• Set limits: Control usage time and content access
• Revoke consent: Close the child's account at any time

How to Exercise Parental Rights

Parents can manage their child's account through:

• Family Dashboard: Access parental controls in the MySmartMind app
• Email request: Contact support@mysmartmind.io with your request
• Account settings: Manage child accounts directly from your parent account

5. How We Use Children's Information

We use children's information only for the following purposes:

Service Delivery

• Provide personalized AI assistance appropriate for the child's age
• Deliver educational content and learning experiences
• Track learning progress and achievements
• Maintain account security and prevent unauthorized access

Safety & Protection

• Filter inappropriate content and responses
• Detect and prevent misuse or abuse
• Comply with legal obligations and protect rights

Parental Communication

• Send progress reports to parents
• Notify parents of account activity
• Respond to parental inquiries and requests

6. Child Safety Features

MySmartMind includes multiple safety features designed specifically for children:

Content Filtering

• Age-appropriate responses: Mali adjusts language and complexity based on age
• Inappropriate content blocking: Automatic filtering of harmful or adult content
• Safe search: Web search results filtered for child safety
• Educational focus: Prioritizes learning and development over entertainment

Privacy Protection

• No public profiles: Children's accounts are not visible to other users
• No social features: Children cannot message or interact with strangers
• Restricted sharing: Children cannot share personal information through the AI
• Parental visibility: Parents can review all AI conversations

Usage Controls

• Time limits: Parents can set daily or weekly usage limits
• Content restrictions: Parents can block specific topics or features
• Activity monitoring: Parents receive regular activity summaries
• Emergency pause: Parents can instantly disable child accounts

7. Data Security for Children

We implement enhanced security measures to protect children's information:

Technical Safeguards

• Encryption: All children's data encrypted at rest and in transit
• Access controls: Strict limits on who can access children's information
• Secure storage: Children's data stored separately with additional protections
• Regular audits: Ongoing security assessments and vulnerability testing

Organizational Safeguards

• Employee training: Staff trained on COPPA compliance and child safety
• Background checks: Screening for employees with access to children's data
• Limited access: Only essential personnel can access children's information
• Incident response: Dedicated procedures for child safety incidents

8. Data Retention for Children

We retain children's information only as long as necessary:

Active Accounts

• Learning progress: Retained while account is active
• AI conversations: Retained for 90 days, then automatically deleted
• Uploaded documents: Retained until parent or child deletes them

Closed Accounts

• Immediate deletion: Most data deleted within 30 days of account closure
• Legal retention: Some data retained for legal compliance (anonymized where possible)
• Backup deletion: Data removed from backups within 90 days

Parental Deletion Requests

When a parent requests deletion of their child's account:

• We delete all personal information within 30 days
• We send confirmation to the parent's email
• We retain only anonymized usage statistics (no personal identifiers)

9. Third-Party Services & Children

We carefully vet all third-party services that may process children's information:

Current Third Parties

• AWS (Amazon Web Services): Cloud hosting and AI processing - COPPA compliant
• Stripe: Payment processing (parent accounts only) - PCI DSS compliant

Third-Party Requirements

All third parties that process children's information must:

• Comply with COPPA and similar regulations
• Use children's information only to provide services to MySmartMind
• Maintain appropriate security measures
• Not use children's information for their own purposes
• Delete children's information when no longer needed

10. International Compliance

In addition to COPPA, we comply with international child privacy regulations:

European Union (GDPR)

• Minimum age: 16 (or lower if set by member state)
• Parental consent required for children under minimum age
• Enhanced data protection rights for children
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten")

United Kingdom (UK GDPR & Age Appropriate Design Code)

• Minimum age: 13 for most services
• Age-appropriate design standards
• Privacy by default for children
• No profiling or tracking of children

Brazil (LGPD)

• Parental consent required for children under 13
• Best interests of the child must be considered
• Enhanced transparency requirements

11. Educational Use & Schools

If MySmartMind is used in an educational setting:

School Accounts

• Schools may act as the parent's agent for consent purposes
• Schools must obtain parental consent or provide direct notice to parents
• We provide schools with tools to manage student accounts
• Parents retain the right to review and delete their child's information

FERPA Compliance

For U.S. schools, we comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA):

• We act as a "school official" with legitimate educational interest
• We use student information only for educational purposes
• We maintain appropriate security measures
• We do not disclose student information without authorization

12. Reporting Concerns

If you have concerns about child safety or privacy on MySmartMind:

For Parents

• Immediate concerns: Use the "Report" button in the app or email support@mysmartmind.io
• Privacy questions: Contact support@mysmartmind.io
• Account issues: Access Family Dashboard or contact support

For Children

• If something makes you uncomfortable: Tell your parent or guardian immediately
• If you see inappropriate content: Use the "Report" button or tell an adult
• If you need help: Ask your parent to contact MySmartMind support

For Educators

• Student safety concerns: Contact support@mysmartmind.io immediately
• Technical issues: Use school admin dashboard or contact support
• Privacy questions: Request our school-specific privacy documentation

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this COPPA Compliance Policy from time to time. When we make material changes affecting children:

• We will notify parents via email
• We will provide clear notice in the app
• We will obtain new parental consent if required by law
• We will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page

14. Contact Us

For questions about child privacy, COPPA compliance, or to exercise parental rights:

• Company: MySmartMind LLC
• Location: Fort Myers, Florida, United States
• Email: support@mysmartmind.io
• Subject Line: "COPPA - Child Privacy Request"
• Website: mysmartmind.io

15. Related Policies

For more information about how we protect your family's privacy:

• Privacy Policy - Our general privacy practices
• Terms & Conditions - Legal agreement for using MySmartMind
• Cookie Policy - How we use cookies and similar technologies