Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 26, 2026

ChessTeacher.org ("we", "us") gives live chess lessons and group classes to students of all ages. For students under 18, a parent creates the account, books and pays; adults (18+) book for themselves. This policy explains what information we collect, why, and the choices you have. It includes our notice to parents under the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Questions: chessteacher@chessteacher.org.

The short version

• Students under 18 never create accounts or sign in; their parent does. For each child we only ask for a nickname.
• The lesson board only sends chess moves and drawn arrows. There is no chat, no video, no audio and no photos in the app.
• In a group class, classmates never see each other's names; only the coach does. Youth and adult groups are always separate.
• No advertising, no analytics, no tracking cookies, no selling or renting of data. Our website loads nothing from other companies.
• You can see, change and delete your information, and your children's, at any time in the app.

Information we collect from account holders

Account holders are parents or guardians (for students under 18) and adult students (18+).

• Account: your name, email address and password (stored only in scrambled, hashed form by our login provider), and whether you are booking for yourself or for your child.
• Consent record: the date and version of the terms and privacy notice you agreed to.
• Your children (parents only): a nickname for each child you add.
• Bookings and plans: lesson and class times, who each booking is for (your name or your child's nickname), weekly plan times, and booking, cancellation and refund status.
• Payments: handled by Stripe. We never see or store your card number. We receive the payment status, amount and Stripe's reference numbers; Stripe sends your receipts to your email address.

Information about children

We ask children for as little as possible. A child never signs in and has no way to send messages or contact details.

• Nickname: provided by the parent and shown to the coach (never to other students) so the coach knows who is in the lesson.
• Lesson board: while a lesson runs, the board sends chess moves, take-backs and drawn arrows between the coach's and the students' screens. These are not stored on our servers. The coach's own device keeps the current lesson position so a page refresh doesn't lose it.
• Technical data: when a device connects to a lesson, our hosting providers necessarily process its IP address and a random device code to deliver the service and keep it secure. If a student joins with a lesson link instead of from an account, the device gets an anonymous sign-in with no name or email, which we delete after 7 days. We use this information only to run and secure the lessons (what COPPA calls "support for internal operations").
• Joining a class by link: if a student joins a group class with a class link (rather than from the parent's account), the student types a first name or nickname (letters only, up to 20). Only the coach sees it, and it is deleted automatically when the class room closes (at most 24 hours after it was set up). The device remembers it only until that browser tab is closed.
• Video calls happen outside this app, in the video service agreed with the coach. That service's own privacy policy applies.

Parental consent

A parent agrees to this policy when creating the account, and confirms consent by paying for a lesson or plan by card before the child uses the lesson board. The free trial class is booked from the parent's account, so the parent has agreed to this policy first.

How we use information

• To provide lessons, classes, bookings, weekly plans, payments, refunds and receipts.
• To contact account holders about their lessons. We never contact children; for students under 18 every message goes to the parent.
• To keep the service safe and secure, and to meet legal and tax obligations.

We do not use anyone's information for advertising or profiling.

Who we share information with

Only with the service providers that run the service for us, under their own data protection terms, and only what they need:

• Supabase (database, logins and the live lesson connection),
• Netlify (hosting the website and the app),
• Stripe (payments, weekly plan billing and refunds),
• our email provider (account, booking and password emails).

We may disclose information if the law requires it. We never sell or rent personal information.

How long we keep it

• Lesson and class rooms, the list of devices that joined and any first names typed in a class: deleted automatically after the lesson (at most 24 hours after it was set up).
• Anonymous lesson-link sign-ins: deleted after 7 days.
• Children's nicknames and account details: until you remove them or delete your account.
• Payment and booking records: kept as long as tax law requires, with names and children's nicknames removed when you delete your account.

Your choices and rights

• See your information and your children's: it's all shown in your account (names, nicknames, bookings, plans).
• Change or remove a child's nickname, or remove the child, in your account.
• Delete your account and your children's information with "Delete my account" in the app.
• Stop further collection at any time by removing a child or deleting your account.
• For anything else, email chessteacher@chessteacher.org. We'll answer within 30 days.

Security

All connections are encrypted. Access to data is limited by strict database rules: account holders only see their own information, and only the coach can see the schedule and class lists. Lesson rooms are private and only open to the coach and the booked students.

Changes

If we change this policy in a way that affects your or your children's information, we'll ask you to agree again before you continue using the app.

Contact

ChessTeacher.org · chessteacher@chessteacher.org