Privacy Evaluation for ABCya
56%
Overview
ABCya provides free and subscription based educational games for millions of kids, parents, and teachers who visit ABCya.com each month, playing over 1 billion games last year. The terms of ABCya do not disclose whether any social interactions are available between users, or whether any personal information or content may be made publicly visible to others. ABCya's terms state they may collect personal information such as first and last name, mailing address, email address, or telephone number, and other information collected automatically when users visit the service. In addition, ABCya's terms state they take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality and security of personal information collected from users of the Service. The terms of ABCya state they may occasionally collect a child's first name and online contact information (typically, an e-mail address) when using the service and require parental consent to be obtained beforehand.
ABCya can be accessed through its website, and is available for download at the iOS App Store, the Google Play Store, and Amazon Appstore. The Privacy Policy and Terms of Use used for this evaluation can be found on ABCya’s website, iOS App Store, the Google Play Store, and Amazon Appstore. This evaluation only considers policies that have been made publicly available prior to an individual using the application or service.
Safety
The terms of ABCya do not disclose whether any social interactions are available between users, or whether any personal information or content may be made publicly visible to others.
Privacy
ABCya's terms state they may collect personal information such as first and last name, mailing address, email address, or telephone number, and other information collected automatically when users visit the service. Additionally, the terms state when users download and use ABCya’s mobile applications, they don’t require users to provide any personal information. The terms also say that ABCya will not condition a child's participation in any activity on the child disclosing more than is reasonably necessary to participate in an activity.
ABCya's terms state they may provide information, products, or services that they believe could be of interest to users, including special offers from ABCya and other companies. The terms also state unless users purchase an ad-free subscription, the service may display advertisements, which are served by third-party companies. However, the terms state advertisements are not targeted to a specific user, because they only use contextual advertising methods and not interest-based advertising methods. Lastly, ABCya’s terms also specify they work with advertising companies to serve their advertisements to users elsewhere online.
Security
ABCya's terms state they take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality and security of personal information collected from users of the service. In addition, the terms specify they take reasonable steps to release children's personal information to only service providers and third parties who are capable of and have agreed to maintain the confidentiality and security of that information. However, the terms do not disclose whether they encrypt collected information while in transit, or while at rest and whether the notify users in the event of a data breach.
Compliance
The terms of ABCya state they may occasionally collect a child's first name and online contact information (typically, an e-mail address) when using the service and require parental consent to be obtained beforehand. The terms also specify that Parents have the right to review, modify, and request that ABCya delete any personal information that the service has collected and retained about their child. Lastly, the terms state the service provides educational games that are easy to use and classroom friendly, and teachers should consult their school or district's policies if ABCya is used in the classroom to create an educational record for students.
Rating
- Unclear whether data are sold or rented to third parties.
- Data are shared for third-party advertising and/or marketing.
- Behavioral or targeted advertising is not displayed.
- Data are collected by third-party advertising or tracking services.
- Data are used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
- Data profiles are created and used for data enhancement, and/or targeted advertisements.
Data Collection
SCORE: 40%
What data does it collect?
- Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected.
- The categories of collected personally identifiable information are indicated.
- Collection or use of data is limited to product requirements.
- Unclear whether this product collects geolocation data.
- Unclear whether this product collects biometric or health data.
- Behavioral data are collected.
- Unclear whether this product collects sensitive data.
- Non-personally identifiable information is collected.
- Unclear whether this product treats combined information as personally identifiable information (PII).
- Personal information from children under 13 years of age is collected online.
Data Sharing
SCORE: 75%
What data does it share?
- Collected information is shared with third parties.
- The categories of information shared with third parties are indicated.
- The purpose for sharing a user's personal information with third parties is indicated.
- Use of information is limited to the purpose for which it was collected.
- Data are shared for analytics.
- Unclear whether data are shared for research and/or product improvement.
- Data are shared with third-party service providers.
- The roles of third-party service providers are indicated.
- Unclear whether this product supports social or federated login.
- Contractual limits are placed on third-party data use.
Data Security
SCORE: 50%
How does it secure data?
- Unclear whether a user's identity is verified with additional personal information.
- Account creation is required.
- Parental controls or managed accounts are available.
- Unclear whether two-factor account protection is available.
- Third-party contractual security protections are required.
- Industry best practices are used to protect data.
- Unclear whether this product limits employee or physical access to user information.
- Unclear whether this product encrypts all data in transit.
