Overview
Parlay is a service that assists teachers with the facilitation and assessment of in person and online discussions. The terms of Parlay clearly state that the service does not display any personal information about students and that student interactions only take place in a teacher moderated environment. The terms are also clear that while personal information is collected from students, the information is only used to facilitate the service and will not be used for any marketing purpose. Additionally, the terms indicate that Parlay takes reasonable measures to protect student data and outline a clear process of how any data breach would be handled. Finally, Parlay's terms state that the teacher or school must obtain parental consent before any personal information for children under 13 is provided to the service.
Parlay can be accessed through its website. The Privacy Policy and Terms of Use used for this evaluation can be found on Parlay’s website. Additionally, other policies used for this evaluation include: Acceptable Use Policy. This evaluation only considers policies that have been made publicly available prior to an individual using the application or service.
Safety
Parlay's terms are are clear that the service provides students the opportunity to upload content and communicate with one another. However, the terms state that the communications and uploads are moderated by the students' teacher and that participation is limited to only those students that have been invited by the teacher. Additionally, Parlay's terms indicate that the service takes measure to remove any personal information from content before that content may be made publicly visible. Additionally, the terms provide clear expectations for the behaviors allowed on the platform by users and provide a reporting mechanism should those expectations be violated.
Privacy
The terms for Parlay make clear that the service may collect personal information from users as part of the account creation process. Accounts in the Parlay system may be generated by the user creating them or by using a Single Sign-On service such as those provided by Google or Microsoft. However, the terms plainly state that the personal information collected by the service will not be used to display any advertisements to students or teachers. They are also clear that the service will not use third party advertising services or use tracking technology to display ads on other websites. Further, the terms indicate that the service may use third party analytics services, they are clear that those services will only be used for the purposes of operating or improving Parlay.
Security
Parlay's terms are also clear that the service participates in the iKeepSafe FERPA program to ensure up to date security measures are in place to protect data. The terms provide an explanation of the security audit process from iKeepSafe and state that Parlay will use the findings from those audits to improve upon the security measure in place. Additionally, the terms state that Parlay will use protection measures such as encryption and physical access controls to protect student data. Further, a data breach notification process is outlined where Parlay will notify schools in the event of a data breach then the schools are responsible for notifying students and parents as appropriate.
Compliance
The terms are clear that the Parlay service is intended to be used by students in grades 3-12 which includes children under 13. They clearly state that when a school is using the service with children, it is the responsibility of the school to obtain the necessary consent from parents before providing personal information from children. Further, the terms are clear that if Parlay is notified that they have collected the personal information of a child with the proper consent, they will delete that child's information from the system as soon as possible. Additionally, the terms clearly indicate that if a parent wishes to access or update a child's information in the Parlay system, they will require an authorized user at the school to provide a written request to the service. Finally, Parlay's terms state that account information will be deleted for any account that has been dormant in their system for more than one year. Also, all data related to a school's use of the service will be deleted at the conclusion of the contract unless Parlay is required to keep the data for reasons such as legal requests.
Overall Score
Every privacy rating includes an overall score. A higher score (up to 100%) means the product provides more transparent privacy policies with better practices to protect user data. The score is best used is as an indicator of how much additional work a person will need to do to make an informed decision about a product.
| Basic Score | Full Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Comprehensive Assessment | 77 | 58 |
Concerns
The privacy evaluation process summarizes the policies of an application or service into concern categories based on a subset of evaluation questions that can be used to quickly identify particular practices of a vendor’s policies. These concerns are composed of evaluation questions that can be used to calculate scores relative to that concern.
| Concern | Basic Score | Full Score |
|---|---|---|
| Data Collection: Protecting personal information | 50 | 35 |
| Data Sharing: Protecting data from third parties | 100 | 60 |
| Data Security: Protecting against unauthorized access | 67 | 70 |
| Data Rights: Controlling rights to data | 38 | 65 |
| Data Sold: Preventing sale of data | 75 | 55 |
| Data Safety: Promoting responsible use | 100 | 70 |
| Ads & Tracking: Prohibiting the exploitation of users' decision making process | 93 | 85 |
| Parental Consent: Protecting children’s personal information | 100 | 75 |
| School Purpose: Following student data privacy laws | 100 | 63 |
| Individual Control: Controlling data use | NA | 35 |
Statutes
Each statute or regulation is associated with one or more evaluation questions. As such, we can calculate scores for each statute or regulation using only those questions associated with the statute or regulation. Each specific statute or regulation's score serves as an indirect proxy indicating the likelihood of the application or service satisfying all of its compliance obligations.
| Statute | Basic Score | Full Score |
|---|---|---|
| California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA) | 69 | 62 |
| Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) | 83 | 65 |
| Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) | 79 | 55 |
| Student Online Personal Information Protection Act (SOPIPA) | 85 | 65 |
| General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) | 70 | 51 |
| The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) | 68 | 55 |
Privacy Policy Details
1: Transparency
1.1: Policy Version
- Privacy policies do indicate a version or effective date.
