Our Principles
WritingCity is a K-5 writing and grammar program that focuses on every element of grammar and conventions standards. It is designed to offer a complete year of writing lessons to students.
WritingCity’s Privacy Policy is designed to comply with state and federal regulations enacted to protect the privacy of children and ensure the security and confidentiality of student data, including, but not limited to, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), and the California Education Code Section 49073.1 and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). We ask all users to take some time to review our Privacy Policy and understand our policies and procedures relating to the use of our Website, our commitment to privacy, and the access and use of data. This is important, so if there is anything you do not understand, please contact us with questions. Your continued use of WritingCity’s website and products indicates your consent to this Privacy Policy.
Privacy Policy
Updated: October 03, 2018
At WritingCity, we consider privacy and children’s safety to be paramount. The WritingCity Website, www.WritingCity.com and all its applications, including Engagers, Captivators and associated mobile apps (the “Service”) are designed to serve educational institutions, parents and students and strive to provide a safe, positive experience to help children learn. As you use the Service, we want you to be clear about how WritingCity uses your information and the choices you have to protect your privacy.
This Privacy Policy is meant to help you understand how we collect and use the personal information you provide through the Service. This Policy explains:- What information we collect.
- How we use that information.
- How that information is shared.
- How you can access and manage the information.
- How we secure that information.
- How we inform you about changes to the policy.
I. What Information Do We Collect?
WritingCity collects information in order to provide and enhance the Service provided to all of our users. The information we collect varies based on how you use the Service.
Information you give us
When you use the Service, we may request certain information about you.Educational institutions control what information is provided to WritingCity regarding a student. Educational institutions must create a username for each student during the registration process, and either create a password for the student or request one to be assigned to the student by WritingCity. WritingCity does not require any Personally Identifiable Information, or “PII”, of the students who will be using our Service during the registration process or at any other time. Educational institutions may choose to provide a student’s name or class when setting up a student’s account, in order to monitor the student’s activities and progress more easily. However, this is optional. Information that educational institutions choose to provide regarding students should always be limited to information that is relevant to a legitimate educational purpose.
Information we get from your use of our services
WritingCity collects information about your use of the Service, like when you complete an exercise, or view and interact with your content. This information includes:
Device information
Like most website operators, WritingCity collects information about how users visit our site and the devices they use. We collect device-specific information (such as your hardware model, operating system version, device identifiers like IDFA and UDID, and mobile network information). WritingCity may associate your device identifiers or other device information with your WritingCity account to help us provide the Service to you across your devices.
We do not request access to or collect location information, such as GPS or Bluetooth beacons, from your mobile device while downloading or using our mobile apps or services.
Log information
When you use the Service, WritingCity automatically collects and stores certain information about your activity, including:- Details of how you use the Service, like your search queries, clicks and site navigation information, or study activity
- Browser type
- Time zone
- Referring site, and the date and time of each user request
- Connection information like ISP or mobile operator
- Internet Protocol (IP) address
Analytics data
Technologies such as anonymous cookies, beacons, tags and scripts are used by WritingCity to collect and store data about our users in order to track website statistics, such as visitors, length of time on the Website, and conversion rates, to support the internal operations of our Service and further the education purposes of WritingCity. WritingCity also reserves the right to use aggregated, de-identified data to improve our educational products, demonstrate the effectiveness of our educational products in marketing, and develop and improve our Website, services or applications. That aggregated, de-identified data may be shared with third parties to further the education purpose of our Service.
We also use mobile analytics software to allow us a better understanding of the functionality of our mobile software on your device. This software may record information such as how often you use the application, the events and activities that occur within the application, aggregated usage, performance data, and where the application was downloaded from. We do not link the information we store within the analytics software to any personally-identifying information you submit within the mobile app.
Information we get from partners and other users
Google Login
You can log in to our site using Google Login. This service authenticates your identity and provides you the option to share certain personal information with us–such as your name, date of birth, and email address–to pre-populate our sign-up form. This service may also give you the option to post information about your activities on WritingCity’s website to your profile page to share with others within your network.
