Privacy Policy

Free trial lessons, parent calls and education coordinator contact: what we collect and why

Last updated: October 18, 2026

Roots & Talks is offered by Turkish4kids LLC (United States). This section explains what information we collect for the activities below, why we collect it, and your rights. Your account, lessons, lesson recordings, cookies and how long we keep information are covered in the general section further down this page.

We collect information from you as the parent, not from your child. Children do not create their own accounts; the parent creates the account and schedules lessons, and the child joins lessons through the parent’s account. A child under 13 takes part in lessons only with your decision and permission. You give this permission by accepting this Privacy Policy when you open your account.

1. When you schedule a free trial lesson

Your information: your name, email address, phone number and account password.
Information you give us about your child: first name (we do not ask for a last name); age range (4–6, 7–9, 10–12, 13–15 or 16–17); country and time zone; optionally, your child’s gender, how your child uses Turkish today and who speaks Turkish at home (for example both parents, one parent or relatives).
Your preferences: the days and time ranges that work for you, and the teacher and lesson time you choose.

Why: to create your account, schedule the trial lesson on the teacher’s calendar, let the teacher address your child by name and prepare for their age, and show lesson times in your time zone. Legal basis: providing the service you requested (contract).

2. When you schedule a call with our education coordinator

Your name, email address, phone number, the call time you choose and your time zone; optionally, a short question. We do not ask about your child at this step. Why: to schedule the call and reach you. Legal basis: steps taken at your request before providing a service.

3. When no teacher is available

If no teacher is available at the times you chose and you ask our education coordinator to contact you, the information you gave in the trial questions and your contact details are passed to our coordinator. Why: to find the best teacher for your preferred times and get back to you. Legal basis: your request.

4. After the trial lesson

If you haven’t started regular lessons after the trial, our education coordinator may contact you to answer your questions. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in explaining our service to you. If you don’t want to be contacted, just tell us and we won’t call again.

5. Live lessons

During live lessons, your child’s voice and image are transmitted to the teacher through our online lesson tool so the lesson can take place. Camera and microphone settings are under the parent’s control. Every lesson is recorded; who can watch the recordings and how long they stay are explained in Lesson recordings below.

Who can see this information?

The Roots & Talks education team, the education coordinator and the teacher leading the lesson. To provide the service, our hosting, online lesson tool, email delivery and (for paid plans) payment providers process information only on our behalf; they are listed in the general section below. We do not sell your information. We do not use the information in your account or about your child for advertising.

International transfers

Our website and its database are hosted in the European Union (Italy). Some of our service providers are based in the United States, and our teachers may teach from other countries, including Türkiye. Your information may therefore be transferred to these countries.

How long we keep it

How long we keep trial and child information, and what we do when you ask us to delete your account, are explained in “How long we keep information” and “Deleting your account” further down this page. Information from calls with our education coordinator is deleted 365 days after the call, or 30 days after a cancelled call.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you have the right to access your information, ask us to correct or delete it, object to its processing, withdraw marketing consent, and complain to a data protection authority. To make a request: email info@rootsandtalks.com, US phone (WhatsApp) +1 (302) 261-2618, UK phone (WhatsApp) +44 20 8133 0929, Türkiye phone (WhatsApp) +90 532 351 11 89.

Parent reviews on teacher profiles

Last updated: September 12, 2026

A review you write about a teacher is published publicly on that teacher’s profile page after our team approves it. This also applies to reviews written before this update.

What is published: your first name and the first letter of your last name (for example “Ayşe K.”), the country saved in your account and that country’s flag, the review title and text, and the review date.
What is not published: your full last name, your profile photo, your email address, your phone number and any account information about your child.

Why: so other families can see real experiences when choosing a teacher. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in presenting our service transparently. Please do not include your child’s full name, health information or contact details in a review; we will ask you to edit reviews that contain such information before they are published.

Removal and objection: if you want your review removed, or your country or name not shown, tell us and we will do so. You can also update the country in your account at any time. Contact: US phone (WhatsApp) +1 (302) 261-2618, UK phone (WhatsApp) +44 20 8133 0929, Türkiye phone (WhatsApp) +90 532 351 11 89.

