Building COPPA-Compliant EdTech: Lessons from MindfulTime
Building software for children under 13 means complying with COPPA — the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Here is what we learned building MindfulTime.
What COPPA Requires
COPPA mandates verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13. It also requires:
- A clear, comprehensive privacy policy
- Data minimization (collect only what you need)
- Data deletion upon parental request
- Reasonable security measures
Our Implementation
Parental gate
MindfulTime requires a parent to set up the account. Children interact with the app through a child profile that collects no personally identifiable information beyond a first name or nickname.
Data minimization
We store worksheet completion data, coin balances, and screen time usage. We do not store location data, device identifiers, or browsing history. Every data field has a documented purpose.
No third-party tracking
MindfulTime includes zero third-party analytics or advertising SDKs in the child-facing experience. Usage analytics are first-party only and aggregated.
Deletion workflow
Parents can delete all child data from the family dashboard. Deletion is immediate and permanent — no soft deletes, no 30-day retention.
Common Mistakes
Assuming consent covers everything
Parental consent for account creation does not mean consent for marketing emails, data sharing with partners, or behavioral profiling. Each use of data needs its own justification.
Treating COPPA as a checkbox
COPPA compliance is ongoing, not a one-time audit. Every new feature must be evaluated for data collection implications before shipping.
Over-collecting "just in case"
The temptation to collect data for future analytics is strong. Under COPPA, if you do not need it today, do not collect it.
The Business Case
COPPA compliance is not just a legal requirement — it is a trust signal. Parents choosing between two education apps will choose the one that transparently protects their child's data.