Social Media Widgets
Our website includes Social Media Features and widgets, such as the “Share This” button. These Features may collect your IP address, the page you are visiting on our site, and may set a cookie to enable the Feature to function properly. Social Media Features and widgets are either hosted by a third-party or hosted directly on our site. Your interactions with these Features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing them.
Students’ Information
Any students under the age of 18 who want to use the Website must be registered by a parent, legal guardian, or school official. WritingCity does not sell or market directly to minors and always seeks the appropriate authorization whenever we identify a minor attempting to purchase a service. Whenever we collect PII, we do so with the sole purpose of supporting the educational purposes for which the Website was designed. We do not publish or distribute any PII of students to third parties, and we try to limit access to third-party sites that may request PII. We also prohibit students from publicly posting or distributing PII without prior parental consent. In addition, in an effort to further protect children who use the Website, WritingCity does not condition a student’s participation or access to any activity on the Service on the student providing any PII or any more information than is reasonably necessary for that activity. WritingCity does not use the prospect of a special game, prize or other activity to entice children to divulge more information than is needed to participate in an activity.
Parental Rights
Parents and legal guardians of children can consent to the collection of a child’s information as set forth in this Privacy Policy, without consenting to the disclosure of that information to third parties.
Parents or guardians can review information their children have contributed to WritingCity by accessing their child’s account. Parents can refuse to allow WritingCity to collect further information from their children by contacting WritingCity at [email protected]. WritingCity may ask additional questions or take other steps to verify the identity of a parent or guardian before responding to a request to review or to delete a child’s information or a request to refuse further collection from a child. Please note that WritingCity does not delete any information that children have contributed to WritingCity. Please check with your school’s policy for deletion of materials contributed by your child.
II. How Do We Use The Information We Collect?
We are passionate about creating engaging experiences for our users. We use all of the information we have to help us provide, maintain, protect and improve our Service and to protect WritingCity and our users. We will ask for your consent before using information for a purpose other than those set out in this Privacy Policy, including:To operate and improve WritingCity
We use usernames and passwords of registrants’ accounts to authenticate logins, allow access to the paid content and monitor subscription compliance. The username is also used to authenticate a registrant when requesting technical support. In order to operate the Service and personalize content, WritingCity may use the information it collects to understand how you use and interact with our Service. We may use information to conduct surveys and research, test features in development, and analyze the information we have to evaluate and improve products and services, develop new products or features, and conduct audits and troubleshooting activities. We may also use information collected from cookies and other technologies, like pixel tags, to improve your user experience and the overall quality of our Service.
We also use the information we have to help analyze the content on WritingCity to provide you relevant product features, such as better search results, and to promote safety and security on our Service, such as investigating suspicious activity or violations of our terms or policies.
Please note that student information, student records, and student-generated content will not be used for any unauthorized purpose or disclosed to any unauthorized person or third-party without express written permission from the student’s parents or the educational institutions, other than as provided in this Privacy Policy or by written contract between the educational institution and WritingCity.
To contact you
A registrant’s email address may be used to send service-related announcements regarding the Service when it is necessary or advisable to do so; to respond to registrant’s requests for products, services, and information; and to send communications to users regarding their account or this Privacy Policy. A registrant’s email may also be used to send out the WritingCity newsletter, and market WritingCity Premium services, or other products and services offered by WritingCity’s subsidiaries and affiliates, provided the registrant has opted in to receive such communications. You may choose to stop receiving emails or announcements at any time by updating your email settings within your profile or you can contact us at [email protected].
Advertising & Marketing
WritingCity does not provide any personally-identifying information to third parties for advertising or marketing purposes, and does not engage in targeted or behavioral advertising.
