Privacy Evaluation for Bloomz
63%
Overview
Bloomz provides an application to communicate with parents, and to share class photos and updates. The terms of Bloomz state they do not provide any social interactions between students, but the terms specify that any information a user voluntarily chooses to include in a publicly accessible area, such as a public profile page, will be available to anyone who has access to that content, including other users. Bloomz's terms state they collect personal information from a user when they create an account, or automatically while using the service, or from other third party sources. Bloomz's terms do not specify details about its data security practices or whether personally identifiable information is encrypted while in transit or while stored. Bloomz specifies in their terms that they will never use a student’s personally identifiable information, or collect, use, or share that information for any purposes beyond the authorized educational or school purposes.
Bloomz can be accessed through its website, and is available for download at the iOS App Store, and the Google Play Store. The Privacy Policy and Terms of Use accessed for this evaluation can be found on Bloomz’s website, iOS App Store, and the Google Play Store.This evaluation only considers policies that have been made publicly available prior to an individual using the application or service.
Safety
The terms of Bloomz state they do not provide any social interactions between students, but the terms specify that any information a user voluntarily chooses to include in a publicly accessible area, such as a public profile page, will be available to anyone who has access to that content, including other users. The terms also specify that users have the ability to store significant dates and details about family members (like birthdays) in a calendar in order to get email reminders.
Privacy
The terms of Bloomz state they collect personal information from a user when they create an account, or automatically while using the service, or from other third party sources. Bloomz's terms state they will never sell a student’s personally identifiable information to third parties for any purpose, but Bloomz allows third party service providers to use cookies and/or other monitoring technologies to compile anonymous statistics about their visitors. The terms state that Bloomz may use third-party service providers to serve advertisements on their behalf to users across the Internet and on their Apps. However, the terms state Bloomz does not directly target advertisements to students, but may behaviorally target advertising to parents. The terms also specify that Bloomz can receive personally identifiable information from trusted partners and other third-party sources.
Security
The terms of Bloomz state they use certain physical, managerial, and technical safeguards that are designed to improve the integrity and security of a user’s information. If Bloomz learns of a security systems breach, they may post a notice through its Apps and may attempt to notify a user electronically so they can take appropriate protective steps. However, Bloomz's terms do not specify any additional details about its data security practices or whether personally identifiable information is encrypted while in transit or while stored.
Compliance
The terms of Bloomz state the accounts not intended for use by children under the age of 13. In addition, Bloomz's terms state the Service is intended for teacher-parent communication only, and a teacher may request an individual student to input content that was created by that student. However, in no circumstances does Bloomz allow that information to become part of the student's profile without teacher approval and parental consent.
The terms state Information may be provided to Bloomz by teachers, teacher aides, or other personnel at an Educational Institution that is directly related to a student and maintained by the Institution, and may be considered an education record under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA"). Bloomz's terms state information provided about a student, such as student name and grade level, may be considered directory information under FERPA and not an education record.
Lastly, Bloomz specifies in their terms they will never use a student’s personally identifiable information, or collect, use, or share that information for any purposes beyond the authorized educational or school purposes, or as explicitly authorized by the student or parent. The terms state if Bloomz learns that personally identifiable information has been collected on its service from children under the age of 13, and without verifiable parental or teacher consent, then Bloomz will take appropriate steps to delete that information.
Rating
- Personal information is not 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: 35%
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 collected.
- Unclear whether this product collects biometric or health data.
- Interactions, behaviors, or usage analytics data are collected.
- Unclear whether this product collects sensitive data.
- Data is automatically collected.
- Unclear whether 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: 70%
What data does it share?
- Collected information is shared with third parties.
- Unclear whether the categories of information shared with third parties are indicated.
- The purpose for sharing a user's personal information with third parties is indicated.
- Unclear whether 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: 60%
How does it secure data?
- Unclear whether a user's identity is verified with additional personal information.
- Unclear whether this product requires account creation.
- 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 not encrypted.
- All data are not stored in an encrypted format.
- Notice is provided in the event of a data breach.
Data Rights
SCORE: 55%
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 deleted upon account cancellation or termination.
- Unclear whether this product deletes data when no longer necessary.
- Unclear whether methods are available to restrict who has access to data.
- Unclear whether this product provides users the ability to download their data.
Data Sold
SCORE: 40%
Is the data sold?
- Personal information is not sold or rented to third parties.
- Unclear whether 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.
- 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.
- User information that is shared is not 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.
- Contractual limits prohibit third parties from reidentifying or de-identified information.
Data Safety
SCORE: 35%
How safe is this product?
- Unclear whether this product supports interactions between trusted users.
- Unclear whether users can interact with untrusted users, including strangers and/or adults.
- Unclear whether 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.
- Unclear whether social interactions between users are moderated.
- Social interactions of users are logged.
- Users can report abuse or cyberbullying.
Ads & Tracking
SCORE: 45%
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.
- Unclear whether this company provides promotional sweepstakes, contests, or surveys.
- Unclear whether this product provides users the ability to opt-out of contextual, or personalised advertising.
- Users can opt out or unsubscribe from marketing communications.
Parental Consent
SCORE: 60%
Can I provide parental consent?
- Intended for children under 13.
- Unclear whether this product collects personal information from children under 13 years of age.
- 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.
- 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.
- Parental consent notice and method for submission are provided.
School Purpose
SCORE: 75%
Is the product intended for school?
- Intended for students.
- Personal information or education records are collected from preK-12 students.
- Intended for teachers.
- Product is primarily used by, designed for, and marketed toward students in grades preK–12.
- Processes to enter education records into the product are not described.
- Additional rights or protections may be provided with an additional school contract.
- Company is designated as a school official.
- Parental consent obligations are transferred to the school or district.
Individual Control
SCORE: 35%
Can I control the use of my data?
- Users can control the use of their information through privacy settings.
- Unclear whether 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.
- Combined information is treated 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.
- Unclear whether a grievance or remedy mechanism is 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.