Cadence English — Privacy Policy
Last updated: 23 July 2026
Cadence English ("Cadence English," "we," "us," or "our") respects your privacy and that of the students and families who use our online English-language courses (the "Services") through our Thinkific-hosted site (the "Site"). The Services are operated by Cadence English Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (Company Number 17193421), registered office at Forma House, 40 Bowling Green Lane, London, EC1R 0NE. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. Because our students and customers are based in Hong Kong, it is written to align with the Hong Kong Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance ("PDPO"); as a UK-registered company we also aim to follow good-practice UK GDPR principles (e.g. data minimisation, purpose limitation) even though our customer base is outside the UK.
1. Who this applies to
Our Services are used by K-12 students in Hong Kong (and, where relevant, cross-border/mainland students studying the HKDSE curriculum) and their parents or guardians. Many students, particularly in Forms 4-6, register and use their account directly with their own email address rather than through a parent-created login. Regardless of who registers the account, where the student is under 18 we treat their use of the Services as taking place with parental knowledge and consent, and the parent or guardian remains the person we consider responsible for the account for data protection and communication purposes, including for exercising the data rights described in Section 7 below.
2. What we collect
Account and registration data: name, email address, and (where a parent registers on behalf of a student) parent/guardian contact details.
Payment data: we do not store full card numbers ourselves. Payments are processed by our payment processor (Thinkific Payments / Stripe) and card network partners, who handle and store card details under their own security and compliance standards (PCI-DSS). We receive limited billing information such as transaction status, amount, and last four digits of the card for order records.
Course activity and performance data: quiz answers, writing submissions, mock exam scores, AI-assisted and human marking feedback, lesson completion, and login activity, used to track progress and generate feedback.
Technical data: IP address, device/browser type, and site usage data collected automatically through the Site and standard analytics tools.
Communications: emails, support requests, or messages you send us.
3. How we use your data
We use personal data to: provide and personalise the Services (course access, progress tracking, marking and feedback); process payments and manage subscriptions; communicate with you about your account, course updates, or billing; improve our courses and content based on aggregated usage patterns; and comply with legal obligations, including card network and payment compliance requirements.
We do not sell personal data to third parties.
4. AI-assisted marking
Written work and mock exam responses may be processed by AI marking tools (in combination with human review by our teaching team) to generate scores and feedback. Submitted work may be retained to support marking accuracy, quality review, and service improvement.
5. Who we share data with
We share personal data only with service providers who help us operate the Services, under confidentiality and data protection obligations, including: Thinkific (course hosting and payment processing), email/communication tools, and AI marking/analytics tools used to generate feedback. We do not share student data with schools or third parties for marketing purposes without consent, except where a school itself is the purchasing party (e.g., a B2B licence), in which case data-sharing terms are set out in that school's separate agreement with us.
6. Data retention
We retain account and course activity data for as long as your account is active and for a reasonable period afterward to handle billing disputes, comply with legal obligations, and maintain accurate records, after which it is deleted or anonymised.
7. Your rights
Under the PDPO, you (or, for a minor, their parent/guardian) have the right to: ask whether we hold your personal data and request access to it; request correction of inaccurate data; and ask us to explain our data policies and practices. To exercise these rights, email [email protected]. We will respond within 40 days as required by the PDPO. We may charge a reasonable fee for processing access requests as permitted by law.
8. Children's data
Because our Services are designed for K-12 students, we collect only the personal data necessary to provide the course (name, email, guardian contact where applicable, and course activity). We do not knowingly collect more data than needed for a minor. Where an account is registered directly by a student under 18 using their own email address rather than a parent's, we treat that registration as having been made with parental knowledge and consent, consistent with Section 1 above, and rely on the parent or guardian to review this policy either at signup or afterward, and to raise any concerns with us at [email protected].
9. Data security
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, including relying on PCI-DSS compliant payment processors for card data and restricting access to student records to our teaching and operations team. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. International transfers
Some of our service providers (e.g., cloud hosting, AI marking tools) may process data outside Hong Kong. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure a comparable standard of protection is applied to the data.
11. Cookies and analytics
The Site may use cookies and similar technologies (via Thinkific and standard analytics tools) to keep you logged in, remember preferences, and understand how the Services are used.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date.
13. Contact us
For any privacy questions or to exercise your data rights: [email protected]