Child Safeguarding & Minor Protection Policy

TUTORERA by MENTISERA (SMC-Private) Limited prioritizes the safety, dignity, and wellbeing of every child who learns through our marketplace. Because education inherently involves young learners, we implement robust safety-by-design principles across our web platform and mobile applications to protect children from harm, exploitation, inappropriate content, and privacy violations.

To comply with international child protection standards (including COPPA in the United States, the UK Age Appropriate Design Code, and UAE child protection frameworks): • Adult Users (18+): Eligible for independent student or tutor accounts. • Teen Learners (13–17): May use the platform only with verifiable parent or legal guardian authorization. Parents maintain visibility into bookings, payments, and communications. • Young Children (Under 13): May NOT create independent accounts. All requests, tutor selections, messages, and payments must be managed entirely by a parent or legal guardian on their behalf.

For online video tutoring involving minor students: • Open Family Space Requirement: Lessons must take place in an open, visible area of the home (e.g., dining area, study nook, living room), never in a closed or locked bedroom. • Professional Attire & Decorum: Tutors and students must maintain professional, modest attire and appropriate educational demeanor throughout the call. • No Private Social Media Contact: Tutors are strictly forbidden from asking for or sharing personal social media handles (Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc.), private messaging apps, or personal phone numbers with minor students. • No Unsolicited Photos or Non-Academic Files: Exchanging non-academic personal photographs or unrelated files is strictly prohibited and leads to immediate permanent termination.

For in-person home tutoring involving minor students: • Mandatory Guardian Presence: An adult parent, legal guardian, or designated adult caregiver (18+) MUST be physically present on the premises for the entire duration of every lesson. • Visible Common Areas Only: Lessons must occur in common rooms with doors open at all times. • Tutors Restricted to Study Areas: Tutors may not enter private bedrooms, unobservable spaces, or explore residential quarters. • Refusal Protocol: If a tutor arrives and no adult is present, the tutor is instructed to remain outside and contact platform support.

We design minor experiences with the highest default privacy settings: • Minor student profiles are private by default and are never publicly indexed or accessible to web crawlers. • We do not collect more personal information from minors than is reasonably necessary to provide educational instruction. • Parents have the right to review, export, correct, or request the immediate deletion of their child's personal data at any time through our Privacy Center.

TUTORERA enforces immediate, permanent account bans and cooperates with criminal authorities for any of the following: • Any sexualized conversation, suggestive comments, or grooming behavior. • Any attempt to meet minor students outside scheduled, parent-authorized tutoring sessions. • Physical violence, verbal aggression, or psychological intimidation. • Introduction of alcohol, drugs, weapons, or age-inappropriate media.

Child safety complaints are NOT treated as ordinary customer-service inquiries. They are routed directly to our Executive Safety Team: • Immediate Triage: Safety reports are reviewed within 2 hours of receipt. • Protective Account Hold: Any tutor or user subject to a credible child welfare complaint is immediately placed on protective administrative suspension pending investigation. • Mandatory Law Enforcement Referral: Where evidence of child abuse or criminal endangerment exists, TUTORERA preserves relevant chat and audit records and refers the incident to appropriate child protection and law enforcement authorities.

TUTORERA is a technology marketplace and not an emergency first-responder service. If you believe a child is in immediate physical danger, contact your local emergency authorities immediately (e.g., 15 in Pakistan, 999 in the UAE/UK, 911 in the United States). Once safety is established, notify our Safety Team at hello@mentisera.pk.