How we handle your information: general section

Last updated: October 18, 2026

This section covers everything outside the two topics above: your account, lessons and lesson recordings, lesson credits, cookies and your rights. Please read it together with the sections above.

Who we are and how to reach us

Roots & Talks is offered by Turkish4kids LLC, a company registered in the United States. Mailing address: 112 Capitol Tr Suite A111, Newark, DE 19711, USA. Email: info@rootsandtalks.com. WhatsApp support lines: US +1 (302) 261-2618, UK +44 20 8133 0929, Türkiye +90 532 351 11 89.

Your account

When you sign up: your first name, email address, phone number with country code and a password. Your last name is optional. We also save the site language, currency and time zone you signed up with.
In your profile: your gender, country, time zone and notification language, and a profile photo if you add one.
Your password: we store it only in hashed form, a one-way code that cannot be turned back into your password. We never store it as plain text.
Signing in with Google: if you choose it, Google shares your Google account ID, name and email address with us and tells us whether that email address is verified. We never see your Google password.
Google Calendar (optional): if you connect it in your account, we add your lessons to your calendar. Each calendar entry holds only the lesson’s language, length, time and a link to the lesson. You can remove this access in your Google account at any time.

Why: to run your account, show lesson times in your time zone and send you notifications in your language. Legal basis: providing the service you asked for (contract).

Your child

Children do not have their own accounts, and our lessons are for children aged 4–17. Everything we know about your child comes from you or from your child’s lessons. As we say in the section above, a child under 13 takes part only with your decision and permission. You give this permission by accepting this Privacy Policy when you open your account.

What you tell us: the details in the trial form (described above) and, when you add a child profile in your account, your child’s first name and age range.
Gender (optional): if you tell us, we keep it only for use when choosing a teacher. Teachers do not see it.
Date of birth (optional): if you enter it in the My child section, we use it to choose activities that suit your child’s age and to celebrate their birthday. Your child’s teacher sees their birthday and age.
Photo (optional): you can add a photo to your child’s profile (JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 2 MB). It is shown only in your own account. When you remove the child’s profile, or when we delete your account, we delete the photo straight away.
From lessons: which lessons your child joined, the notes the teacher writes to you, lesson recordings and lesson summaries (see below).

The teacher of your child’s lessons sees your child’s first name. Our education coordinator sees your family’s details to plan lessons.

Lessons, messages and notes

Live lessons: lessons take place in our online lesson tool, which opens inside our website. Your child’s voice and image reach the teacher through it. For each lesson we send the tool your first and last name from the parent account and a link to your profile photo; we do not send your email address.
Messages: your messages with the teacher, and any files you attach, stay in your account. When you have an unread message, we send you an email notification.
Lesson notes: after a lesson the teacher can write you a short note: what the lesson covered, a strength your child showed and an idea to try at home. You see it in your account, and we send you a notification when a new note arrives.
Lesson history: we note the status of each lesson, for example whether it took place, was completed or was cancelled. If a lesson is cancelled, the reason given is shown to the other side (you or the teacher).
Problem reports: if you report a problem with a lesson, our team and the lesson’s teacher see your report so it can be resolved.

Why: to hold lessons, help you follow your child’s progress and resolve problems. Legal basis: providing the service you asked for (contract).

Lesson recordings

For your child’s safety, to check lesson quality, and to be able to show what happened in case of a dispute, every lesson is recorded. A small “● Recording” sign appears on screen at the start of the lesson. Recordings include audio, video and the digital whiteboard. If someone else is with your child, their voice and image may be recorded too.

