Zwift is facing an angry reaction from parents of children using the virtual cycling platform, who have now had their accounts and achievements deleted after the company required guardians to provide updated consent forms to comply with laws aimed at safeguarding youngsters online – although it appears that in many cases, the email notifying the requirement was sent to the child rather than their guardian, and that some accounts have been deleted even when the form was completed and returned. The company meanwhile insists that the safety and protection of children is its paramount concern.
A number of parents – most, if not all, paid users of the service themselves – have taken to the Zwift forum to criticise the company’s handling of the issue, with many pointing out that being able to ride their bikes indoors during lockdown was having a positive impact on their children’s mental health.
Launched last year, Zwift Children’s Accounts are available free of charge to 5-16 year olds, but require written consent from a parent or legal guardian to comply with the requirements of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in the US, or the General Data Protection Regulation in the EU, which has also been retained in UK law following the end of the Brexit transition period.
The online form requires details of both the guardian(s) and child to be completed, together with separate email addresses for both.
One user, starting a thread on the subject on the Zwift General Discussion forum earlier this week, under the heading “Childs Account deleted,” said:
My child’s account has been deleted for no reason, we have had no emails it just suddenly disappeared last week. He is only 13 and has worked really hard to earn points and get to level 15 and is devastated this has been taken from him. I have emailed Zwift several times but getting no response even though their 72hr deadline has passed. We completed the consent & COPPA forms last April so it can’t be that. Is anyone else having similar problems, its seems suspect there is a contact form for deleted child accounts on the front page of the Contact Us. He is in lockdown so can’t go out and his school is closed and Zwift was the only thing keeping him sane.
Another user said in reply:
Just discovered this. My daughter has been very distraught not being able to get into her account since last week. She was very consistent on it as it was the only activity keeping her sane during lockdown. Has anybody had any luck getting it reinstated? I wish there was a warning of something in the app. I don’t remember getting any emails about any info, we filled in all the COPPA stuff already.
This parent said that the email notifying that an updated form needed to be submitted had been sent not to them, but to their son:
One email to my son on 4th September, nothing to my account. My son doesn’t check his emails, he’s a child. This has been horrendously implemented by Zwift.
Another said that they had submitted an updated form last year, which Zwift had acknowledged – but his son is now locked out of his account, and so far the parent has not heard back from Zwift.
Same happened to my sons account. His lost all his data and achievements on Zwift.
I filled in the new COPPA consent form in December. Then had confirmation from Zwift that it had been received and his account had been extended for another year. Then this week we couldn’t get into the account.
I contacted Zwift support who then sent back a templated standard response saying I hadn’t completed the new consent form. I told them in the email to them I had and have the confirmation from them. They have ignored my follow up email and not provided an explanation.
They have obviously competed messed this up and deleted either all kids accounts or at least some which have completed the new form.
Come on Zwift you need to come clean, try and sort this out and offer an apology to all those kids that have lost their accounts and record of their achievements on Zwift.
In a post on its General Discussion forum in November, Zwift outlined that consent forms needed to be resubmitted to ensure compliance with the relevant legislation.
In the forum post, which has the heading “Free Kids Accounts – Guardians Please Read,” a Zwift community manager said: “Some of you may have been sent multiple emails regarding this update, and we apologize for any annoyance. Since we are required to delete any accounts that have not been updated with the new consent form, we wanted to exhaust every effort to ensure we are reaching all guardians and avoid deleting any active child accounts.
“This forum post is another avenue to get the message out, so if you have submitted an updated form in the last few months, you shouldn’t have to worry. However, if you submitted the form sometime this year and aren’t sure if we have the proper documentation down for your child’s account, please contact us here.”
The post added: “If you have multiple children registered on Zwift, you will need to submit an updated form for each child.”
In a subsequent post to the forum on 29 January under the heading “Can’t Log Into Your Child’s Account? Guardians Please Read,” another Zwift community manager said: “It is now a requirement for all guardians to complete a form containing specific language providing consent.
“Details of this change were communicated via email and many of you have helped us tidy up details of your child’s account by submitting an updated consent form – but many parents have not. We’ve exhausted our efforts to reach you, and needed to meet a deadline to demonstrate compliance of all child accounts.
“Due to this deadline, we were required to delete those child accounts that had not been made compliant,” it added.
A spokesperson for Zwift told road.cc: “We're incredibly pleased to offer our Kids Zwift Free program and now have tens of thousands registered and riding on the platform. While we believe helping kids stay more active is incredibly important, it's even more important that we are able to keep them safe and protected. In order to remain compliant with child safety and privacy laws across the world, including Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and GDPR we needed to obtain additional information from guardians. Details of the process can be found here. Accounts without this consent do have to be removed. Information on these pending changes was first communicated in the summer 2020 and we extended that deadline to try and reach as many guardians as possible. That deadline ultimately passed at the end of January.
“If parents feel their child's accounts have been mistakenly deleted or would like their child's account reinstated, they can also get in touch using this form. We'll do what we can to ensure nobody loses out but child safety remains our primary concern.”