III. How Can You Manage the Information We Collect?
Educational institutions are able to review, manage, delete or edit their information as well as student information at any time by logging into their accounts. WritingCity stores materials created by students so that the students themselves or the students’ educational institutions can access it and use it only for educational purposes. Educational institutions are in control of student-generated material and can access it at any time by logging into their accounts. WritingCity does not automatically delete materials created by the student (e.g. saved or submitted writing practice activities) when a student’s account is closed, unless the parents or educational institution requests it in writing or it is required by contract or other agreement. However, WritingCity reserves the right to delete all student information and student-generated material at any time after a student account has been closed. Therefore, parents or educational institutions are encouraged to print out any student work they wish to keep prior to closing a student account. If a parent or educational institution requests the deletion of any student information in writing or the deletion is required by contract or other agreement, WritingCity will delete any such student information, materials or records within a reasonable amount of time.
Information (1) directly related to a student enrolled by an educational institution and provided and maintained by that educational institution or (2) acquired directly from the student enrolled by an educational institution through activities and coursework on WritingCity’s Website or Apps assigned to that student by the educational institution, continues to be the property of and under the control of the educational institution, and will not be retained or available to WritingCity after the account is closed, if required by the contract between WritingCity and the educational institution.
Collection of Information by Third Parties
Our Website contains links to sites not maintained by WritingCity. The privacy and data collection practices on any linked sites are entirely separate from those of WritingCity and are not covered by this Privacy Policy. Although we strive to choose business partners and third-party associates who have demonstrated a commitment to user privacy and education, we are not responsible for the information, content, terms of use, or privacy policies on these third-party sites. We also cannot guarantee that student users will not navigate to another Website where personal information from them is solicited. Parents and educational institutions do have the option to block third-party links on the Website. To do so, please contact our support team at [email protected].
IV. How is Information Shared?
Information Shared by You
The Service offered by WritingCity is a web 2.0 social media-type service that includes user-generated content. To request removal of your personal information from these public areas, contact us at [email protected]. In some cases, we may not be able to remove your personal information, in which case we will let you know that we are unable to do so and the reason why.
Information Shared by Us
WritingCity does not share your personal information, except in the following circumstances:
With Your Consent
WritingCity will share your information with companies, organizations, or individuals when we have your consent to do so.
For External Processing
From time to time, we share information with partners, business affiliates or third-party service providers who work for WritingCity and operate some of its functionalities, such as hosting services, streaming services and credit card processing. However, these entities are established service providers, who are bound to practice adequate security measures and only use registrant information for the sole purpose of providing the services.
From time to time, WritingCity may wish to publish or release aggregated data that identifies a particular school by name. In these cases, WritingCity will enter into a separate agreement with the school or obtain written authorization from the school prior to any release or publication.
To Respond to Legal or Other Requests to Prevent Harm
WritingCity may share information with law enforcement or other third parties as required by law or if we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights or the rights of others; to prevent harm to WritingCity, our users or the public; to enforce the Terms of Service; to detect or prevent fraud or security or technical issues; or to comply with a judicial proceeding, court order or other legal process.
V. How do We Secure the Information?
WritingCity is committed to protecting personal data against unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification or disclosure. To this end, we have implemented reasonable and appropriate safeguards when collecting and storing student data in our database. Our servers are located in a secured, locked and monitored environment designed to prevent unauthorized entry or theft, and are protected by a firewall. The servers are also backed up to a secure offsite data center. We only store passwords in an encrypted format and we do not store any credit card information. We take extra measures to ensure the safety of PII and Student Records and apply a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL or HTTPS) encrypting technology to establish and ensure that all data passed between the server and the browser remains encrypted. Governance policies and access controls are in place to ensure that the student information linked to each parent or educator (depending on the type of account) is separated and parents and/or educational institutions only have access to their own student data. Only limited WritingCity personnel have access to the database, and they only access the database when necessary to provide services. We follow standardized and documented procedures for coding, configuration management, patch installation and change management for all applicable servers and we audit our practices at least once a year. While we strive to maintain best industry-standard privacy and security practices, it should be noted that no industry system is failproof. While we strive to protect personal information, we cannot guarantee, ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us.