Who can watch: Roots & Talks management can always view recordings. You and the lesson’s teacher can view them only if the “Show recordings” switch is on; it is off by default. Recordings are not shown in your child’s area.
How long they stay: a recording is kept for 1 year after the lesson. After that, we delete it.
The “Show recordings” switch: it does not stop recording; it only controls whether you and the teacher can watch. Apart from the special-day posts below, recordings are not used for advertising, marketing or AI training and are not shared with anyone, except with a competent authority if the law requires it.
Special-day posts: the only exception is this: if you give the sharing permission we ask for separately on special days, we post a short part of your child’s lesson recording on our social media accounts in the way you chose (with or without their face, with their first name or without a name). Surnames, cities and school names are never written. Permission is given for each post separately; you can withdraw it at any time, and we also remove a post already shared. Legal basis: your consent.
Lesson summary: our online lesson tool uses AI to make a short written summary of the lesson from the recording. Access to the summary is limited to the same people who can access the recording. The recording is deleted 1 year after the lesson; the summary is kept for as long as your account is open. If you ask us to delete your account, the summaries are deleted or anonymised as well. If you ask, we delete earlier summaries.

Why: your child’s safety, lesson quality, and being able to show what happened in case of a dispute. Legal basis: our legitimate interest (safe lessons, lesson quality and being able to follow your child’s progress). If you wish to object to recording, write to info@rootsandtalks.com; we will assess your request and reply in writing.

Plans and lesson credits

Your card: you pay on a separate page run by Stripe. Your card number and security code never reach our servers. The payment page receives your email address, the amount and a payment reference from us. If you start a lesson plan on our site, Stripe keeps your card for the plan’s next payments.
What we keep: the card brand, its last four digits and expiry date, Stripe’s reference numbers, and a record of your payments and lesson credits. If you paid through a payment link, we also keep the invoice record Stripe sends us.
Payment links: if you pay through a payment link we sent you, Stripe sends us each paid invoice with your email address so we can add your lesson credits to your account.
Withdrawal details: if you enter bank details under “Withdrawal details” in your account, we use them only to make a payment to you.

Why: to take your payment and add your lesson credits to your account. Legal basis: providing the service you asked for (contract), and our legal duty to keep financial records.

Information collected automatically and security records

Like any website, our server receives your IP address and browser details with each visit.
If you tick “Remember me” when signing in, we store a sign-in key, together with your IP address, your browser details and when the key was last used.
When a sign-in fails, we record the email address typed, the IP address and the time.
On the sign-up form and the form for scheduling a call, we count attempts to stop automated misuse. For this we store only an irreversible code made from the IP address and email address, not the addresses themselves.

Why: to keep accounts safe and the site working. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in security.

How we protect your information

Our website uses an encrypted connection (HTTPS).
Passwords are stored only in hashed form.
After repeated failed sign-in attempts, we pause sign-in to that account and from that connection for a short time, and we email the account holder.
You are signed out after 30 minutes without activity, and after 8 hours at most (if you ticked “Remember me”, you are signed back in).
Card numbers never reach our servers.
We limit who can see what: for example, you and the lesson’s teacher can view lesson recordings only if the “Show recordings” switch is on.
For support and security, our authorised administrator can view your account as you see it. Who did this, when, and what was done is logged.

No system is completely secure.

Cookies

A cookie is a small file that a website saves in your browser. We use three kinds of cookies: cookies the site needs to work, cookies that measure how pages are used, and cookies that show whether our ads work. Measurement and advertising cookies load only if you allow them. On some pages, other services use their own cookies too; these are listed separately below.

Necessary cookies

The site can’t work without these, so we use them without asking. They all belong to our own site.

Purpose	Name	What it does	How long it stays
Session	ROOTS_EVOLUTION_SESSION	Links your browser to your session on our server. Your login status, and the security code that protects the forms you send, are stored in that session.	Deleted when you close your browser. A logged-in session ends after 30 minutes without activity, and after 8 hours at most.
Language	ROOTS_EVOLUTION_CONF_SITE_LANGUAGE	Shows pages in the language you chose.	7 days
Currency	ROOTS_EVOLUTION_CONF_SITE_CURRENCY	Shows prices in the right currency.	7 days
Time zone	ROOTS_EVOLUTION_CONF_SITE_TIMEZONE	Shows lesson times in your own time zone.	Up to 7 days
Remember me	ROOTS_EVOLUTION_REMEMBER	Set only if you tick “Remember me” when you log in. Lets you log in again without your password after you close and reopen your browser.	Up to 30 days. Deleted when you log out.
Cookie choice	RT_CONSENT, ROOTS_EVOLUTION_CONF_SITE_CONSENTS	Remembers your choice about measurement and advertising cookies.	Up to 180 days

