Students using Daryn Online were subjected to session recording surveillance
HRW found Daryn Online using Yandex session recording, which Yandex describes as recording clicks, scrolls, keystrokes and mouse movements, and detected key logging on the site as well. HRW also detected the website transmitting children’s personal data to Google, CloudFlare, Yandex and Facebook. Daryn Online was one of 23 educational websites endorsed by eight governments […]
Students using Kenya Education Cloud had personal data transmitted to advertising companies
Kenya Education Cloud is listed by HRW among 56 government-built or government-financed educational products found transmitting children’s data to advertising technology companies. HRW’s table shows it has no privacy policy.
Children using Notesmaster platform had educational data shared with advertising networks
Notesmaster, listed by HRW among 56 government-built or government-financed educational products found transmitting children’s data to advertising technology companies, sent its students’ data to Oracle’s BlueKai through ad trackers and cookies, both before and after BlueKai’s reported 2020 data breach, which reportedly exposed billions of people’s personal data. HRW also found key logging on the […]
Iran – Students using government educational platforms were denied meaningful ability to opt out of surveillance
A teacher in Marivan told HRW that students had been told that if they were not in the Shad app, their scores would not be approved or sent to the school. Shad was built by the Education Ministry and reported more than 18 million active users in October 2021. HRW concluded that in Iran, Turkey […]
Students in Kazakhstan subjected to advertising and behavioral surveillance through Daryn Online
Daryn Online, an educational website built by a Kazakh startup and recommended by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Education in March 2020, gained 1.5 million new users within days. By April 1, 2020 it was offering advertisers a banner on the login and registration page that students had to pass through to reach their classes, at 70,000 […]
Students using Ruangguru had behavioral data transmitted to Facebook for profiling
Ruangguru, an app recommended by Indonesia’s Ministry of Education and Culture and used by over 10 million students in its free pandemic version, continuously logged what children did in its virtual classrooms and sent that log to Facebook as well as to itself. Its privacy policy says it may collect interaction information such as scrolling, […]
Students using Ruangguru had classroom activity and location data transmitted for advertising purposes
Forensic analysis for HRW found that Ruangguru collects students’ precise location, Android advertising ID, device information and in-app navigation, and transmits them to AppsFlyer and Facebook. The app also has the ability to access call logs, camera and microphone. Its privacy policy says it combines data it holds on students with information from other sources […]
Students using Shad educational application had location and contact data collected without disclosure
Shad, an app built by Iran’s Education Ministry for online learning during the pandemic, reported more than 18 million active users in October 2021. HRW’s analysis of its code found it can collect children’s precise location, including current and last known location, Wi-Fi network name, IP address, contacts and any saved photos of those contacts. […]
Teacher in Iran compelled to use government educational platform or be marked absent
A teacher in Marivan said the principal called to say that not installing the Shad app would mean being recorded as absent, and that the authorities do not accept teaching in Telegram or WhatsApp. Teachers in Iran told HRW that the government compelled those in public schools to use the app.
Students using Edmodo had contact information and communication data accessible to third parties – Ghana
HRW’s analysis of the Edmodo Android app, one of the products endorsed by Ghana’s government for learning during Covid-19 school closures, found it had the ability to collect advertising IDs, contacts and contacts’ photos, phone numbers, call logs, and camera and microphone access. The app is privately developed, apparently designed for children, and had over […]