IN NO EVENT SHALL WE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES (WHETHER CONSEQUENTIAL, DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR OTHERWISE) ARISING OUT OF, OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH, A THIRD-PARTY’S UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO YOUR INFORMATION, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH DAMAGES ARE BASED ON CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, TORT OR OTHER THEORIES OF LIABILITY, AND ALSO REGARDLESS OF WHETHER WE ARE GIVEN ACTUAL OR CONSTRUCTIVE NOTICE THAT DAMAGES WERE POSSIBLE, EXCEPT AS PROVIDED UNDER APPLICABLE LAWS.
In the event we learn of an actual data breach, loss or disaster, we will notify the affected educational institution(s) and/or parents of the affected student(s) and conduct an investigation into the breach or restore the reasonable integrity of our system without unreasonable delay. We will also coordinate with the educational institution, as appropriate, to support its notification of affected students and parents when there is a substantial risk of harm from the breach or a legal duty to provide notification.
Indemnity
As a condition of using the Website or Services, you agree to indemnify WritingCity, its officers, employees, and agents against any and all liability, expenses (including attorney’s fees and court costs) and damages arising out of claims resulting from users’ use of the Website or Services, and/or anyone linking to this particular Website, including, without limitation, any claims alleging facts that if true would constitute a breach of these terms and conditions stated in this Privacy Policy.
Appropriateness
WritingCity takes reasonable measures to prevent the posting of profanity or other objectionable language on our website. However, WritingCity cannot guarantee that objectionable language will never be posted on the website, and asks that parents and educational institutions inform WritingCity immediately if any objectionable language is observed so that we can take measures to address it.
In addition, since WritingCity is open to the public, the problems of misinformation, false identities and other risks typical of the Internet in its current state exist on WritingCity. There is no way to verify whether someone who registers as a educator at a particular school is truly that educator at that school. Therefore, it is possible for a person to register and post while posing as an educator when they are not actually a teacher. All WritingCity users should be aware of this possibility and take appropriate precautions. If WritingCity suspects a fraudulent account has been set up, we will investigate and take measures to ban that account user. However, these measures are limited to closing the particular account and banning future registrations using the particular email.
FERPA Compliance
WritingCity understands the obligation educational agencies, districts and school systems have to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and supports schools in their efforts to comply with FERPA.
Whenever WritingCity enters into a contract with schools to provide educational services to students, we agree to act as a “School Official” as defined by FERPA, meaning that we (1) perform an institutional service or function for which the school or district would otherwise use its own employees; (2) we have been determined to meet the criteria set forth in the school’s or district’s annual notification of FERPA rights for being a School Official with a legitimate educational interest in the education records; (3) we are under the direct control of the school or district with regard to the use and maintenance of education records; and (4) we use education records only for authorized purposes and will not re-disclose PII from education records to other parties (unless we have specific authorization from the school or district to do so and it is otherwise permitted by FERPA).
Supervision
It is the responsibility of parents and educational institutions to supervise children using the Website and to teach them about security and privacy. We recommend that parents and educational institutions provide the following information to all children: Kids’ Rules for Online Safety.
VI. How do We Let You Know About Changes to Our Privacy Policy?
Your use of WritingCity is conditioned on and deemed to constitute your acceptance of these terms. Changes to this policy may be required to keep up with changing technology and threats, to add security, or as new or changed services are released. Whenever we make a change to our Privacy Policy, we will post it online for your review. We reserve the right to modify our Privacy Policy at any time, so please review it frequently. If we decide to make a material change to our Privacy Policy, we will provide you with prominent notice of the change online, by email, or by other means we deem appropriate before the material change becomes effective. Posting a revised Privacy Policy on this website will give effect to the revised terms, and your continued use of this website indicates your acceptance of any revised terms. If you do not agree to a revised policy, please notify us immediately and refrain from using our website.
WritingCity’s mission is to maximize the educational value of this website and its usefulness to educational institutions, parents and students.
Contact Us
If you have questions or comments regarding our Privacy Policy, or need any other assistance using the Service, please contact us at:
WritingCity.com
6300 NE 1st Ave, Suite 203
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33334
(800) 357-2157