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Privacy Evaluation for Remind
Overview
Remind is a messaging platform that helps educators, students, parents and other users send messages. The terms of Remind state it is used for communicating between students and teachers within a classroom, so there is potential for the application to share sensitive information. Remind's terms state they collect personal information and non-personal usage information automatically through use of the service. In addition, Remind's terms state they secure information using encryption of all data at rest and requiring third-party services to maintain strict privacy and security policies. The terms state student data is not sold to third parties and there is no targeted advertising on the service. However, the policy does not disclose whether it tracks any type of users on the site and across the internet for commercial purposes. Lastly, Remind's terms state they only collect information from children and students under 13 to support learning, such as first and last name, date of birth, contact information, and the child’s parent’s email address to verify parental consent.
Remind 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 Remind’s website, the iOS App Store, and the Google Play Store. Additionally, other policies used for this evaluation include: Remind School Plan Standard Agreement, Remind District Plan Standard Agreement, Remind Data Practices, Anti-Bullying Policy, and Community Guidelines. This evaluation only considers policies that have been made publicly available prior to an individual using the application or service.
Safety
The terms of Remind state it is used for communicating between students and teachers within a classroom, so there is some potential for the application to share sensitive information. Remind users can only receive messages from Remind, verified administrators, or other users in the same class or group. Additionally, users may only join classes or groups with unique access codes. Remind’s policies state that while the company will never display personal information outside of groups or publicly, access codes and posted content are the responsibility of the group or class’s manager and should be tightly controlled. Terms also state that content may be monitored for appropriateness according to Anti-Bullying Policy and Community Guidelines documents by the company, and encourage users to report inappropriate content.
Privacy
The terms of Remind state they collect personal information and non-personal usage information automatically through use of the Service. Information collected from users under 13 may include a name, date of birth, district, school, class, grades and report card, and video or audio recordings of students. Remind's terms specify that Personally Identifiable Information may be shared with third parties embedded and integrated within Remind. They state that third party contractors are contractually bound, in writing, to providing at least equivalent privacy and security measures as Remind. However, third-party tracking technologies, such as Google Analytics cookies, are not covered by the Remind policy. In addition, Remind's terms state that they will not sell nor rent personal information to third parties, nor serve behaviorally targeted ads.
Security
Remind's terms state they secure information using encryption of all data at rest and requiring third-party services to maintain strict privacy and security policies. Remind's terms state they have administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect against unauthorized use, disclosure, and access to Personal Information, and work with administrators, third-party auditors, and penetration testing firms, to maintain and strengthen their security. Remind uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) and other third-party services within the AWS environment to host and operate its databases. AWS is an industry-leading cloud service platform designed and managed in compliance with relevant regulations, standards, and best-practices, such as FedRAMP and iKeepSafe COPPA Safe Harbor Program guidelines. If Remind becomes aware of a data breach of its users’ personally identifiable information, Remind's terms state they will notify affected users.
Compliance
Remind's terms state they only collect information from children and students under 13 to support learning, such as first and last name, date of birth, contact information, and the child’s parent’s email address to verify parental consent. In addition, Remind’s terms state that they only collect personal information through the services from children under 13 where that student’s school, district and/or teacher has agreed after receiving parental consent. If Remind does not receive the parent’s email address within a reasonable time period after registration, the under 13 user will not be able to receive any messages and their Personal Information will be deleted. The policies clearly indicate that there is a data retention and automatic deletion policy for users under 13, but do not specify such policies for users over age 13. Remind users may view, update, or remove information in their user account (such as email address and name), their user preferences, and the content in their account (excepting some messages) at any time. Additionally, users may request deletion of their entire Remind account through their user preferences or contacting the company.
Rating
- Personal information is not sold or rented to third parties.
- Personal information is shared for third-party marketing.
- Personalised advertising is not displayed.
- Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
- Unclear whether this product uses a user's information to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
- Unclear whether this product creates and uses data profiles for personalised 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 not 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.
- Unclear whether opt-in consent is requested from users at the time personal information is collected.
- Unclear whether personal information of users is collected by a third party.
Data Sharing
SCORE: 60%
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.
- Unclear whether this product supports third-party login.
- Contractual limits are placed on third-party data use.
Data Security
SCORE: 65%
How does it secure data?
- 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.
- Unclear whether this product encrypts all data in transit.
- All data are 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.
- Processes to modify data are available for authorized users.
- Unclear whether the product provides a data-retention policy.
- Processes for authorized users to delete data are available.
- Unclear whether a user's data are deleted upon account cancellation or termination.
- Unclear whether this product deletes data when no longer necessary.
- 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: 55%
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.
- Users are notified if their information is transferred to a third party.
- User information can not 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 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.
- Unclear whether contractual limits prohibit third parties from reidentifying or de-identified information.
Data Safety
SCORE: 70%
How safe is this product?
- Users can interact with trusted users.
- Users cannot 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.
- User-created content is not filtered for personal information before being made publicly visible.
- Social interactions between users are moderated.
- Social interactions of users are logged.
- Users can report abuse or cyberbullying.
Ads & Tracking
SCORE: 30%
Are there advertisements or tracking?
- Personal information is shared for third-party marketing.
- Unclear whether this product displays traditional or contextual advertisements.
- Personalised advertising is not displayed.
- Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
- Unclear whether this product uses a user's information to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
- Unclear whether this product creates and uses data profiles for personalised advertisements.
- Unclear whether this 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: 85%
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.
- Parents can withdraw consent for the further collection of their child's information.
- Children's personal information is deleted if collected without parental consent.
- Parental consent notice and method for submission are provided.
School Purpose
SCORE: 63%
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.
- Unclear whether the company is designated as a school official.
- Parental consent obligations are transferred to the school or district.
Individual Control
SCORE: 45%
Can I control the use of my data?
- Unclear whether users can control the use of their information through privacy settings.
- Use of information is not 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.
- Combined information is treated 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.
- 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.
- 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.