Privacy Policy

Welcome to Sidecode. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy will inform you as to how we look after your personal data when you visit our website (sidecode.co.uk) or use our mobile applications.

1. The Data We Collect About You

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together as follows:

• Identity Data: includes your username, display name, and avatar/mascot preferences.
• Contact Data: includes your email address used for authentication.
• Progress & Gamification Data: includes your XP, level, daily streaks, lesson completions, leaderboard rank, and virtual currency (Gems).
• Technical Data: includes internet protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, time zone setting, operating system, and device identifiers (used to detect simultaneous logins).
• Code & AI Data: Snippets of code you write in our sandboxes or submit to the AI Tutor are processed to provide real-time feedback.

2. Financial & Payment Data

If you subscribe to Sidecode Plus or purchase one-time deals, your payment is processed directly by secure third-party processors (Stripe or Google Play). Sidecode does not collect, store, or process your raw credit card numbers. We only store a secure token and your current subscription status.

3. How We Use Your Data

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we use it in the following circumstances:

• To provide the core Sidecode learning experience (saving your progress across devices).
• To place you accurately on our global leaderboards.
• To personalize your learning via our AI Tutor (sending your specific coding mistakes to our secure AI provider to generate explanations).
• To manage our relationship with you, including sending verification emails or password resets.

4. Third-Party Disclosures

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your data with trusted third-party service providers solely for the operation of our platform, including:

• Google Firebase: For secure database storage and user authentication.
• Stripe: For processing Sidecode Plus payments.
• OpenAI / AI Providers: Your code submissions are sent securely to generate the AI Tutor voice and text feedback.

5. Public Profile Data

Sidecode is a gamified, social platform. By default, your chosen username, total XP, current league, and achievements are visible to other users via the Leaderboard and User Search features. Your email address and password are strictly private.

6. Your Legal Rights

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data, including the right to:

• Request access to your personal data.
• Request correction of your personal data.
• Request erasure of your personal data (account deletion).

To request a full deletion of your account and learning progress, please contact us from your registered email address.

7. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our privacy practices, please contact our support team at:

Email: contact@sidecode.co.uk