Common Sense Privacy Program

thumbnail

Privacy Evaluation for edWeb

Last updated
Applications and services with a Warning rating do not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices. Applications and services with a Warning rating have issues narrowly focused around data use related to creating profiles that are not associated with any educational purpose, selling data, and/or using data to target advertisements.

67%

Warning

Learn how we rate

Overview

EdWeb.net is a professional social and learning network directed to teachers, faculty, administrators, and librarians at K-12 schools and post-secondary institutions. A user’s profile on the service is visible to other members of the service and registered communities, but a user’s survey information, ID, and email address are not displayed publicly. EdWeb provides its educational services free of charge supported by advertising, which use a user's educational institution characteristics combined with additional information from public and private sources on school demographics to enable advertisers and sponsors to offer more targeted products and services. Lastly, edWeb does not target its service to children under 13 years of age or knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, or from students at a K-12 educational institution.

EdWeb.net can be accessed through its website. The Privacy Policy and Terms of Use used for this evaluation can be found on edWeb.net’s website. This evaluation only considers policies that have been made publicly available prior to an individual using the application or service.

Safety

EdWeb allows a user over 18 years of age to control which type of other members of the service can contact them and which member communities to join. A user’s profile on the service is visible to other members of the service and registered communities, but a user’s survey information, ID, and email address are not displayed publicly. In addition, edWeb recommends a user does not include any information in a personal profile that they do not wish to be shared with the entire member community.

Privacy

EdWeb provides its educational services free of charge supported by advertising. EdWeb shares aggregated information of users with advertisers, and uses information collected from a user to display contextual information based on the pages a user visits. In addition, edWeb uses a user's educational institution characteristics combined with additional information from public and private sources on school demographics to enable advertisers and sponsors to offer more targeted products and services.

EdWeb displays traditional and behavioral advertisements to users, but they only provide education-related advertisements based on a user’s profile information which allows partner organizations to directly contact a user. However, EdWeb does not track a user across other Internet sites when they leave the vendor’s website.

Security

EdWeb takes appropriate precautions to protect the personal information submitted to them during transmission and when stored at rest. The vendor uses secured and unsecured portions of the website depending on whether PII is collected and recommends the user should note whether the website shows a https or lock icon. However, dWeb does not specifically describe how it protects data, when data is encrypted or not, and does not provide notices to users in the event of a data breach.

Compliance

EdWeb does not target its service to children under 13 years of age, or knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, or from students at a K-12 educational institution. An individual under 18 years of age is not eligible to become a member of the service which is directed to parents and teachers who wish to engage in a professional educational social network. However, students who are 18 years of age or older may use edWeb as part of a course taught by an educator. Students who are under 18 are allowed to watch edWeb webinars in classroom audiences, but only under the supervision of a teacher.

Rating

This product received a Warning rating based on the following details:
  • 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 not used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Data profiles are not created and used for personalised advertisements.
Data Collection
SCORE: 45%

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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Unclear whether this product supports third-party login.
  • Contractual limits are placed on third-party data use.
Data Security
SCORE: 45%

How does it secure data?

  • Unclear whether 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.
  • Unclear whether 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.
  • Unclear whether this product limits employee or physical access to user information.
  • All data in transit are encrypted.
  • Unclear whether all data are stored in an encrypted format.
  • Notice is not 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.
  • Unclear whether 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.
  • Data are deleted 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: 25%

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.
  • Unclear whether 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 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: 55%

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.
  • 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 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 not used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Data profiles are not created and used for personalised advertisements.
  • The company can send marketing messages.
  • The company does provide 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: 55%

Can I provide parental consent?

  • Not intended for children under 13.
  • Personal information from children under 13 years of age is not collected.
  • 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 not provide a section, heading, or separate policy for children in their policies.
  • Parental consent is required before personal information is collected or disclosed.
  • Parental consent is limited 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 not deleted if collected without parental consent.
  • Unclear whether this product provides parental consent notice and method for submission.
School Purpose
SCORE: 56%

Is the product intended for school?

  • Not intended for students.
  • Personal information or education records are not collected from preK-12 students.
  • Intended for teachers.
  • Product is not primarily used by, designed for, and marketed toward students in grades preK–12.
  • Processes to enter education records into the product are not 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.
  • Parental consent obligations are transferred to the school or district.
Individual Control
SCORE: 30%

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.
  • 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.

Learn more about the SPR Read the report

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.