Privacy policy
Children are telling us how they feel, and that needs more care than most software gives anything. This policy says exactly what we collect, who can see it, how long it's kept, and how families and schools stay in control.
Last updated 21 October 2026. This policy is being reviewed and may be updated before schools start using MoodSpace Classroom.
Who we are
MoodSpace Classroom is run by MoodSpace, the makers of the MoodSpace family app, in Aotearoa New Zealand. This policy covers the MoodSpace Classroom website and app. It was written with the Privacy Act 2020 and its Information Privacy Principles in mind.
The MoodSpace family app has its own privacy policy. Nothing from a family's home MoodSpace account is shared with a school unless the family chooses to share a summary.
Who is responsible
Your child's school is responsible for the information about its children, families and staff. The school decides to use MoodSpace Classroom, sets its own policies in the app, invites families, and is the agency under the Privacy Act for that information. MoodSpace holds and protects it on the school's behalf, uses it only to run the service for that school, and does not use it for anything else.
MoodSpace is responsible for information it collects for itself: enquiries from schools through the “Bring MoodSpace to your school” form, and the accounts of the people who run the platform.
If you have a question about your child's information, start with your school. They can see the settings they've chosen, act on your request, and contact us if they need to.
What we never do
- We never show a child another child's feelings. There's no public feed, no likes, no followers and no popularity scores.
- We never track a child's location, and the app never asks for it.
- We never collect photos of children. A child's character is built from drawn parts, or is a coloured shape and a first letter.
- We never run what a child writes or says through AI or a transcription service. MoodBuddy's messages are written by people.
- We never diagnose, label or score a child. The app can show a pattern to a teacher, but it doesn't say what it means.
- We never sell data, show ads, or use advertising or analytics trackers.
- We never let a teacher see what's in a family's home MoodSpace account unless the family chooses to share a summary.
What we collect
About a child: first name, last initial and an optional preferred name, the class they're in, a login code, a PIN (stored scrambled, so nobody can read it back), and the character they build from drawn parts. Nothing else about who they are: no surname, birthday, address or photo.
When they check in: the feeling they pick, how big it is, what they need, the time, and, only if they choose and their family has agreed, a short note or a 30-second voice note.
About parents and staff: name, email address, a password (stored scrambled), and role at the school. Messages between a teacher and a parent, staff conversations between colleagues, support plans, and a record of the choices a family has made and when.
About the school: class lists, the settings the school chooses, safeguarding concerns raised through the app, and a log of who did what, so the school and families can check.
From schools enquiring: the name, role, school, region, email and message entered in the “Bring MoodSpace to your school” form.
Technical: a sign-in cookie that stays on the device, preferences such as light or dark mode, and short-lived counters that stop people guessing codes and passwords. We don't use third-party cookies or tracking.
How it's used
Only to run MoodSpace Classroom for the school: letting children check in, helping teachers notice who might need them and follow up, keeping families connected as the school's settings allow, showing leaders anonymous totals, keeping the service secure, and answering school enquiries. We don't use children's information to train AI, for marketing, or for research, and we don't combine it with information from anywhere else.
Who sees what
| Information | The child | Their teacher | Their parent | School leader | Counsellor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A check-in: feeling and what they need | Their own | Their class | When the school's setting allows (after school by default), or when the teacher shares it | Only anonymous totals, and only for groups of 5 or more | A summary, after a referral the family agreed to |
| A child's written note | Their own | Yes | Only if the child chooses to share it | No | No |
| A child's voice note | Their own | Yes, for the days the school chooses (30 by default) | No | No | No |
| Teacher's private notes | No | The author (and class staff if shared) | No | No | No |
| Messages between teacher and parent | No | That conversation | That conversation | No | No |
| Staff conversations between colleagues | No | Only conversations they're in | No | Only conversations they're added to | Only with an accepted referral for that child |
| A support plan | A kind, simple version | Yes | Yes, and they agree it | No | If agreed, with a referral |
| Class mood question | Their own answer, anonymously | Totals only, hidden until 5 answer | No | No | No |
| A safeguarding concern | No | The teacher who raised it | Not through this app | The designated safeguarding lead only | No |
The people who run the platform for MoodSpace can see schools, staff accounts and anonymous totals, but the app does not let them open a child's check-ins, notes, messages or voice notes.
