🛡️ Privacy Policy

1. Our Commitment to Your Privacy

Te Kete Ako is an educational platform owned and operated by Samuel Tobias Croydon-McRae, a registered Sole Trader in Aotearoa New Zealand, trading as Te Kete Ako. The platform is designed to serve ākonga (students) and kaiako (teachers) of Mangakōtukutuku College and the wider educational community. We are committed to protecting your privacy while providing culturally-grounded, high-quality educational resources.

Our promise: Your personal information will only be used to enhance your learning experience and will never be sold or shared with third parties for commercial purposes.

2. Information We Collect

📧 Account Information

• Email address: For login and account recovery
• Name / Username / Alias: To personalize your experience. For student (ākonga) accounts, we strictly minimize stored data and collect only a username or alias—no full names are stored. For teacher (kaiako) accounts, full names are collected.
• Role: Student, Teacher, or Caregiver (to provide appropriate content)
• School affiliation: If provided (teachers only), to connect you with your learning community. Student accounts do not store school affiliations to protect learner privacy.

📚 Learning Data

• Progress tracking: Which resources you've accessed
• Project submissions: Work you submit through the platform
• Preferences: Settings and customizations you make
• Usage patterns: How you navigate and use the platform (to improve our service)

💻 Technical Information

• Device information: Browser type, device type (to ensure compatibility)
• Log data: Access times, pages visited (for security and performance)
• Cookies: To remember your preferences and keep you logged in

3. How We Use Your Information

4. Data Protection & Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information:

• Encryption: All data is encrypted in transit and at rest
• Access controls: Only authorized personnel can access user data
• Regular audits: We regularly review our security practices
• Secure hosting: Data is stored with reputable, security-focused providers
• Privacy by design: We collect only what's necessary for our service

5. Your Rights & Control

You have full control over your personal information:

To exercise these rights: Contact us at privacy@tekete.education or use the data management tools in your account settings.

6. Information Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We may share information only in these limited circumstances:

• With teachers and schools: If you're a student, your teachers may see your progress and submissions
• Service providers: Trusted partners who help us operate the platform (under strict confidentiality agreements)
• Legal requirements: If required by law or to protect the safety of our users
• Anonymous data: We may share aggregated, non-identifiable usage statistics for research

7. Special Protections for Students

• Student Data Minimisation: In compliance with the NZ Privacy Act 2020, student accounts strictly minimize personal data. No full names or school affiliations are stored in student records; we only retain a username/alias, email address, and year level.
• Parental & Teacher Rights: Parents, caregivers, or school administrators can review, modify, or request the permanent deletion of a student's account and data at any time by contacting us.
• Educational use only: Student data is used solely for educational progress, stats tracking (e.g. Wordle/games), and modules.
• No advertising or tracking: We do not track student behavior for advertising, nor do we sell or share student data with third parties.

8. Cookies & Tracking

We use cookies and similar technologies to:

• Essential cookies: Keep you logged in and remember your preferences
• Analytics cookies: Understand how you use the platform to make improvements
• Performance cookies: Help us optimize loading times and functionality

You can control cookies through your browser settings, though this may affect platform functionality.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. When we do:

• We'll notify you by email and/or prominently on the platform
• We'll give you at least 30 days notice before significant changes take effect
• You can review the updated policy before it becomes effective
• Continued use of the platform means you accept the new policy

10. Contact Us

Questions about privacy, data protection, or this policy? We're here to help: