Privacy Policy

1.1 Information students give us directly

When a student creates an account, we collect:

• Username — a display name the student chooses. We encourage students to use a nickname, not their real name. We do not require a real name.
• Email address— only if the student signs up directly (not through a school code). Email is optional for school-code sign-ups. Students under 13 who sign up directly require a parent email, not the student's own email (see Section 3).
• Password — stored as a one-way encrypted hash. We cannot read your password. (For accounts created through the parental consent flow, no password is entered at registration. A secure temporary credential is used until the student sets their password after parental approval via a one-time link.)
• Character selection — which of the five Potato characters the student picks (LUMA, CIPHER, MARLO, VESPER, or GROVE). This is a game preference, not personal information.

1.2 Information schools give us

When a school signs up for Potato, a school administrator provides:

• School name and school code— the unique code students use to join their school's Potato world.
• Administrator name and school email — so we can communicate with the school about the account.
• Grade levels served — so we can configure appropriate content.

Schools agree to our Terms of Service on behalf of their students and school community. This is the legal foundation for our school accounts (see Section 3).

1.3 Information generated when students play

When a student plays on Potato, we automatically record:

• Game scores and session records — which games were played, scores achieved, time spent.
• Achievements and XP — badges earned, experience points accumulated, level progress.
• Lumen balance and transactions — in-game currency earned through gameplay. Lumen has no cash value and cannot be purchased with real money.
• Spuds balance and transactions — in-game currency earned through play. Spuds have no cash value and cannot be purchased with real money.
• World builds — voxel block placements a student creates in the game world.
• Chat messages — messages sent through CommonRoom, our school-scoped chat feature. Chat is limited to students within the same school. We do not offer chat with students from other schools.
• School code association— which school a student's account belongs to.
• Device type and browser — so we can make the game run well on Chromebooks, phones, and desktops.
• IP address — collected automatically by our hosting provider (Vercel) as part of standard web operation. We do not use IP addresses to track students across other websites.

1.4 Information we do NOT collect

We want to be explicit about what we do not collect:

• We do not collect real names (we encourage usernames/nicknames).
• We do not store dates of birth. When a student registers directly, we ask for their birth month and year to determine whether they are under 13. We use this information only to compute an age bracket (“under 13” or “13 and older”) and do not retain the raw birth month or year. Only the age bracket is stored.
• We do not collect payment card numbers, bank information, or any financial data. There is no way to spend real money on Potato at this time.
• We do not use advertising tracking pixels, third-party ad networks, or behavioral advertising. There are no ads on Potato.
• We do not sell student data to anyone, ever.
• We do not use students' data to build advertising profiles.

2.1 Running the game

Game scores, Lumen balances, character selections, world builds, and chat messages are necessary to make Potato work. Without storing a student's game progress, the leaderboard would be empty and achievements would disappear.

2.2 Keeping the platform safe

We monitor chat messages and gameplay activity to detect harassment, inappropriate content, and abuse. CommonRoom chat is school-scoped — students can only communicate with classmates from their own school. We review flagged content to protect students.

2.3 Reporting to schools and parents

Teachers and school administrators can see their students' game activity, scores, achievements, and engagement data through the teacher analytics dashboard. Parents can see their child's activity through the parent dashboard. We provide this reporting so schools can use Potato as a learning and engagement tool and parents can stay informed.

3.1 How we know a student is under 13

Potato serves students from kindergarten through 12th grade, which means many of our users are under 13. We treat the following accounts as potentially belonging to a child under 13 and apply COPPA protections to them:

• Any account created through a school code associated with grades K through 6.
• Any account where the student, during direct sign-up, indicates they are under 13.

For all other direct sign-up accounts, we ask a simple question: “Are you 13 or older?” Students who answer “No” are routed into the parental consent flow described in Section 3.3.

