Last Update: 21st, October, 2007
Please read the following Privacy Policy closely before using the Hop! Kids website.
General
The Hop! Kids website gives children the opportunity to extend their learning experience from the TV to the computer. The learning programs available on this site are based on the children's familiarity with the channel's famous characters, and is committed to the channel's didactic principles. Other than our quality shows, the site allows children to experiment with new skills (which will be discussed in greater detail below) all the while remaining true to our goal of bringing to your children censured materials with contents that are specifically intended for their age. Our site is well protected and meets the highest standards of security, assuring that your children's privacy will not be invaded. We strongly advise parents to read the information about our site prior to use, get to know the kinds of activities available on it, and guide children in its use.
The following is a short explanation of our information bank; how we compile the information and how we bring it to use, as well as our Privacy Statement and Terms of Use.
Hop! Kids website does not sell, transfer to third parties, or publicize personal information related to its users, excluding the following circumstances and in accordance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (2000) (for a complete copy of the act click here). Hop! Kids website does its best to collect only the minimal information required of its users in order to participate in the site’s activities. Children are allowed to access most of the Hop! Kids platforms without disclosing any information. The cases in which personal data is needed in order to activate platforms will be detailed bellow. It is of importance to note that if and when personal data will be gathered from children, parents will be given full access to this information for the purpose of censoring it, demanding its omission, and even prohibiting further collection of information should they choose to do so. Should any such collection of information be relevant in the future, these changes will be updated on our website.
Parental Supervision
We strongly recommend active parental involvement and supervision in any use of the internet made by children. This is the foundation of our relationship with the internet in everything concerning children's use of it. We strongly advise against allowing children to surf the internet without the supervision of an adult, and strongly urge you to direct your children to not, under any circumstance, disclose personal information online. It is best to discuss the dangers of befriending strangers online with your children, in a form and manner that they can understand, preferably before they gain access to this tool.
Registration
When registering to Hop! Kids, the parent performing the registration, also known as the 'Head Subscriber', is asked to deliver personal information. This information includes: full name, address (optional), user name, password, phone number (optional), country and e-mail address. Please note that in accordance with our communications agreement, the head subscriber hereby declares that he/she or any user who gains access to this website or parts of it on their behalf, is over 18 years of age and is either the parent or the guardian of any child allowed access to the website according to the account details. Furthermore, the head subscriber agrees to provide the necessary registration information, either him/herself or anybody on their behalf, update and maintain this information, all in accordance with Hop! Kid's privacy policy.
At the end of the registration process, an e-mail will be sent to the head subscriber to notify that registration has been completed successfully.
Any e-mail addresses we receive as a result of correspondence with our users will not be handed to a third party, for profitable or non-profitable purposes.
User Name and Password
Every head subscriber has a primary user name and password for the purpose of identification when logging onto the site. The primary user name and password are intended to be used by the parents only, as they allow access to the more "delicate" platforms such as photo uploading and the creation of an image bank, and content approval. It is up to the parents to protect their children's private domains, including their personal settings and to prevent the unwanted transmission of photos and contents in the child's name. For these purposes it is the parents' responsibility not to share their user name and password for the Hop! Kids website.
Secondary Accounts
Hop! Kids provides two accounts for every subscriber so that two children may enjoy separate and individual spaces in which to learn, play, create and communicate. We suggest setting both accounts under the head subscriber, to ensure that both children get the most out of our interfaces, are directed towards activities appropriate for their ages, and so that each child can get a Hop! Kids greeting on his/her birthday.
Sending Messages or Greeting Cards to Contacts
Hop! Kids members are welcome to use My Hop! Room's built-in communications system. Parents can choose up to ten contacts to add on to the contacts list. Kids will then be able to communicate with any of these contacts via a friendly and easy to use mailing system. The contacts that appear in My Hop! Room's contacts list will also be able to receive special greeting cards, made by the children themselves on our website.
It is important to remember that mailing is possible only with those individuals who have been set as contacts in the child's My Hop! Room.
Receiving Mail to My Hop! Room
Members of the Hop! Kids website can receive emails from family and friends. The incoming mail will be posted on the My Hop! Room bulletin board. Emails to kids may be received either from members of the Hop! Kids community (various stars from the channel's shows) or friends outside. Letters received from outside our website will only be displayed if parents have set the sender as a contact on the child's contacts list. If the sender is not on the child's contacts list, his/her email will be turned away and will not be featured in My Hop! Room. Any emails or greetings sent by members of the Hop! Kids community (birthday and holiday greetings or reply letters to the child for questions sent to one of the Hop! Kids characters) will be posted in My Hop! Room automatically, and need not be entered into the child's contacts list first.
Creating My Hop! Album
When entering My Hop! Room, members will be able to enjoy an exciting new service: creating their very own online photo album. Kids will be able to edit their own My Hop! Album, using images from the image bank which parents have created for them on the Hop! Kids website. Children can also add tags to their albums, as well as name and classify their pictures. Friends and family members who appear on the child's contacts list may then be invited to view the album.
