Privacy Evaluation for Udacity
64%
Overview
Udacity provides various online education courses alongside its partners with nanodegrees. The terms state that Udacity can share a user’s profile and all the included information, materials, documents and pictures with employers, recruiters or career related third parties. Udacity's terms do not say whether they sell users' personal information to third-parties. However, Udacity's terms do say they may send third-party marketing communications or promotions to users and may display targeted ads and use third-party cookies to track a user's activity. Udacity's terms state their security policies are consistent with industry practices and the level of data that is provided and hosted by Udacity. Lastly, Udacity's terms state its services are not intended for, nor directed at, individuals under the age of 13.
Udacity can be accessed through its website. The Privacy Policy and Terms of Use used for this evaluation can be found on Udacity's website. Additionally, other policies used for this evaluation include: Cookie Policy, GDPR Compliance, and Important Notice for California Residents. This evaluation only considers policies that have been made publicly available prior to an individual using the application or service.
Safety
The terms state Udacity can share a user’s profile and all the included information, materials, documents and pictures with employers, recruiters or career related third parties. In addition, users may be able to post messages and interact with other trusted or non-trusted users on the service. Udacity’s terms state they may offer social sharing features which allow users to make their career profile public as well as sharing their class details and information. Users can also choose to share additional information, such as their work experience, resume and transcript, their picture, and answers to questions about their experience, studies and work preferences, when they create a professional profile through Udacity's career services. Lastly, the terms state all user communications are not pre-reviewed, post- reviewed, screened, archived or otherwise monitored by Udacity in any way.
Privacy
The terms state that Udacity may collect personal information from users that may include their name, address, telephone number, email address and other information they provide in connection with career services; for example, salary information, job placement information, career goals, work experience, and other profile information. Udacity's terms state they may also collect information about a user's performance or accomplishments related to the course, such as quiz or exam scores, grades, project evaluations, teacher evaluations and other evaluations of their performance or accomplishments.
Udacity's terms do not say whether they sell users' personal information to third-parties. However, Udacity's terms do say they may send third-party marketing communications or promotions to users and may display targeted ads and use third-party cookies to track a user's activity. The terms also say Udacity may track users across various sites where they may display ads and record users' activities so they can show more targeted ads as users browse the Internet.
Security
Udacity's terms state their security policies are consistent with industry practices and the level of data that is provided and hosted by Udacity. Also, the terms state Udacity implements physical, personnel, IT and vendor security practices to protect personal data and ensure all their vendors are in compliance with their security obligations when data is processed by them. The policies explain that personal data is encrypted while in transit and at rest, but the terms are unclear whether notice is provided to users in the event of a data breach.
Compliance
Udacity's terms state its services are not intended for, nor directed at, individuals under the age of 13. If Udacity becomes aware that they inadvertently collected personal information from children under the age of 13 without parental consent, they will take reasonable steps to delete it as soon as possible. In addition, the terms state that Udacity will retain users' personal information for no longer than necessary for the purposes for which it is processed. Lastly, the terms state users can access their personal information, and the terms provide for a user's ability to export their data.
Rating
- Unclear whether personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
- Personal information is shared for third-party marketing.
- Personalised advertising is displayed.
- Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
- User's information is used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
- Data profiles are created and used for personalised advertisements.
Data Collection
SCORE: 55%
What data does it collect?
- Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected.
- The categories of collected personally identifiable information are indicated.
- Unclear whether the collection or use of data is limited to product requirements.
- Geolocation data are not collected.
- Unclear whether this product collects biometric or health data.
- Interactions, behaviors, or usage analytics data are collected.
- Sensitive data are collected.
- Data is automatically collected.
- Opt-in consent is requested from users at the time personal information is collected.
- Personal information of users is collected by a third party.
Data Sharing
SCORE: 90%
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.
- The categories of third parties that receive data are indicated.
- Data are shared for analytics.
- Data are shared for research and/or product improvement.
- Third-party services are used to support the product.
- The roles of third-party service providers are indicated.
- Third-party login is supported.
- Contractual limits are placed on third-party data use.
Data Security
SCORE: 75%
How does it secure data?
