IXL is the one of the world's most popular subscription-based learning sites for K-12. Used by over 7 million students, IXL provides unlimited practice in more than 7,000 topics, covering math, language arts, science, social studies, and Spanish. The terms of IXL say users can interact with trusted users on the service but do not disclose whether a child or student's personal information can be displayed publicly in any way. The terms say IXL will never sell student data to third parties, however the terms also say IXL may sell data from school or parent users to third parties. IXL's terms say they will maintain a comprehensive data security program and have implemented a variety of physical, administrative and technological safeguards designed to preserve the integrity and security of the personal information they collect and to protect against unauthorized access, disclosure, and use. Furthermore, IXL's terms say their collection, use, and sharing of student data is governed by contracts with the school or district and any applicable laws and regulations including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA"), the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA") and applicable state laws.

IXL can be accessed through its website, and is available for download at the iOS App Store, the Google Play Store, and the Amazon App Store. The Privacy Policy and Terms of Use used for this evaluation can be found on IXL’s website, iOS App Store, the Google Play Store, and the Amazon App Store. Additionally, other policies used for this evaluation include: IXL Service Children's Privacy Policy. This evaluation only considers policies that have been made publicly available prior to an individual using the application or service.

Safety

The terms of IXL say users can interact with trusted users on the service but do not disclose whether a child or student's personal information can be displayed publicly in any way. The terms say a school may elect to provide user names or identifiers for student users which are not readily identifiable to anyone outside of the school community in substitution of a full student name. In addition, a school may elect to provide a profile name for a child user and selection of a profile avatar. IXL's terms say they recommend that the parent selects a profile name that does not include the real name or identifying characteristics of the child. The parent may also create a "secret word," which functions similar to a password to access the child profile, although it cannot be used to sign in to the IXL service without the parent first signing in to the parent's account using the parent's login credentials. However, parents and teachers should be aware the terms say a child may change his or her profile avatar, secret word, or profile name, but the parent will see these changes through the parent's account dashboard. IXL's terms say the account dashboard ensures that parents have access to, and control of, their child's use of the service.

Privacy

IXL's terms say the type of personal information the service collects may vary depending on the account type. A family account is purchased by or for a parent. A family account typically includes child profiles that can be used by a parent's child at the parent's direction. A classroom account is purchased by or on behalf of a school, such as by a teacher and is a type of school account. A classroom account typically includes a single teacher user and a small number of student users. A site account is purchased by or on behalf of a school or school district. A site account typically includes an unlimited number of teacher users and a set maximum number of student users. In addition, the terms state IXL takes special precautions to collect only as much information as is reasonably necessary for a child to use the service.

The terms of IXL say they may share information with third parties with consent and at the direction of schools and parents. In addition, third party service providers who have access to student data, are contractually bound to uphold privacy and confidentiality terms no less protective than IXL's terms. IXL's terms also say they consider student data to be strictly confidential and in general do not use student data for any purpose other than improving and providing the services to the school or on the school's behalf. The terms say IXL will never sell student data to third parties, but the terms do say that IXL may sell data from school or parent users to third parties. In addition, the terms say that from time to time, IXL may send periodic promotional or informational e-mails to school or parent users, but IXL does not disclose whether any third-party marketing e-mails may also be sent to school or parent users. Furthermore, the terms specify IXL does not use student data to send marketing communications, and they do not send marketing communications to student or child users. IXL's terms say they do not display any targeted advertising on the service and do not use student data for any targeted or behavioral advertising purposes.

However, the terms say that IXL and their third-party partners may use cookies and tracking technologies for the purpose of displaying advertisements to users on other websites or online services on their behalf. The terms say IXL works with third-party online advertising networks which use technology to recognize a user's browser or device and to collect information about their visit to IXL in order to provide customized content, advertising, and commercial messages to school, teacher or district administrative users and other non-student users on other websites or services, or on other devices they may use. Parents and teachers should be aware IXL does not build or amass a profile of a K-12 student for any advertising purposes, other than in furtherance of a K-12 school purpose, or as authorized by a parent. Lastly, IXL's terms say they take certain steps designed to avoid using third-party tracking technologies from collecting information from users of child profiles for targeted advertising purposes, by taking steps to disable tracking technologies only once a subscriber to IXL (e.g., the Parent or Teacher) logs into the service but those steps are limited to use of cookies.

Security

IXL's terms say they will maintain a comprehensive data security program and have implemented a variety of physical, administrative and technological safeguards designed to preserve the integrity and security of the personal information they collect and to protect against unauthorized access, disclosure, and use. However, the terms do not disclose whether personal information is protected with encryption while in transit or while at rest. Additionally, the terms say some schools may elect to use a single-sign on (SSO) service like G Suite for Education rather than usernames and passwords to authenticate student access.

The terms state IXL and their employees, affiliates, service providers, or agents involved in the handling, transmittal, and processing of student data will be required to maintain the confidentiality of student data. In addition, the terms state IXL uses physical security measures to guard against unauthorized access to systems where they store personal data. IXL's terms specify they restrict access to personal information to IXL employees, contractors, and agents who need to know that information in order to operate, develop, or improve the services. IXL's terms state employees may be subject to disciplinary action, including termination, if they fail to meet privacy and confidentiality obligations. Lastly, the terms state that if personal information under IXL's control is compromised as a result of a breach of security, they will take reasonable steps to investigate the situation and take all steps required by applicable laws and agreements with any affected schools to provide notification.

Compliance

IXL's terms say that if a user is under eighteen (18) years of age, they may use the service only with the involvement and consent of a parent, legal guardian, or at the direction of their school. The terms say IXL may collect information about a child authorized by their parent to use the service through the parent's account and if IXL is used by a school for an educational purpose, IXL may collect student data that is provided by the school or by a student. The terms of IXL state they may share information collected from users associated with a school with other users or persons designated by the school, such as teachers and school administrators of that school.

Parents or guardians of a student who uses the IXL service through a school must refer all questions and requests regarding access, modification, or deletion of a student's user account or student data to their child's school. IXL's terms state they will respond promptly to all access, modification, and deletion requests it receives from schools. However, IXL is not required to delete student data that has moved to a personal family account on the service. IXL’s terms state they do not retain student data beyond the time period required to support its educational purpose, unless authorized by a school or parent. In addition, the terms state IXL does not delete or de-identify any student data from an active student user account associated with a school except at the direction of the school. The school is responsible for maintaining current student rosters and identifying student data which the school no longer needs for an educational purpose by removing students from the school's master roster or by submitting a deletion request to IXL.

Furthermore, IXL's terms state their collection, use, and sharing of student data is governed by contracts with the school or district and any applicable laws and regulations including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA"), the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA") and applicable state laws. IXL's terms state its service is designed to comply with AB 1584 and pupil education records obtained by IXL from a local educational agency ("LEA") continue to be the property of and under the control of the LEA. Lastly, if a school provides the IXL service to children under 13, they must represent and warrant that they have the authority to provide consent on behalf of parents for IXL to collect information from students under 13 before allowing the students to access the service.