Parental Consent
For children aged 13 to 15 in the EU/EEA, the UK and Switzerland
This page is for information only.
Consent is given in the WordRunner app, through a link we email to the parent. Nothing on this page creates an account or gives consent.
Why is parental consent required?
Under Swiss data protection law (DSG) and GDPR, we require parental or guardian consent before children aged 13 to 15 who live in the EU/EEA, the UK or Switzerland can use WordRunner. Nobody under 13 can register, wherever they live.
About WordRunner
WordRunner is an AI-powered literacy platform that helps students master vocabulary through gamified learning. The platform:
- Provides AI-powered feedback on sentence construction
- Tracks learning progress and achievements
- May be used as part of school curriculum
- Uses in-app credits to pay for its AI features. Credits are bought in the app's Bank, in Swiss francs or in pounds; what they cost, and any allowance given, are on our Prices page
Data We Collect
For a child aged 13 to 15, we collect:
- Account information: email address, password, date of birth, country and timezone, and the name they choose to show in the app
- Parent or guardian: your name and email address, and the record of your decision, including the date, your IP address (which is also stored on your child's account record) and your browser type
- Learning data: quiz results, progress, XP earned, and the words they save, with any notes
- What they write: answers to exercises, essays, and posts in the community hub
- Their written answers (for example, sentences they write) — checked by AI (Google's Gemini models, through Google Cloud) to mark them and give feedback
- Usage data: session duration, feature usage (for improving the service)
- Screenshots, only if they choose to attach them to a bug report or a payment
How We Protect Your Child's Data
- Learning data is stored in Switzerland (Google Cloud, Zürich)
- Written answers are marked by AI on Google Cloud in the EU
- Sign-in accounts are held by Google's Firebase sign-in service, which runs in the United States
- All data is encrypted in transit and at rest
- No data is sold or shared for marketing purposes
- If your child joins a class, its teacher or group leader sees their progress and activity and, once at least five learners in the class have read, what each of them has read
- Other users see the name your child chooses to show and, in a squad game's list of players, any "Under 16", "Over 18" or English-background badge your child chooses to show
Your Rights as a Parent/Guardian
You have the right to:
- Access: Request a copy of your child's data
- Correct: Request correction of inaccurate data
- Delete: Request deletion of your child's account and data
- Withdraw Consent: Revoke consent at any time
To exercise these rights, contact: richard.whittle@equalex.com. You can also withdraw through the link in the email we sent asking for your consent, and your child can download a copy of their data on the app's Transparency page.
How consent works, step by step
- Your child signs up with an invite code, from their teacher or from us, and gives their date of birth and country.
- If they are 13 to 15 and live in the EU/EEA, the UK or Switzerland, they enter your name and email address. We email you a 6-digit code, which works for 10 minutes. Your child needs it to continue.
- We then email you a link to a page that shows what we collect. You have 14 days to use it to approve or decline. After you approve, the same link lets you withdraw at any time.
- To approve, you enter your email address again and confirm that you are the parent or legal guardian, that you have read our Privacy Policy, that you consent to the processing described, and that you can withdraw at any time.
- Until you approve, your child's account exists but cannot be used.
- If you decline, we delete the account 14 days later. If you decline and then change your mind, contact us before the 14 days are up. If you withdraw later, we delete the account 14 days later and tell your child by email.
- If you do not answer within 14 days, the link expires and the account stays locked, with its data. It is not deleted until someone asks us to delete it.
Contact
For questions about this consent form or your child's data:
EquaLex GmbHRiedthofstrasse 214
8105 Regensdorf
Switzerland
Email: richard.whittle@equalex.com
Website: equalex.com