Privacy Policy & Data Telemetry Safeguards

1. Zero Guest Profiling & Data Minimization

Unauthenticated / Guest Sessions: Visitors exploring EloClarity in Guest Preview mode do not have personal identification data collected, persistent database accounts created, or telemetry tracked across sessions.

Transient Session Memory: Interactive moves and practice attempts during a guest session are processed strictly in transient browser memory and are permanently discarded when you navigate away or close your browser tab.

2. Information We Collect

When you register for an authenticated account or manage linked family profiles, we collect:

• Account Credentials: Email address, username, display name, account classification (Adult, Parent, or Child Account), and avatar choice.
• Imported Chess Usernames: Publicly available Chess.com or Lichess handles that you voluntarily enter to import your historical game records.
• Chess Telemetry & Profiling Data: Uploaded PGN game records, move notation, opening classifications, move execution timestamps, blunder frequencies, centipawn evaluation differentials, and puzzle solve accuracy generated by our 200+ engine heuristics.

Payment Processing: When payment or credit features are enabled, transactions are handled directly by PCI-compliant third-party payment processors. We never receive, store, or process raw credit card numbers.

3. Algorithmic Profiling & Heuristic Analysis Consent

By creating an account or analyzing games on EloClarity, you explicitly acknowledge and consent to algorithmic analysis of your chess play:

• Purpose of Profiling: We evaluate player decisions across over 200 deep engine heuristics—analyzing tactical sharpness, piece coordination, calculation depth, king safety, and endgame technique—to construct your personalized Cognitive Archetype Matrix.
• Solely Educational Use: Your diagnostic telemetry is used exclusively to identify specific tactical blind spots and cognitive calculation flaw patterns, serve custom adaptive puzzles matched precisely to your identified weaknesses, and suggest tailored masterclasses aligned with your skill tier.
• No External Commercial Profiling: Profiling data is never sold, leased, or shared with third-party advertisers or external data brokers.

4. Advertising Practices & Two-Tier Child Protection

We operate a strictly segregated two-tier advertising policy to protect young learners while supporting our free educational tiers:

A. Standard & Adult Accounts (Google Ads & Third-Party Partners): For adult and general authenticated accounts, we display contextual and interest-based advertisements through Google Ads / Google AdSense and authorized advertising networks. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies, device identifiers, or web beacons to serve ads based on prior visits to our Platform or other internet sites. Users may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ad Settings or through industry opt-out portals.

B. Child Accounts Under 13 (Strict COPPA-Compliant Kid-Safe Advertising):

• Complete Exclusion from Google Ads: Accounts designated as Child Accounts are never served advertisements through Google Ads, Google AdSense, or third-party behavioral ad networks.
• Kid-Appropriate, Non-Behavioral Sponsorships: Approved Child Accounts are served only carefully curated, age-appropriate educational promotions or direct child-safe sponsorships (such as scholastic chess camps, scholastic tournaments, or youth educational books).
• Zero Behavioral Tracking for Minors: Advertisements displayed in Child Account environments do not use tracking cookies, tracking pixels, behavioral profiling, remarketing pixels, or persistent cross-site device identifiers. All ads shown to minors are strictly contextual and non-targeted.

5. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Compliance & Binary Parent Approval

Protecting youth players is central to our platform mission. We enforce strict compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) through a mandatory binary parental approval system:

• Under-13 Checkbox & Account Classification: Account registration includes an Under-13 self-declaration checkbox. Any account designated as under 13 is classified as a Child Account.
• Mandatory Binary Parental Approval to Access Site: Registering a Child Account requires the email address of a parent or legal guardian. Parent approval is strictly binary: a child under 13 cannot log in, access, or use the Platform until explicit approval is granted by a parent or legal guardian via the Parent Portal. If a parent declines approval, or if approval is not completed, the child account remains completely locked and blocked from accessing the site.
• Parental Approval for Profiling: By approving child access through the Parent Portal, the parent authorizes the account creation and the algorithmic heuristic profiling required to deliver custom educational puzzles and lessons. If a parent revokes approval at any time, site access is immediately terminated for the child, and the account is deactivated.
• Social & Communication Safeguards: Child Accounts operate in an isolated, private environment with no public chat rooms, no player-to-player messaging, and no public user directories. Interactive chess play for children is conducted exclusively against educational computer bots and self-contained tactical puzzles.
• Parental Rights & Portal Controls: Through the dedicated Parent Portal, parents and legal guardians retain full legal authority to review all chess telemetry and puzzle history associated with their child, revoke approval and immediately terminate site access, permanently delete their child’s account and records from our databases, and suspend account access or reset credentials at any time.

6. Data Portability & The Right to Erasure

Data Portability: Authenticated players may export their full saved game library and diagnostic records in standard PGN or JSON formats at any time.

Right to Erasure: You may delete your account and all associated profiling telemetry directly through your Account Settings or by contacting support@eloclarity.com. Upon deletion, all records are permanently expunged from production databases.

7. Third-Party Service Providers & Technical Infrastructure

• Google Firebase: Secure user authentication and cryptographically signed session tokens.
• Advertising Networks: Google Ads (strictly for adult/general accounts) and verified kid-safe direct sponsors.
• Client-Side WASM Chess Engines: Stockfish 18 WebAssembly executes locally on your device browser. Your moves are analyzed on your device's CPU/GPU and are not broadcast to third-party cloud engine farms.
• Google Gemini AI: Optional server-side natural language generation for coaching advice. Payloads transmitted to the model consist solely of objective chess FEN positions and move strings; no user names, emails, or personal identifiers are transmitted.

8. Contact Us

If you have questions, feedback, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your child's data:

• Company: EloClarity LLC
• Support Email: support@eloclarity.com
• In-App Support: Submit a request via our Contact & Support portal