The nonprofit Common Sense found what it called “a widespread lack of transparency, as well as inconsistent privacy and security practices” in its three-year review of how student information is collected, used, and disclosed on some of the most popular applications and services in education technology.
Only 10 percent of the more than 100 ed-tech applications and services evaluated by the organization met minimum criteria for transparency and quality in their privacy policies, based on reporting from about 140 schools and districts in a consortium that works with Common Sense.
For example, half of the ed-tech products reviewed allow children’s information to be publicly visible, 38 percent reported they may use children’s information for advertising, and 29 percent show behavioral ads based on the child’s use of the service.
