Children's & Student Privacy

YDABlocks is a general-audience educational tool — it is built for anyone curious about how AI works, not specifically for children. It does include use by students and children, and when children use YDABlocks we handle their information in accordance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and, in school settings, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This page explains how.

1. School use — consent through the school

When YDABlocks is provided through a school, the school authorizes our collection and use of student information for an educational purpose, consistent with COPPA's school-consent provisions and our role as a School Official under FERPA. We use student information only for that authorized educational purpose, and school student data follows the retention lifecycle described in Data Retention & Deletion.

2. Family use — the parent is in control

When a parent or guardian creates a family or consumer account, they are responsible for their own child's information and control it directly. The parent provides consent for their child's use of YDABlocks and can review, correct, export, or delete their child's information at any time.

If a parent deletes the account, we permanently delete its data within one week. The parent can download and export the data before deletion completes; after that window, it is gone.

3. Our commitments when children use YDABlocks

• We collect only what is needed to run the tool and keep it safe.
• We never sell anyone's data, and never use it to target advertising.
• We never build a profile of a child except to deliver the authorized educational experience.
• We design Richard to respond safely and with warmth, to encourage a child in distress to reach out to a trusted adult, and — when Richard detects a genuine safety concern — to alert the responsible adults through the portal so they can help.
• We delete children's data on the schedules described in Data Retention & Deletion: the school lifecycle for school accounts, and within one week of deletion for family accounts.

4. Contact

Questions about children's or student privacy: privacy@ydablocks.com