Measurement cookies (Google Analytics)

These show us which pages are opened and how visitors move through the site. They are set by Google Analytics (Google, United States): _ga and _ga_NDW9Y6N48G, for up to 2 years. We keep Google signals and ad personalisation turned off.

Advertising cookies (Meta Pixel)

These show us whether our ads work and let us show our ads to people who have visited our site. They are set by Meta Pixel (Meta, United States): _fbp, and _fbc if you arrived from an ad, for up to 90 days. Meta receives the address of the page you open and details about your browser (including your IP address). What you type into forms, your email address and your phone number are not sent.

Allowing and refusing

Measurement and advertising cookies are optional. In the banner you see when you first open our site, “Accept” allows both and “Reject” refuses both; under “Options” you can choose just one. If you don’t decide, or you refuse, they are not loaded and the site works just the same. Legal basis: your consent.

These cookies run only on our website’s public pages. They never run in the account area, the child area, lesson and call rooms, lesson recordings, payment and login pages, or the intro lesson form.

Cookies from other services

Password reset: the “Forgot password?” page uses Google reCAPTCHA to prevent misuse. Google may use its own cookies and information about your browser for this check.
Live lessons and calls: the lesson room, and the call room with our education coordinator, open inside our page and are run by our online lesson tool provider. While a room is open, the provider may use its own cookies and browser storage.
Payment and “Continue with Google”: when you buy lesson credits, payment happens on Stripe’s own page, and “Continue with Google” opens on a Google page. Cookies on those pages belong to those services.
Videos: intro videos don’t load until you press play. Then the video opens in YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com), and YouTube may use its own storage.

Browser storage

We keep a few things only in your browser instead of in cookies. They are not sent to us on their own:

If you enter your child’s first name (and, if you choose, their gender) in the short questions on the home page, it is kept in that browser tab only, to carry it over to the intro lesson form. It is deleted as soon as the form opens, isn’t used if it’s more than 10 minutes old, and your browser deletes it when you close the tab.
In the account area, small display choices, such as how the menu looks and what the Enter key does when you write a message, are saved in your browser.

Changing your choice

You can change your choice at any time from “Cookie preferences” in our website’s footer; if you’re logged in, Account settings > Cookie preferences takes you to the same banner. Your choice is saved only in that browser; on another device you will be asked again. You can also delete or block cookies in your browser settings. If you block necessary cookies, you won’t be able to log in.

Emails

Service emails: we send the emails you need to use Roots & Talks, for example sign-up and password emails, security alerts, lesson reminders and cancellations, new-message alerts, your teacher’s lesson notes and payment emails.
News and announcements: only if you asked for them, for example with the optional box on the trial form. You can stop them at any time with the link in the email or by telling us.
Birthday email: only if you asked for it; a short greeting from our founder on your child’s birthday. You can stop it with the link in every email. Legal basis: your consent.
Copies: we keep a copy of each email we send so our team can check that it went out. Copies of sent emails are deleted after 45 days.

Legal basis: contract for service emails; your consent for news and announcements.

Who else receives information

Within Roots & Talks, your information is seen by the people who need it to do their work: the teacher of your child’s lessons, our education coordinator and the team that runs the service.

These service providers process information on our behalf:

Hosting: Amazon Web Services, European Union (Italy).
Online lesson tool (live lessons, recordings, lesson summaries and calls).
Email delivery: Amazon Web Services (Amazon SES), European Union (Germany).
Payments: Stripe.
Automatic translation: Microsoft, only if a teacher chooses to have their profile biography translated automatically.