Your school's settings
Each school chooses some of how MoodSpace Classroom works, within limits set by the app: when parents can see check-ins, when children can sign in, whether notes, voice notes, counsellor referrals and class trends are used, the language on children's screens, and how long information is kept.
Every school has its own privacy notice showing the choices it has made. Families see it before they agree, and can find it again in their child's Privacy page. School staff can find it in their settings.
Your rights and choices
Under the Privacy Act you can ask to see the information held about you or your child, and ask for it to be corrected. In the app:
- Nothing starts without a yes. A child can't check in until a parent or guardian reads the agreement and says yes.
- Choose what's on. Notes, voice notes, weekly summaries, counsellor access and instant alerts are each a separate choice you can change any time.
- See who's looked. Your family space shows when a teacher has opened your child's page, sent you an update, or changed a plan.
- Download everything. One tap gives you a copy of what's held about your child that your family can see.
- Correct it. Ask your child's teacher to fix a name or class, or the school for anything else.
- Pause or withdraw. Your child stops being able to check in straight away.
- Ask for deletion. Everything is removed after a 7-day cooling-off period, unless you cancel. A bare record that the request was made is kept so the school can show it was honoured. Records of serious concerns held under a school's own child protection process belong to the school.
How it's kept safe
- Every request is checked on the server, so a teacher can only reach their own class, a parent only their own child, and no screen trick changes that.
- On a class tablet, children tap their name or use a personal code and PIN. Wrong guesses lock the code for a while. A child is signed out a few seconds after checking in, and child sessions never last more than 90 minutes.
- Passwords and PINs are stored as one-way scrambles. Sign-in cookies can't be read by page scripts.
- Voice notes are never public links. They're only played to the teacher who's allowed to hear them, and each play is logged.
- School leaders see trends only as anonymous totals, and nothing is shown for a group smaller than 5, so no child can be picked out.
- Teachers can cover their screen with one tap, and it covers itself after a few idle minutes.
- Everything travels over encrypted connections, and the app tells browsers to refuse to be framed or to load scripts from anywhere unexpected.
- Automated security tests check these rules, including that leaders never see a child and the class tablet never shows a feeling.
How long it's kept
Each school sets this. Check-ins, weekly summaries, notes and messages can be kept from 3 months up to 7 years, to match a school's records policy, and voice notes for 1 to 90 days. The defaults are 12 months for check-ins, summaries, notes and messages, and 30 days for voice notes. The activity log is kept for 24 months. After that, information is deleted automatically.
Where it's stored
MoodSpace Classroom runs on cloud services outside New Zealand, currently in the United States. Information travels over encrypted connections and is protected by the access rules above. Families are told this before they agree, and schools should take it into account in their own privacy assessment.
If something goes wrong
If a privacy breach happens that has caused or is likely to cause serious harm, we will tell the affected school straight away, help it tell the people affected, and notify the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, as the Privacy Act requires.
What it is not
MoodSpace Classroom supports communication between a child, their teacher and their family. It isn't a medical, counselling or crisis service, it doesn't diagnose or treat anything, and it isn't monitored around the clock. It doesn't replace teacher judgement, parents, counsellors or emergency services. If a child is in danger, call 111. Serious concerns should follow your school's child protection process.
- Emergency: 111. If someone is in immediate danger.
- Need to talk?: Call or text 1737. Free, 24/7, trained counsellors.
- What's Up: 0800 942 8787. Free counselling for ages 5 to 19.
- Youthline: 0800 376 633. Support for young people and families. Text 234.
- Parent Help: 0800 568 856. Practical support for parents and whānau.
Questions and complaints
For anything about your child's information, ask your school first: they hold it and can act on your request. Your school can contact MoodSpace for you.
If you're not happy with how a privacy concern has been handled, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at privacy.org.nz.
We may update this policy. The date at the top shows when it last changed, and we'll tell schools before any change that affects how children's information is used.