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Privacy Evaluation for Kahoot!

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Overview

Kahoot! is a free game-based learning platform that makes it fun to learn any subject, in any language, on any device, for all ages. Kahoot! allows sharing of a student's Kahoot! quizzes, answers, and surveys with other students and teachers in educational institutions for the educational purpose of in-class graded coursework. Kahoot! collects personally identifiable information and other automatically collected usage information through its services and may receive a user’s personal information from other sources. The terms of Kahoot! state they use reasonable organizational, technical, and administrative measures to protect users' personal information, and if a user has reason to believe that their interaction with Kahoot! is no longer secure, they should immediately contact Kahoot!. Lastly, When a Kahoot! user who is under the age of 13 creates an account, Kahoot! collects his or her name and email address, but does not collect any other personal information.

Kahoot! 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 used for this evaluation can be found on Kahoot!'s website. Additionally, other policies used for this evaluation include: Student Privacy Policy. This evaluation only considers policies that have been made publicly available prior to an individual using the application or service.

Safety

Kahoot! allows sharing of a student's Kahoot! quizzes, answers, and surveys with other students and teachers in educational institutions for the educational purpose of in-class graded coursework. Kahoot! may provide various open communication tools on their service, such as blog comments, blog posts, public chat, forums, message boards, newsgroups, product ratings, reviews, and various social media services. Kahoot! does not pre-screen or monitor the content posted by users of these various communication tools and content may be used to identify a user with anyone they share a Kahoot! or other messages through the services.

In addition, a user's information may be visible from their profile page and other services to which they post information and materials. Kahoot! provides a warning to users that any information they post or disclose through the services will become public and may be available to other users and the general public. Kahoot! recommends users be very careful when deciding to disclose any information on the services.

Privacy

Kahoot! collects personally identifiable information and other automatically collected usage information through its services and may receive a user’s personal information from other sources, such as public databases, joint marketing partners, and other third parties. Kahoot! does not collect any personal information from a person who merely plays a Kahoot, except if a user participates in a Kahoot! which is hosted using the Player Identifier feature. However, in order to create and host a Kahoot!, a user must register and create an account with the service. When an adult account holder registers for the service, Kahoot! asks that they not disclose any sensitive personal information.

In addition, Kahoot! may share a user’s data with third-party service providers to support its services and if a user participates, data may be shared with sponsors of sweepstakes, contests and other similar third-party marketing promotions. Kahoot! may also send marketing communications and newsletters to a user personalized from their experience on the services such as products and offers that are tailored to them. Lastly, the terms say Kahoot! will not sell a user's personal information to third parties and Kahoot! will not use personal information from users for any targeted advertising purposes, or build a profile of a student other than in support of authorized school purposes.

Security

The terms of Kahoot! state they use reasonable organizational, technical, and administrative measures to protect users' personal information, and if a user has reason to believe that their interaction with Kahoot! is no longer secure, they should immediately contact Kahoot!. In addition, the terms say a user’s personal information is secure because it is encrypted while in transit and while at rest. However, Kahoot! does not disclose whether they provide notice to users in the event of a data breach.

Compliance

When a Kahoot! user who is under the age of 13 creates an account, Kahoot! collects his or her name and email address, but does not collect any other Personal Information. Kahoot! immediately and permanently alters a child’s email address so that it can only be used as a password reminder and cannot be reconstructed into its original form or used to contact the child. In addition, If a parent or guardian submits any personal information of their child to Kahoot! they must represent that they have the authority to do so and to permit Kahoot! to use the information. In addition, Kahoot! and third-party service providers may perform data analytics on information from child account holders.

A parent or guardian can request Kahoot! to review, request no further collection, or delete the information Kahoot! has collected from their child. Kahoot! requires parents to include their name and child’s Kahoot username, and specify the action they would like Kahoot! to take. For a child’s protection, Kahoot! may need to verify a parent or guardian’s identity before processing a request. Lastly, the terms of Kahoot! address compliance under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and the terms say the collection and sharing of a student's Kahoot! quizzes, answers, and surveys with other students and teachers in educational institutions is only for the educational purpose of in-class graded coursework and discussions.

Rating

This product received a Pass rating based on the following details:
  • Personal information is not sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is not shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is not displayed.
  • Data are not 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: 60%

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.
  • Geolocation data are 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: 85%

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.
  • Unclear whether 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.
  • 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.
  • Unclear whether all data are stored in an encrypted format.
  • Unclear whether this product provides notice in the event of a data breach.
Data Rights
SCORE: 90%

What rights do I have to the data?

  • Unclear whether users can create or upload content.
  • Users retain ownership of their data.
  • Processes to access or review user data are available.
  • Processes to modify data are available 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.
  • Methods are available to restrict who has access to data.
  • Processes to download user data are available.
Data Sold
SCORE: 65%

Is the data sold?

  • Personal information is not 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.
  • Third-party transfer is 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.
  • Unclear whether data are shared for research and/or product improvement.
  • Contractual limits prohibit third parties from reidentifying or de-identified information.
Data Safety
SCORE: 45%

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.
  • 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: 80%

Are there advertisements or tracking?

  • Personal information is not shared for third-party marketing.
  • Traditional or contextual advertisements are not displayed.
  • Personalised advertising is not displayed.
  • Data are not 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: 65%

Can I provide parental consent?

  • Intended for children under 13.
  • Personal information from children under 13 years of age is collected.
  • Intended for parents or guardians.
  • Company does have 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.
  • 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 described.
  • Unclear whether 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: 50%

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.
  • Unclear whether company may combine data with additional data from third-party sources.
  • Unclear whether this product treats combined information as personally identifiable information (PII).
  • 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 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.