Privacy Policy

This policy covers students who participate in Game Design Academy programs. Our programs are designed for children, and we take the privacy of minors seriously. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone other than enrolled program participants and their parents or guardians.

We collect only what is necessary to run the program:

• Student name and grade — used to identify students within the program and track progress.
• Student login credentials — a username (first name + last name) and a temporary password used to access the GDA Portal on program devices.
• Student-created content — artwork, character designs, stories, level designs, and games created during the program. This content is owned by the student and their family.
• Parent or guardian contact information — name and email address, collected at time of enrollment through our booking process.

We do not collect social security numbers, financial information, health information, precise geolocation, or any information beyond what is listed above.

• To operate the GDA Portal, which is used by GDA instructors to manage classes, track student progress, and organize student-created content.
• To publish completed student games on the GDA Games Portal, a public website where games made by students can be played by friends and family. Only a student’s first name and a generic avatar are shown publicly — no last names, photos, or other identifying details.
• To communicate with parents or guardians about program updates, schedules, or their child’s work.

We do not use student information for advertising, marketing profiling, or any purpose unrelated to operating the Game Design Academy program.

We obtain parental or guardian consent prior to collecting any information from a child under 13. Consent is obtained through our enrollment and booking process before a student begins the program. If you believe your child is participating without your consent, please contact us immediately at info@gamedesignacademy.com.

With parental consent obtained at enrollment, we may publish games created by students on the GDA Games Portal ( games.gamedesignacademy.com). Published games display:

• The game title and story written by the student team
• Student first names only as game designers
• The school name
• A generic pixel-art avatar (not a photo of the student)

No last names, photos, ages, grades, or contact information are ever published publicly.

Games created through Game Design Academy programs are the property of Game Design Academy. By enrolling in a GDA program, families acknowledge that the games, artwork, characters, levels, and other creative materials produced during the program are part of the GDA curriculum and remain owned by Game Design Academy. GDA has the right to publish, display, and showcase these games on the GDA Games Portal and in other program-related contexts.

Students and families cannot request removal of a game from the GDA Games Portal. Games are a product of the program and represent the collective work of the student team and GDA instructors.

However, parents and guardians can request at any time that their child’s first name be removed from a published game page. We will honor this request promptly. The game itself will remain published without that student’s name attached.

Game Design Academy does not make money from student games. Games published on the GDA Games Portal are free to play and always will be. Specifically:

• Games are not for sale and do not contain in-app purchases.
• There is no advertising of any kind on the GDA Games Portal — no banner ads, no sponsored content, no third-party ad networks.
• Student names and images are not used for commercial promotion beyond showcasing their program work.

The sole purpose of the GDA Games Portal is to celebrate what students created and let friends and family play their games.

We do not sell, rent, or share student personal information with any third parties for commercial purposes. Information may be shared only in the following limited circumstances:

• School partners — schools where GDA operates may receive roster information for the purpose of running the after-school program.
• Infrastructure providers — we use Supabase (database and file storage) and Netlify (web hosting) to operate this portal. These providers process data only as directed by us and under data processing agreements.
• Legal requirements — if required by law or to protect the safety of students or others.

Student data is stored in a password-protected, access-controlled database. The GDA Portal requires login credentials and is accessible only to authorized GDA instructors and administrators. We use industry-standard security practices including encrypted connections (HTTPS) and role-based access controls.

We retain student information for the duration of their enrollment in GDA programs. When a student’s enrollment ends, their account is deactivated. Published games remain on the GDA Games Portal as part of the program record. Parents may request deletion of their child’s personal information (name, account data) at any time, and may also request that their child’s name be removed from any published game page.

Under COPPA and applicable privacy laws, you have the right to:

• Review the personal information we have collected from your child
• Request deletion of your child’s personal information (name, login credentials, and account)
• Withdraw consent and refuse further collection of your child’s information
• Request removal of your child’s name from any published game on the GDA Games Portal

Note: Games themselves are the property of Game Design Academy and are not subject to takedown requests. See “Ownership of Games and Student Work” above.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@gamedesignacademy.com. We will respond within 30 days.

We use Google Analytics on the GDA Games Portal to count visitors and understand which games are being played. This data is collected anonymously — IP addresses are anonymized, and we have disabled all Google advertising and personalization signals. We do not use this data to identify individual users or for any advertising purpose.

We do not display advertisements of any kind on the GDA Games Portal. We do not use student data for behavioral advertising or share it with advertising networks.

If we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify parents by email using the contact information provided at enrollment. The updated policy will also be posted on this page with a revised date.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or your child’s data, please contact us: