Overview
FreshGrade empowers schools, school districts, teachers, parents, and students to be partners in the education journey. The terms of FreshGrade state parents can track the progress of their child’s learning and students are empowered to take greater ownership of their learning. FreshGrade's terms state they collect Personal Information from students authorized to use the service, such as information that can identify a specific individual, such as a name, address, telephone number, email address, or other information linked to that personal information. The terms specify that FreshGrade has implemented commercially reasonable administrative, physical, and technical safeguards designed to secure Personal Information, including student data, from unauthorized access, disclosure and use. Lastly, the terms of FreshGrade state they do not knowingly collect personal information through the FreshGrade service from a child under 13 until a school or parent has provided appropriate consent and authorization for a student under 13 to use the service and for FreshGrade to collect information.
FreshGrade 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 FreshGrade’s website, iOS App Store, and the Google Play Store. This evaluation only considers policies that have been made publicly available prior to an individual using the application or service.
Safety
The terms of FreshGrade state parents can track the progress of their child’s learning and students are empowered to take greater ownership of their learning. The terms specify that students can log-in and view their digital portfolio, self-reflect on their work and work collaboratively with their teachers and parents to achieve their learning goals, as well as capture moments through videos, pictures, audio clips and notes. The FreshGrade terms specify the service may allow users to use the FreshGrade service to host public forums or messaging boards for online discussion or message posting. These are public forums, and information that parents and teachers should be aware may be available to other members of the FreshGrade service or the public.
In addition, each student and his or her parent will only have access to view or submit information relative to that particular student. Neither students nor their parents will be able to view or otherwise access the personal information of other students, unless it is provided to that student account by the School (for example, a class photo and class roster containing the names and photos of other students may be added by a teacher to a student account).
Privacy
The terms of FreshGrade state they collect Personal Information from students authorized to use the service, such as information that can identify a specific individual, such as a name, address, telephone number, email address, or other information linked to that personal information. In addition, FreshGrade's terms state they collect information only on behalf of the school. The terms also specify that FreshGrade considers student data to be highly confidential and uses this data solely to provide the services to the school. The terms also state FreshGrade may also collect school data which could include school name and location, what grade level and subject matter a teacher's teaches, position within the school, and the type of devices students use in the classroom. FreshGrade's terms specify they collect, store, process, and share student personal information only for the purposes of providing the service, or as authorized by a school or a parent.
The terms of FreshGrade state they do not sell, use, or share student personal information or content for marketing or advertising purposes. However, teachers and parents should be aware that FreshGrade's terms state they may advertise its services to school users and to parents, provided that such advertisements are not be based on student data relating to individually identifiable students. In addition, parents and teachers should be aware FreshGrade's terms state they may permit third party online advertising networks to collect information from visitors. However, although the terms of FreshGrade state they may permit third party advertising partners to collect information on the FreshGrade website for the purpose of sending targeted advertisements, they do not allow third party advertising networks to collect information about students or parents who are logged into the service, or to collect information from our mobile apps.
Security
The terms of FreshGrade state users will need an account in order to use the FreshGrade service. In addition, only students who have been invited and authorized to use the service by a school may register as a student for a FreshGrade account and use the service. The terms also specify that FreshGrade has implemented commercially reasonable administrative, physical, and technical safeguards designed to secure Personal Information, including student data, from unauthorized access, disclosure and use.
The terms of FreshGrade state they will maintain a comprehensive data security program designed to protect the types of student data collected and maintained. FreshGrade's terms state they care about the security of users' personal information and use commercially reasonable physical, administrative and technological safeguards to preserve the integrity and security of all information they collect, transfer, and that they share with service providers. Additionally, the terms specify additional security safeguards that include data and transit encryption, firewalls, and physical access controls to buildings and files. Employees and contractors are bound to uphold the provisions in this Privacy Policy, and violators will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination and further legal action. Lastly, in the event FreshGrade has have a reasonable, good faith belief that an unauthorized party has gained access to personal information, or disclosed Personal Information, including student data they will promptly notify the School.
Compliance
The terms of FreshGrade state they do not knowingly collect personal information through the FreshGrade service from a child under 13 until a school or parent has provided appropriate consent and authorization for a student under 13 to use the service and for FreshGrade to collect information. In addition, the terms of FreshGrade specify that if users are not at least 18, they may use the FreshGrade service only with consent from their school or parent.
FreshGrade's terms state users may access, update, or correct their personal information at any time by logging into their account. A school principal, school or district/board administrator, or other individual authorized by the school to view and access student accounts, may be able to view and access all activity and content associated with the student accounts associated with the school or district. In addition, a school may access, update, and correct the personal information contained in any account under their control by logging into their account, and/or by logging into your school student information management system. However, a parent seeking to modify, correct, or delete personal information in a student account that is connected to an active class profile will be instructed to contact the school to discuss data deletion or modification.
Parents and Teachers should be aware the terms state that at the conclusion of each academic year, FreshGrade may suspend the ability to post new user content to any specific classroom. However, any student or parent will be permitted to review, request to delete or otherwise access the archived user content associated with that student or parent. The terms specify that when a FreshGrade portfolio is no longer in active use by a school, the portfolio will be archived. Archived portfolios are maintained to provide parents indefinite access to the student’s work, and parents and students can access such data at any time. FreshGrade's terms state they maintain this information only for the benefit of the parent and student. Lastly, FreshGrade's terms state as permitted by COPPA and FERPA schools providing the service to children under 13 represent that they have received consent from parents, or have the authority to provide consent on behalf of parents, for us to collect information from students before allowing children under 13 to access the services.
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 | 90 | 66 |
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 | 75 | 45 |
| Data Sharing: Protecting data from third parties | 100 | 85 |
| Data Security: Protecting against unauthorized access | 100 | 70 |
| Data Rights: Controlling data use | 88 | 85 |
| Data Sold: Preventing sale of data | 75 | 75 |
| Data Safety: Promoting responsible use | 63 | 65 |
| Ads & Tracking: Prohibiting the exploitation of users' decision making process | 92 | 85 |
| Parental Consent: Protecting children’s personal information | 100 | 70 |
| School Purpose: Following student data privacy laws | 100 | 70 |
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) | 92 | 75 |
| Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) | 87 | 68 |
| Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) | 94 | 65 |
| Student Online Personal Information Protection Act (SOPIPA) | 96 | 73 |
| General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) | 96 | 73 |
Privacy Policy Details
1: Transparency
1.1: Policy Version
- Privacy policies do indicate a version or effective date.
- Privacy policies indicate a changelog 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: Policy Contact
- Users cannot contact the vendor about any privacy policy questions, complaints, or material changes to the policies.
1.6: Policy Principles
- Privacy policies do 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.
- 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.
- Geolocation data are collected.
- Unclear whether this product collects biometric or health data.
- Behavioral data are collected.
- Unclear whether this product collects sensitive data.
- Non-personally identifiable information is collected.
- Unclear whether free or reduced lunch status is 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 online.
2.3: Data Exclusion
- Unclear whether specific types of personal information are not collected.
- Unclear whether specific types of collected information are excluded from the privacy policy.
2.4: Data Limitation
- 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.
- 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.
- Data are shared for analytics.
- Unclear whether data are shared for research and/or product improvement.
- Data are not shared for third-party advertising and/or marketing.
3.3: Data Not Shared With Third Parties
- Specific categories of information are not shared with third parties.
3.4: Data Sold to Third Parties
- Data are not sold or rented to third parties.
3.5: Third-Party Data Acquisition
- Unclear whether personal information from users is acquired from third parties.
3.6: Third-Party Links
- Links to third-party external websites are not age-appropriate.
3.7: Third-Party Data Access
- Unclear whether third parties are authorized to access a user's information.
3.8: Third-Party Data Collection
- Unclear whether personal information of users is collected by a third party.
3.9: Third-Party Data Misuse
- Unclear whether personal information can be deleted from a third party if found to be misused.
3.10: Third-Party Service Providers
- Data are shared with third-party service providers.
- The roles of third-party service providers are indicated.
3.11: Third-Party Affiliates
- The categories of third parties that receive personal information 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 data can be combined with data from third-party sources.
- Unclear whether data shared with third parties can be combined by third parties for their own purposes.
3.14: Third-Party Authentication
- Social or federated login is supported.
- Personal information from social or federated login providers is collected.
- Personal Information is shared with social or federated login providers.
3.15: De-identified or Anonymized Data
- User information is shared in an anonymous or deidentified format.
- The vendor describes their deidentification process of user information.
3.16: Third-Party Contractual Obligations
- Contractual limits are placed on third-party data use.
- Unclear whether contractual limits prohibit third parties from reidentifying deidentified information.
4: Respect for Context
4.1: Data Use
- Use of information is limited to the purpose for which it was collected.
- The purpose for which data atr 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 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
- Opt-in consent is requested from users at the time personal information is collected.
5.3: Remedy Process
- A grievance or remedy mechanism is not available for users to file a complaint.
5.4: Data Settings
- Users can control 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 for commercial purposes.
- Unclear whether notice is provided in the event the vendor 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 claimed to data or content collected from a user.
- Unclear whether any copyright license to a user's data is limited in scope or duration.
