COPPA Statement
Last updated: April 21, 2026
The short version
Children under 13 cannot sign up for a Root{Sport} account on their own. Ever. If someone under 13 wants to play on the platform, a parent or guardian must create the account for them and explicitly consent to what data we collect and how we use it. This is what the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) requires, and it’s how we operate regardless.
What we do NOT collect from children under 13
- Personal email addresses (children under 13 don’t have their own account inbox with us).
- Phone numbers.
- Precise geolocation (lat/lng, street addresses).
- Social media handles.
- Academic data (GPA, test scores, schools) unless a guardian explicitly provides it and opts in.
- Photos or videos of the child unless a guardian uploads them.
What we DO collect when a guardian creates an account
- The child’s first name (or team nickname).
- Date of birth (so we know the age tier and apply the right rules).
- Team/league the child plays on.
- The guardian’s contact information (so we can reach the guardian, not the child).
- Consent choices the guardian has made about what’s visible.
Verifiable parental consent
When a guardian creates an account for a child under 13, we verify the guardian is actually an adult responsible for the child. Today we do this by requiring the guardian to confirm their email address and authenticate with a password. We are working on additional verification methods that don’t create friction for legitimate families.
How a guardian controls their child’s data
At any time, a guardian can:
- See every data field we have on their child.
- Download a full export of that data.
- Correct anything that’s wrong.
- Delete the child’s account (we purge within 60 days, retaining only audit records required by law).
- Review a log of every time someone viewed the child’s profile.
- Revoke consent for anything they previously agreed to.
See guardian controls for the in-product walkthrough.
Contact our DPO
Questions, consent revocations, or complaints:
[email protected]