- Unclear whether this product encrypts all data at rest.
- Notice is provided in the event of a data breach.
Data Rights
SCORE: 85%
What rights do I have to the data?
- Opt-in consent is requested from users at the time personal information is collected.
- Users can control their information through privacy settings.
- Users can create or upload content.
- Unclear whether users retain ownership of their data.
- Processes to access and review user data are available.
- Processes to modify inaccurate data are available.
- A data-retention policy is available.
- Processes for the school, parents, or students to delete data are available.
- Processes to delete user data are available.
- Processes to download user data are available.
Data Sold
SCORE: 15%
Is the data sold?
- Unclear whether data are sold or rented to third parties.
- Users can opt out from the disclosure or sale of their data to a third party.
- User information can be transferred to a third party.
- Unclear whether users are notified if their information is transferred to a third party.
- Unclear whether user information can be deleted prior to its transfer to a third party.
- Unclear whether third-party transfers are contractually required to use the same privacy practices.
- Unclear whether user information is shared in an anonymous or deidentified format.
- Unclear whether the vendor describes their deidentification process of user information.
- Unclear whether data are shared for research and/or product improvement.
- Unclear whether contractual limits prohibit third parties from reidentifying deidentified information.
Data Safety
SCORE: 5%
How safe is this product?
- Unclear whether this product supports interactions between trusted users and/or students.
- Unclear whether users can interact with untrusted users, including strangers and/or adults.
- Profile information is shared for social interactions.
- Unclear whether this product displays personal information publicly.
- Unclear whether this product allows users to control how their data are displayed.
- Unclear whether user-created content is reviewed, screened, or monitored by the vendor.
- Unclear whether user-created content is filtered for personal information before being made publicly visible.
- Unclear whether social interactions between users are moderated.
- Unclear whether social interactions of users are logged.
- Unclear whether users can report abuse or cyberbullying.
Ads & Tracking
SCORE: 40%
Are there advertisements or tracking?
- Data are shared for third-party advertising and/or marketing.
- Traditional or contextual advertisements are displayed.
- Behavioral or targeted advertising is not displayed.
- Data are collected by third-party advertising or tracking services.
- Data are used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
- Data profiles are created and used for data enhancement, and/or targeted advertisements.
- Unclear whether this vendor can send marketing messages.
- The vendor does provide promotional sweepstakes, contests, or surveys.
- Unclear whether this product provides users the ability to opt-out of traditional, contextual, or behavioral advertising.
- Unclear whether this product provides users the ability to opt out or unsubscribe from marketing communications.
Parental Consent
SCORE: 70%
Can I provide parental consent?
- Intended for children under 13.
- Intended for parents or guardians.
- Vendor does have actual knowledge that personal information from users under 13 years of age is collected.
- Children's privacy is applicable.
- COPPA parental consent exceptions are indicated.
- Parental consent is required.
- Unclear whether this product limits parental consent with respect to third parties.
- Parents can withdraw consent for the further collection of their child's information.
- Unclear whether this product deletes children's personal information if collected without parental consent.
- Unclear whether this product provides parental consent notice and method for submission.
School Purpose
SCORE: 10%
Is the product intended for school?
- Unclear whether intended for students.
- Unclear whether personal information or education records are collected from preK-12 students.
- Intended for teachers.
- Unclear whether this product is primarily used by, designed for, and marketed toward students in grades preK–12.
- Unclear whether the product creates education records.
- Unclear whether this product provides notification of a contract or additional rights.
- Unclear whether this product designates the vendor as a school official.
- Unclear whether this product transfers parental consent obligations to the school or district.
- Unclear whether the vendor indicates FERPA parental consent exceptions.
- Unclear whether this product discloses directory information.
Common Sense Standard Privacy Report (SPR)
The standard privacy report (SPR) displays all the privacy practices from a product's policies in a single, easy-to-read outline. The report shows a green check mark for better privacy practices and an orange alert for risky or unclear practices. This alert indicates that more time should be focused on these particular details prior to use.
About Privacy Evaluations
The privacy evaluations have been designed with the help and support of a consortium of schools and districts across the United States. These evaluations are designed to help educators make informed decisions about the potential privacy implications of educational technology used to support teaching and learning.
Our core evaluation criteria will always be freely available. People are encouraged to read the questions we use and our information security primer. Vendors are encouraged to use our questions and the information security primer to self-evaluate. You can also learn more about our evaluation process. Please be in touch with any questions or feedback.