- Privacy policies do not indicate a change log or past policy version is available.
1.2: Policy Notice
- Users are notified if there are any material changes to the policies.
- Privacy policies indicate the method used to notify a user when policies are updated.
1.3: Policy Changes
- Users are notified prior to any material changes to the policies.
- Changes to the policies are effective immediately and continued use of the product indicates consent.
1.4: Policy Coverage
- Privacy policies indicate the products that are covered by the policies.
1.5: Privacy Contact
- Users can contact the company about any privacy policy questions, complaints, or material changes to the policies.
1.6: Policy Principles
- Privacy policies do not indicate any privacy principles, layered notices, or a table of contents.
1.7: Policy Language
- Privacy policies are not available in multiple languages.
1.8: Intended Use
- Intended for children under 13.
- Intended for teens.
- Intended for adults over 18.
- Not intended for parents or guardians.
- Intended for students.
- Intended for teachers.
2: Focused Collection
2.1: Data Collection
- Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected.
- The categories of collected personally identifiable information are indicated.
- Unclear whether this product collects geolocation data.
- 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.
2.2: Data Source
- Personal information or education records are collected from preK-12 students.
- Personal information from children under 13 years of age is collected.
2.3: Data Excluded
- Unclear whether specific types of personal information excluded from collection.
- Unclear whether specific types of collected information are excluded from the privacy policy.
2.4: Data Limitation
- Unclear whether the collection or use of data is limited to product requirements.
3: Data Sharing
3.1: Data Shared With Third Parties
- Collected information is shared with third parties.
- Unclear whether the categories of information shared with third parties are indicated.
3.2: Data Use by Third Parties
- The purpose for sharing a user's personal information with third parties is indicated.
- Unclear whether data are shared for analytics.
- Unclear whether data are shared for research and/or product improvement.
- Personal information is not shared for third-party marketing.
3.3: Data Not Shared With Third Parties
- Unclear whether there are specific categories of information that are not shared with third parties.
3.4: Data Sold to Third Parties
- Personal information is not sold or rented to third parties.
3.5: Third-Party Data Acquisition
- Personal information about users is obtained from third parties.
3.6: Third-Party Links
- Links to third-party external websites are age-appropriate.
3.7: Third-Party Data Access
- Third parties are authorized to access a user's information.
3.8: Third-Party Data Collection
- Personal information of users is not collected by a third party.
3.9: Third-Party Data Misuse
- Unclear whether personal information can be deleted from a third party.
3.10: Third-Party Service Providers
- Third-party services are used to support the product.
- The roles of third-party service providers are indicated.
3.11: Third-Party Affiliates
- Unclear whether the categories of third parties that receive data are indicated.
3.12: Third-Party Policies
- Unclear whether links to privacy policies of third-party companies are available.
3.13: Third-Party Data Combination
- Unclear whether company may combine data with additional data from third-party sources.
- Data shared with third parties can be combined with other data.
3.14: Third-Party Authentication
- Third-party login is supported.
- Personal information from third-party login providers is collected.
- Unclear whether personal Information is shared with third-party login providers.
3.15: De-identified or Anonymized Data
- Unclear whether 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.
3.16: Third-Party Contractual Obligations
- Contractual limits are placed on third-party data use.
- Contractual limits prohibit third parties from reidentifying or de-identified information.
4: Respect for Context
4.1: Data Use
- Use of information is limited to the purpose for which it was collected.
- The context or purpose for which data are collected is indicated.
4.2: Data Combination
- Unclear whether this product treats combined information as personally identifiable information (PII).
4.3: Data Notice
- Notice is provided if the context in which data are collected changes.
4.4: Data Changes
- Consent is not obtained if the practices in which data are collected change.
4.5: Policy Enforcement
- Accounts may be terminated if users engage in any prohibited activities.
5: Individual Control
5.1: User Content
- Users can create or upload content.
5.2: User Consent
- Unclear whether opt-in consent is requested from users at the time personal information is collected.
5.3: Remedy Process
- Unclear whether a grievance or remedy mechanism is available for users to file a complaint.
5.4: Data Settings
- Unclear whether users can control the use of their information through privacy settings.