Measurement and advertising services that run on our website’s public pages only if you allow them (see “Cookies” above):

Measurement: Google Analytics (Google, United States).
Advertising: Meta Pixel (Meta, United States).

These services work under their own terms when you use them:

Google (United States): signing in with Google, Google Calendar if you connect it, the reCAPTCHA check on the password reset page, and YouTube videos you choose to play.
WhatsApp: only when you write to our support lines; your messages then go through WhatsApp.

We do not sell your information. We do not use the information in your account or about your child for advertising; the only exception is special-day posts you have allowed (see “Lesson recordings”).

Where your information is processed

Our website and its database are hosted in the European Union (Italy). Some of our service providers are based in the United States, and our teachers and education team may access your information from Türkiye and other countries.

How long we keep information

Your account, children’s profiles, messages, lesson notes and lesson history: while your account is open. If you ask us to delete your account, we do what is described under “Deleting your account” below.
Your child’s learning records (the observations a teacher notes during a lesson): we keep them while your account is open; they are not deleted automatically. If you ask us to delete your account they are not deleted: your child’s name is removed and they are anonymised straight away, and they stay in that form indefinitely. See “Deleting your account” below.
Lesson recordings: 1 year after the lesson, then deleted.
Lesson summaries: while your account is open; if you ask us to delete your account, deleted or anonymised.
Your child’s photo: deleted when you remove the child’s profile, or straight away when we delete your account.
Your account and your child’s name: kept until you ask us to delete them; they are not deleted automatically. Once your request is confirmed, your child’s name is removed straight away. See “Deleting your account” below.
Education coordinator calls: your name, email address, phone number and question are deleted 365 days after the call, or 30 days after a cancelled call.
Copies of sent emails: 45 days.
Your cookie choice: up to 180 days.
Payment and lesson credit records: for as long as our duty to keep financial records lasts.

Deleting your account

You can ask us to close your account and delete your information by emailing info@rootsandtalks.com, through our WhatsApp support lines or by post; if you tell your teacher, our school will also open a request page for you in your account. Our team handles each request by hand.

When we delete an account, we immediately remove the name, email address, phone number, password, Google sign-in link, profile photo and withdrawal details held in the account, as well as your name and contact details in education coordinator records. We also delete your child’s photo straight away. At the same time we remove your child’s first name from the child profile, the trial form, education coordinator records, lesson notes, messages and learning records. The rest, such as the age range and lesson history, stays without your name or your child’s name. Lesson recordings are deleted 1 year after the lesson.

We do not delete your child’s learning records; we anonymise them. The moment we delete your account, your child’s name is removed from those records; what remains is educational data without a name — what was worked on, how much support was given, how long it took. We keep these records indefinitely and use them to improve our programme. Removing the name is irreversible. Lesson history and lesson notes are not part of this process; as described above, they stay without your name or your child’s name. We delete your child’s photo the moment we delete the account.

Using your rights

We process your child’s learning records so that we can provide the education service we agreed to and improve our programme; our basis is the performance of our contract and our legitimate interest. You can object to processing based on legitimate interest. Anonymised records can no longer be linked to a person, so they are not personal data and fall outside a deletion request.

Your rights are listed in the section above. You can ask for a copy of the information we hold about you and your child, and ask us to correct or delete it. Email info@rootsandtalks.com, or write to one of our WhatsApp support lines or to our mailing address. To protect your family, we may ask you to confirm the request from the phone number or email address saved in your account.

If you teach with us or apply to teach

We collect the details in your application: your name, gender, phone number, biography, the languages you teach and speak and your level in each, a link to your introduction video, a profile photo and a photo ID. We also keep the qualifications you add, your lesson and payment records, and the bank details you give us so we can pay you. Your public profile shows your name, photo, biography, introduction video, languages and approved parent reviews. If you choose to have your biography translated automatically, the text is sent to Microsoft’s translation service.

Why: to review your application, give you lessons and pay you. Legal basis: the contract we have, or will have, with you.

Changes to this section

When we change this section, we update the date at its top.

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