- Notice is not provided to users when their content is removed or disabled because of an alleged copyright violation.
6: Access and Accuracy
6.1: Data Access
- Processes to access and review user data are available.
- Permissions, roles, or access controls are available to restrict who has access to data.
- Processes to review data are available for the school, parents, or students.
6.2: Data Integrity
- Unclear whether the vendor maintains the accuracy of data they collect.
6.3: Data Correction
- Processes to modify inaccurate data are available.
- Processes for the school, parents, or students to modify data are available.
- The time period for the vendor to modify inaccurate data is indicated.
6.4: Data Retention
- A data-retention policy is available.
- The retention time period of a user's data can be changed upon a valid inspection request.
6.5: Data Deletion
- Data are deleted when no longer necessary.
- A user's data are deleted upon account cancellation or termination.
- Processes to delete user data are available.
- Processes for the school, parents, or students to delete data are available.
- The time period for the vendor 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.
- Notice is provided to users if the vendor assigns its rights or delegates its duties to another company.
- 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
- Third-party transfer is 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.
- Parental controls or managed accounts are available.
- Unclear whether two-factor account protection is available.
8.3: Third-Party Security
- Unclear whether third-party contractual security protections are required.
8.4: Data Confidentiality
- Industry best 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
- All data at rest are encrypted.
- Personal information of users is stored with a third party.
8.7: Data Breach
- Notice is provided in the event of a data breach.
8.8: Data Oversight
- Unclear whether this product performs data-privacy and security-compliance audits.
9: Responsible Use
9.1: Social Interactions
- Users can interact with trusted users and/or students.
- Users can interact with untrusted users, including strangers and/or adults.
- Profile information is shared for social interactions.
9.2: Data Visibility
- Personal information is not displayed publicly.
- Users can control how their data are displayed.
9.3: Monitor and Review
- User-created content is reviewed, screened, or monitored by the vendor.
- User-created content is not filtered for personal information before being made publicly visible.
- Unclear whether social interactions between users are moderated.
- Social interactions of users are logged.
9.4: Report Content
- Unclear whether users can filter or block inappropriate content.
- Unclear whether users can report abuse or cyberbullying.
9.5: Internet Safety
- Unclear whether the vendor provides links to tools or processes that support safe and appropriate social interactions.
10: Advertising
10.1: Vendor Communications
- A user can receive service- or administrative-related communications from the vendor.
10.2: Traditional Advertising
- Traditional or contextual advertisements are displayed.
10.3: Behavioral Advertising
- Behavioral or targeted advertising is not displayed.
10.4: Ad Tracking
- Data are not collected by third-party advertising or tracking services.
- Data are not used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
- Data profiles are not created and used for data enhancement, and/or targeted advertisements.
10.5: Filtered Advertising
- Unclear whether children may receive inappropriate advertisements.
10.6: Marketing Communications
- The vendor can send marketing messages.
- The vendor does provide promotional sweepstakes, contests, or surveys.
10.7: Unsubscribe
- Users can opt out of traditional, contextual, or behavioral advertising.
- Users can opt out or unsubscribe from marketing communications.
10.8: Do Not Track
- Vendor does not respond to Do Not Track or other opt-out mechanisms.
- Unclear whether the vendor provides a method for users to opt-out from third-party tracking.
11: Compliance
11.1: Children Under 13
- Vendor does have actual knowledge that personal information from users under 13 years of age is collected.
- Children's privacy is applicable.
- Account creation is restricted for users under 13 years of age.
- Unclear whether this product restricts in-app purchases for users under 13 years of age.
- Unclear whether the vendor participates in an FTC-approved COPPA safe harbor program.
11.2: Students in K–12
- Product is primarily used by, designed for, and marketed toward students in grades preK–12.
- Product does create education records.
- Notification of a contract or additional rights is provided.
- Vendor is designated as a school official.
11.3: Parental Consent
- Parental consent is required.
- 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.
- Unclear whether the vendor can use collected information to support the “internal operations” of the product.
- Unclear whether this product indicates COPPA parental consent exceptions.
- Unclear whether the vendor indicates FERPA parental consent exceptions.
- Unclear whether this product discloses directory information.
- Parental consent obligations are transferred to the school or district.
11.4: Legal Requirements
- The legal jurisdiction that applies to the laws governing any dispute is indicated.
- A user is required to waive the right to a jury trial, or settle any disputes by arbitration.
- A user is required to waive the right to join a class action lawsuit.
- A vendor will disclose personal information to law enforcement.
11.5: Certification
- Unclear whether the vendor 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, such as the GDPR.
- Unclear whether the vendor has indicated it is a Data Controller or Data Processor.