Last week, Common Sense released the 2018 State of EdTech Privacy Report, which looks at privacy concerns in the edtech market. It’s a lengthy report at 135+ pages, and while the report doesn’t name any specific companies or apps, Common Sense has stated that they plan to repeat the report in 2019 – and will identify all the applications in that report by name.
Key findings and takeaways:
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Third-party Marketing: According to the report, 38% of edtech apps and services evaluated may use kids’ personal and non-personal information for third-party marketing
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Security Standards: Ninety-two percent indicated that they use “reasonable security standards” to protect user data.
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Tracking and Web-Based Services: Among web-based services, 37% indicated that information collected can be used by tracking technologies and third-party advertisers, 21% indicated that the collected data may be used to track visitors after they leave the site, and 30% ignore “do not track” requests or other mechanisms to opt out.
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Visible User Information: Half of the apps and services reviewed by Common Sense allow users’ information to be publicly visible.
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Selling User Information: Sixty-five percent of apps and services indicated that they do not sell, rent, lease, or trade users’ personally identifiable information.
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Data Transfer and Change of Ownership: Almost three-fourths, or 74%, indicate they maintain the right to transfer any personal information collected if the company is acquired, merges with another company, or files for bankruptcy.
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Contextual Advertising: Forty percent of the applications or services evaluated indicate they might display contextual advertising based on the page content, and 29% indicate they may display behavioral ads based on a kid’s usage of the service.
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Moderating Interactions: Only 11% indicated they moderate interactions between users, and 14% indicated that they review user-generated content to remove inappropriate materials.