3.2 School accounts — how schools provide consent on behalf of parents

When a school signs Potato's Terms of Service, the school is acting as an agent of the parents in its community for the limited purpose of using Potato as an educational platform. Under COPPA (16 CFR §312.5(b)(1)), schools can provide consent on behalf of parents for operators to collect student data — but only for educational purposes, and only to the extent the school's use of the platform serves those educational purposes.

What this means in practice:

• Schools provide consent for us to collect game scores, usernames, school codes, chat messages, and activity data — because these are necessary to operate Potato as an educational game platform.
• Schools authorize teachers and administrators to view student activity data through the analytics dashboard.
• Schools cannot consent to, and we do not engage in, any commercial activity involving student data (advertising, data sale, non-educational data sharing).

Before providing this consent, schools must inform parents that their children will be using Potato. We provide a Parent Notice Template (available at app.potato.xyz/parent-notice) that schools can send home before students access the platform.

3.3 Direct sign-up for students under 13 — parental consent required

If a student under 13 wants to sign up directly (not through a school), we require a parent or guardian's email address first. We send the parent a consent notice that:

• Describes what information we will collect from their child
• Explains how we will use it
• Explains that the parent can refuse consent or revoke it at any time

We will not create an account for a child under 13 until a parent responds and gives consent. The parent's consent is tied to a specific account. If a parent revokes consent, we delete the child's account and all associated data within 30 days.

3.4 What parents can do (parental rights under COPPA)

Parents and guardians of children under 13 have the following rights, which we honor at no cost:

4.1 With your school

Teachers, school administrators, and school staff with authorized access can see student activity data — game scores, achievements, time played, and engagement — through the teacher analytics dashboard. This is the core purpose of the school account.

4.2 With our service providers (sub-processors)

We use a small number of technical service providers to operate Potato. These providers process student data only on our behalf, only for the purposes described in this policy, and under contractual obligations that prohibit them from using the data for any other purpose.

We do not use any advertising networks, analytics companies that sell data, data brokers, or any other third parties that would use student data for their own commercial purposes.

4.3 Legal requirements

We may disclose information if required to do so by law, such as in response to a court order or subpoena. If we receive such a request involving student data, we will notify the school and, where legally permitted, the affected family before complying.

4.4 What we will never do

• We will never sell student data. Not now, not in the future, not under a different name.
• We will never share student data with advertisers.
• We will never use student data to build profiles for marketing purposes.

5.1 Active school accounts

We keep student data for as long as the school's account is active. Schools can request deletion of all student data at any time by emailing privacy@potato.xyz. We will complete the deletion within 30 days.

5.2 Graduated or transferred students

When a school notifies us that a student has graduated or left the school, we anonymize or delete that student's personal information (username, email if collected, school association) within 30 days of notification. Game scores and aggregate analytics may be retained in de-identified form.

5.3 Inactive accounts

The automatic deletion window depends on account type:

• School accounts (registered via school code): inactive accounts are automatically deleted after 12 consecutive months without access. The shorter window aligns with FERPA DPA requirements common in district contracts.
• Direct-signup accounts: inactive accounts are automatically deleted after 24 consecutive months without access.

In both cases, we will send a warning email (if an email address is on file for the account or parent) 30 days before deletion.

5.4 Account deletion requests

Any student (or parent, for a child under 13) can request account deletion at any time by emailing privacy@potato.xyz. We will delete the account and all associated personal information within 30 days.

5.5 What “deletion” means

When we delete an account, we delete:

• The username and email address (if collected)
• Game scores and session records
• Chat message history
• Lumen and Spuds transaction history
• World builds and character selections

We may retain aggregate, de-identified statistics (e.g., “47 students played Math Blaster this month”) that cannot be linked to any individual student.

Strictly necessary cookies — These are required for the game to function. They keep you logged in during your session and remember your school code. You cannot disable these without logging out.

Performance data — Our hosting provider (Vercel) collects standard web server logs, including IP addresses and browser types, to monitor platform health. This data is not used for advertising.