Privacy Notice

Who we are

The Hakso English School Oy, Finland, is the data controller for personal data processed in Waterwheel Village. This means we decide why and how your data is used. Contact: aaron.hakso@gmail.com.

What we collect and why

• Account data (email address, name from Google sign-in, login credentials): to create your account and let you sign in. Legal basis: performance of our contract with you.
• Membership status (plan, start and end dates, payment status received from Paddle): to open chapters you have paid for. Legal basis: contract.
• What you write (answers, letters to the editor, reflections): to generate villager replies, corrections and newspaper stories. Your progress is mostly kept in your own browser. Legal basis: contract.
• Technical data (IP address, device and browser information, error logs): to keep the service secure, prevent fraud and fix problems. Legal basis: our legitimate interests.
• Support messages: to answer your questions. Legal basis: contract and legitimate interests.

We do not use your data for advertising and we do not sell it.

Who we share it with

• Paddle, our Merchant of Record, for selling the product, managing subscriptions, payments, tax compliance and invoicing. Paddle collects your payment details directly.
• Service providers who host the app and database, generate AI replies, and produce spoken voices. They process the text you write only to provide the service.
• Professional advisers such as accountants and lawyers, where needed.
• Authorities, when the law requires it.

International transfers

Some providers may process data outside the EU/EEA, for example in the United States. Where this happens we rely on safeguards such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses or adequacy decisions.

How long we keep it

We keep account data while your account is active, and delete or anonymise it within 12 months after it ends. We keep accounting records for as long as Finnish law requires. Technical logs are kept for a short time only.

Your rights

Under the GDPR you can ask to access, correct, delete, restrict or move your data. You can also object to processing based on legitimate interests and withdraw any consent you have given. Email us and we will reply within one month. You can also complain to the Finnish Data Protection Ombudsman (tietosuoja.fi) or your local supervisory authority.

Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including encrypted connections, access controls and restricted access to stored data.

Cookies and local storage

We use only essential storage: to keep you signed in and to save your progress in the village on your device. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. You can clear this storage in your browser settings, but you will be signed out and your saved progress on that device will be lost.