We strongly advise parents to supervise the child's editing process, in order to ensure that any compromising personal details do not find their way into the album.
Building My Hop! Site
Hop! Kids members can create their very own website. Our customized interfaces, especially made to suit the abilities of young children with only a bit of help from their parents, enable children to display pictures and texts on a platform all their own. Kids can email invitations to members on their contacts list or print out written invitations that they can manually hand out, welcoming their friends and family to check out their own website.
It is important to note that while My Hop! Site is intended for children, parental supervision and monitoring is needed. When setting the options for the account, parents must determine the kinds of materials they allow to be uploaded as well as the level of exposure the children's websites can receive. The parent will decide:
1. Whether to display the child's website in the Hop! Kids' gallery.
2. Whether to make 'parental approval' a default option for all content material added by the child prior to its uploading.
If parents marked option no. 1, the child's website will be featured in the Hop! Kids gallery.
If parents marked option no. 2, any time the child requests to save changes he/she made on their site, a message will be sent to the parents requesting that they enter a username and password. Only once these have been entered correctly will the changes be saved.
Kids Drawing on Hop! Kids
From time to time, Hop! Kids will hold an art exhibition in which children will be invited to send in drawing and other works of art they have created, along with their name, age and city of residence. These pieces will then be displayed on the Hop! Kids website.
Cookies
In order to verify user information when entering the Hop! Kids website, improve performance and cut down on loading times, Hop! Kids uses COOKIES. The data saved on COOKIES can be used only by the members themselves. The COOKIES technology used on Hop! Kids is standard and utilized by the majority of leading internet sites.
Most browsers install COOKIES as their default option. However you can set your browser to reject COOKIES, or alternatively set it to notify you when COOKIES are being used.
In order to get the most out of the Hop! Kids site, we strongly recommend not to disable COOKIES.
Troubleshooting
Parents can fill out a customer service application sheet online. Besides the mandatory information required, it is advisable to provide an e-mail address and phone number so that our technical support team can reply to your questions.
When requesting troubleshooting, it is important to specify the technical data the system presents. This information will help our technicians identify the problem and solve it. Any information you give regarding technical problems is confidential and will not be disclosed to a third party.
Application Details
Hop! Kids uses the information it receives from Customer Service to better serve its members. The information is analyzed for statistical purposes, and eliminates all personal data in the process.
Surveys
From time to time, Hop! Kids will hold surveys amongst its users. Participation in these surveys is not obligatory. However, personal information will not be used in the surveys and their results will be analyzed strictly on a cumulative basis.
Statistical Information
Hop! Kids keeps track of web surfing figures such as usage time, kind of browser used and IP address. This information is kept in our archives and used for management purposes as well as to improve performance. IP addresses are not related to personal details and no personal information can be extracted from them.
Terms of Privacy
Should Hop! Kids decide to outsource its customer services or choose to consult an outsourced statistical analyst, only the information required for the particular service will be given to the outsource, and always in accordance with the terms of customer privacy agreed upon by the two sides. In any event, information regarding children (underage) users will not be transmitted to external service providers of any kind. Any statistical information Hop! Kids uses will be based on accumulated data and will bear no personal information.
In Conclusion
Hop! Kids is making great efforts to abide by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (2000). Hop! Kids is also investing great efforts in adjusting its content to children and diligently protects these minors' privacy. However, despite our best efforts, Hop! Kids cannot guarantee that the adult supervision we require is being carried out by parents or legal guardians. Hop! Kids is therefore not responsible for the validity of the profiles it receives and cannot guarantee that children will not try and succeed in manipulating profiles.
Hop! Corporation LTD. (operator of Hop! Kids) does not take upon itself any responsibility, liability or accountability for actions concerning counterfeited parental supervision. Hop! Kids has created a surrounding as safe as can be for your children, taking every precaution not to disclose users' personal information. However, Hop! Kids is not responsible for the child's own actions, and his/her voluntary transmission of information about him/herself, his/her parents, his/her friends or relatives.
Hop! Corporation reserves the right to change information, activities, products, policies, terms of privacy, and terms of exemption from liability at any time. Changes in our privacy policy will appear on our website. Please check our privacy policy occasionally so that you are informed at all times. The date of last update will appear at the head of the page. Continuing to use our website following changes in terms of privacy will serve as a consent to these changes. Notwithstanding, should any fundamental changes be made to our policies of collection, usage or exposure of information, Hop! Kids will contact you personally and seek your renewed approval.
We thank you for your alertness and concern in matters of privacy protection and security and for taking the time to read Hop! Kids' policy on these matters. We hope that both you and your children will enjoy the Hop! Kids site. Please contact us with any question, comment or idea for improvement.
For questions and/or comments regarding Hop! Kids' privacy policy please contact: editor@hopkids.com
