Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 2026 (draft, pending owner sign-off)

Who we are

Crux Thinking is operated from Australia. This policy covers both our newsletter (cruxthinking.org) and the Crux beta game.

What we collect

If you join our mailing list: your email address; a record of when and how you subscribed (see “How you join our mailing list” below); and a record of any later unsubscribe. Our email provider separately captures an IP address to process the subscription and protect the form from automated abuse; we do not receive or store it.

If you join the beta game as a parent or guardian:

• Your (the adult's) email address, used to create and secure the account.
• Your child's initial or alias - never their full or real name.
• Your child's year band (for example, Year 4–6) - an age bracket, not a date of birth.
• Summarised signals about how your child reasoned during a game: a small set of thinking-style descriptors chosen from a fixed vocabulary we defined (for example, whether they weighed a trade-off or made a clear call), their progress and stars, and which stages they completed.
• Your consent choices and when you made them.
• Any feedback you choose to give us (ratings and an optional comment).
• Occasionally, an anonymised, paraphrased idea a player raised, kept only to improve future scenarios - not linked to your child.

How you join our mailing list

Subscribing takes one step. You enter your email address and submit the form - there is no confirmation email to click. That submission is your consent.

Because there is no confirmation step, we record a small amount of information about the moment you subscribed, so that both you and we can tell when and how consent was given:

• The date and time you subscribed.
• Which page or form you subscribed from.
• The version of the wording shown to you at the time.

We keep this as a plain record of subscribe and unsubscribe actions - what happened, to which address, and when. It is stored in Australia (AWS Sydney), and it is used only to demonstrate that your subscription was genuine and that your unsubscribe was honoured. It is not used to profile you, target you, or build an advertising audience, and we do not share it.

We do not record your IP address in this log. Our email provider captures one to process the subscription and protect its forms from automated abuse, but it is not passed to us and we do not store it.

What we do not collect or keep

We never store your child's real name, date of birth, or email address. Critically, we do not store the game conversation itself - not your child's typed answers, the back-and-forth, or any transcript. Only the short, summarised signals above are kept. The reflection your child sees is generated in the moment and is not saved as text.

How we use it

We use this data to run the game, show your child their thinking-style reflection, let you see their progress, keep the service safe, and improve future scenarios. We strictly do not sell, rent, or share your details, and we never use them for third-party advertising.

Where it is stored

Mailing list subscriber data is held by EmailOctopus (United Kingdom). Our own record of subscribe and unsubscribe actions, and all game account and gameplay data, are stored in Amazon Web Services in Australia (Sydney region), encrypted at rest.

If you email customerservice@cruxthinking.org or privacy@cruxthinking.org, your message is received and forwarded to us by ImprovMX, a US-incorporated email forwarding provider. ImprovMX states it does not read or retain the content of forwarded email; it retains limited delivery metadata (such as delivery status) for up to 7 days and account/setup-change logs for up to 365 days. As a US company, your message metadata may be subject to US legal process while in transit through their systems. We reply to you from the same address using Amazon SES, hosted in Australia (Sydney region).

Third-party processors

• EmailOctopus Ltd (United Kingdom) - mailing list subscriptions and automated email delivery, sent from communication@cruxthinking.org. Subscriber data is stored outside Australia.
• ImprovMX Incorporation (United States) - forwards email sent to customerservice@cruxthinking.org and privacy@cruxthinking.org to our inbox. Message content is not logged or retained by ImprovMX beyond the point of delivery; limited delivery metadata is retained short-term as described above.
• Amazon Web Services - hosting and storage for the beta game, and outbound SMTP relay for manual replies from customerservice@ / privacy@, in the Sydney (ap-southeast-2) region.

Keeping and deleting your data

You can ask us to access, correct, or delete your information - including your child's profile and all associated derived data - at any time. Withdrawing consent removes the stored gameplay data. Deletion is honoured promptly.

If you unsubscribe, we mark you as unsubscribed and stop emailing you immediately, but we keep the record rather than deleting it. We do this for two reasons, and we would rather say so plainly than leave you to discover it:

• The record is what stops your address being added back by mistake if we ever import a list.
• It is our only evidence that you asked to join in the first place - because we use a single-step signup, there is no confirmation click to fall back on.

What we keep is limited to your email address, the fact that you unsubscribed, and the signup details described above. Nothing else, and we do not email you again.

We keep that record for as long as we hold your address rather than deleting it on a fixed schedule, because it is only useful for as long as the subscription it documents. If you would rather we erase it entirely, ask us - we will delete both your subscription and the record of it. Contact details are at the bottom of this page.

If you subscribe again later, we pick up from the next email we send. You will not be sent the welcome email a second time.

Children's privacy

Crux is used by a child with a parent or guardian present, and only a parent or guardian creates the account and provides the limited information above. We do not knowingly collect a child's real identity, and we never contact a child directly.

Safety

The in-game Help option, and a background safety check, point to Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) if a moment looks distressing. This is a signpost to support, not a crisis or counselling service. In an emergency, call 000.

Your rights

Under the Australian Privacy Act 1988 you may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information at any time by contacting us below.

Unsubscribe

Every email we send contains a one-click unsubscribe link. See “Keeping and deleting your data” above for what happens to your record afterwards.

What we send

One email when you subscribe, containing your link to try Crux. There is no newsletter and no schedule. After that we will only email you if there is something real to say, which we expect to be rare.

Contact

Email us at privacy@cruxthinking.org for any privacy request, or customerservice@cruxthinking.org for a general question.