- A user's identity is verified with additional personal information.
- Account creation is required.
- Managed accounts are available.
- Unclear whether multi-factor account protection is available.
- Third-parties with access to information are required to provide the same security protections as the company.
- Reasonable security practices are used to protect data.
- Employee or physical access to user information is limited.
- All data in transit are encrypted.
- All data are stored in an encrypted format.
- Unclear whether this product provides notice in the event of a data breach.
Data Rights
SCORE: 70%
What rights do I have to the data?
- Users can create or upload content.
- Users retain ownership of their data.
- Processes to access or review user data are available.
- Unclear whether this product provides processes to modify data for authorized users.
- A data-retention policy is available.
- Processes for authorized users to delete data are available.
- A user's data are not deleted upon account cancellation or termination.
- Data are deleted when no longer necessary.
- Unclear whether methods are available to restrict who has access to data.
- Processes to download user data are available.
Data Sold
SCORE: 40%
Is the data sold?
- Unclear whether personal information is 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 in the event of a merge, acquisition, or bankruptcy.
- 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.
- User information that is shared is shared in an anonymous or de-identified format.
- Unclear whether the company describes their de-identification process of user information.
- Data are shared for research and/or product improvement.
- Unclear whether contractual limits prohibit third parties from reidentifying or de-identified information.
Data Safety
SCORE: 40%
How safe is this product?
- Users can interact with trusted users.
- Users can interact with untrusted users, including strangers and/or adults.
- Profile information must be shared for social interactions.
- Personal information can be displayed publicly.
- Users can control how their data are displayed to others.
- Unclear whether user-created content is reviewed, screened, or monitored by the company.
- Unclear whether user-created content is filtered for personal information before being made publicly visible.
- Social interactions between users are not moderated.
- Unclear whether social interactions of users are logged.
- Unclear whether users can report abuse or cyberbullying.
Ads & Tracking
SCORE: 60%
Are there advertisements or tracking?
- Personal information is shared for third-party marketing.
- Traditional or contextual advertisements are displayed.
- Personalised advertising is displayed.
- Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
- User's information is used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
- Data profiles are created and used for personalised advertisements.
- The company can send marketing messages.
- The company does provide promotional sweepstakes, contests, or surveys.
- Users can opt out of contextual, or personalised advertising.
- Users can opt out or unsubscribe from marketing communications.
Parental Consent
SCORE: 50%
Can I provide parental consent?
- Not intended for children under 13.
- Personal information from children under 13 years of age is not collected.
- Unclear whether intended for parents or guardians.
- Unclear whether company has actual knowledge that personal information from users under 13 years of age is collected.
- The company does provide a section, heading, or separate policy for children in their policies.
- Parental consent is required before personal information is collected or disclosed.
- Unclear whether this product limits parental consent with respect to third parties.
- Unclear whether this product allows parents to withdraw consent for the further collection of their child's information.
- Children's personal information is deleted if collected without parental consent.
- Unclear whether this product provides parental consent notice and method for submission.
School Purpose
SCORE: 31%
Is the product intended for school?
- Intended for students.
- Personal information or education records are collected from preK-12 students.
- Unclear whether intended for teachers.
- Unclear whether this product is primarily used by, designed for, and marketed toward students in grades preK–12.
- Processes to enter education records into the product are described.
- Unclear whether additional rights or protections may be provided with an additional school contract.
- Unclear whether the company is designated as a school official.
- Unclear whether this product transfers parental consent obligations to the school or district.
Individual Control
SCORE: 40%
Can I control the use of my data?
- Users can control the use of their information through privacy settings.
- Use of information is limited to the purpose for which it was collected.
- The context or purpose for which data are collected is indicated.
- Company may combine data with additional data from third-party sources.
- Unclear whether this product treats combined information as personally identifiable information (PII).
- Unclear whether notice is provided if the context in which data are collected changes.
- Unclear whether consent is obtained if the practices in which data are collected change.
- A grievance or remedy mechanism is not available for users to file a complaint.
- Unclear whether users can request to know what personal information has been shared with third parties.
- Unclear whether notice is provided in the event the company receives a government or legal request for a user's 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.