5.5: Data Disclosure
- Users can opt out from the disclosure or sale of their data to a third party.
- 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.
5.6: Intellectual Property
- Users retain ownership of their data.
- A copyright license is not claimed to data or content collected from a user.
- Any copyright license to a user's data is limited in scope or duration.
6: Access and Accuracy
6.1: Data Access
- Processes to access or review user data are available.
- Methods are available to restrict who has access to data.
- Processes to review student data are available for the school, parents, or students.
6.2: Data Integrity
- Unclear whether the company attempts to maintain the accuracy of data they collect.
6.3: Data Correction
- Unclear whether this product provides processes to modify data for authorized users.
- Processes for the school, parents, or students to modify inaccurate student information are available.
- Unclear whether the time period for the company to modify inaccurate data is indicated.
6.4: Data Retention
- A data-retention policy is available.
- Unclear whether exceptions to the data retention policy exist.
6.5: Data Deletion
- Data are deleted when no longer necessary.
- A user's data are deleted upon account cancellation or termination.
- Unclear whether a user can delete all their data.
- Unclear whether authorzied users can delete data.
- Unclear whether the time period for the company to delete data is indicated.
6.6: Data Portability
- Unclear whether this product provides users the ability to download their data.
- Unclear whether a user can assign an authorized account manager or legacy contact.
7: Data Transfer
7.1: Data Handling
- 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.
7.2: Transfer Request
- User information can be deleted prior to its transfer to a third party.
7.3: Onward Contractual Obligations
- Unclear whether third-party transfers are contractually required to use the same privacy practices.
8: Security
8.1: User Identity
- Unclear whether a user's identity is verified with additional personal information.
8.2: User Account
- Account creation is required.
- Managed accounts are available.
- Unclear whether multi-factor account protection is available.
8.3: Third-Party Security
- Third-parties with access to information are required to provide the same security protections as the company.
8.4: Data Confidentiality
- Reasonable security practices are used to protect data.
- Employee or physical access to user information is limited.
8.5: Data Transmission
- All data in transit are encrypted.
8.6: Data Storage
- Unclear whether all data are stored in an encrypted format.
- The company is clear what jurisdiction a user's personal information is subject to.
8.7: Data Breach
- Notice is provided in the event of a data breach.
8.8: Data Oversight
- Data-privacy and/or security-compliance audits are performed.
9: Responsible Use
9.1: Social Interactions
- 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.
9.2: Data Visibility
- Personal information can be not displayed publicly.
- Unclear whether this product allows users to control how their data are displayed to others.
9.3: Monitor and Review
- User-created content is reviewed, screened, or monitored by the company.
- 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.
9.4: Report Content
- Users can filter or block inappropriate content.
- Users can report abuse or cyberbullying.
9.5: Internet Safety
- Unclear whether the company provides links to resources that support safe and appropriate social interactions.
10: Advertising
10.1: Company Communications
- A user can receive service- or administrative-related communications from the company.
10.2: Traditional Advertising
- Traditional or contextual advertisements are not displayed.
10.3: Behavioral Advertising
- Personalised advertising is not displayed.
10.4: Ad Tracking
- 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.
10.5: Filtered Advertising
- Ads displayed to children are filtered for inappropriate content.
10.6: Marketing Communications
- The company can send marketing messages.
- Unclear whether this company provides promotional sweepstakes, contests, or surveys.
10.7: Unsubscribe
- Users can opt out of contextual, or personalised advertising.
- Users can opt out or unsubscribe from marketing communications.
10.8: Do Not Track
- Unclear whether this product responds to "Do Not Track" or other opt-out mechanisms.
- Unclear whether the company provides a method for users to opt-out from third-party tracking.
11: Compliance
11.1: Children Under 13
- 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.
- Unclear whether this product restricts or prohibits account creation for users under 13 years of age.
11.2: Students in K–12
- 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.
11.3: Parental Consent
- 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.
- Children's personal information is deleted if collected without parental consent.
- Parental consent notice and method for submission are provided.
- Parental consent obligations are transferred to the school or district.
11.4: Legal Requirements
- The legal jurisdiction that applies to the laws governing the policies is indicated.
- Unclear whether a user is required to waive the right to a jury trial, or settle any disputes by arbitration.
- Unclear whether a user is required to waive the right to join a class action lawsuit.
- A company will disclose personal information to law enforcement.
11.5: Certification
- The company has signed a privacy pledge or received a privacy certification.
11.6: International Laws
- A user's data are subject to International data transfer or jurisdiction laws.
- Unclear whether the company has indicated it is a Data Controller or Data Processor.