Evaluation Concerns
Navigate the Privacy Evaluation Concerns
Parents and educators share different concerns about the privacy and security practices of technology used by their children and students. Based on these concerns the Privacy Program created the following top-10 privacy evaluation concern categories. Each privacy concern category is organized by the most important and easy-to-understand privacy practices in order to quickly evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a product and how that application or service compares to similar products. Each privacy evaluation concern is comprised of ten evaluation questions to provide a comprehensive analysis of the most important privacy practices of a product. Depending on the type of privacy evaluation, either all of the ten evaluation questions are used with a full evaluation, or only the most critical basic evaluation questions are used to comprise a concern's score with a basic evaluation.
1. Data Collection
What data does it collect?
Responsible data collection practices limit the type and amount of personal information collected about people to only what's necessary to provide the application or service.
2. Data Sharing
What data does it share?
Data sharing best practices protect a person's personal information from being shared with third-party companies and advertisers.
3. Data Security
How does it secure data?
Data security best practices protect the integrity and confidentiality of a person's data.
4. Data Rights
What rights do I have to the data?
A person's data rights include the ability to review, access, modify, delete, and export their personal information and content.
5. Individual Control
Can I control the use of my data?
A person has a right to exercise control over what personal data companies collect from them and how they use it.
6. Data Sold
Is the data sold?
Best practices include not sharing, renting, or selling a person's personal information to third parties for financial gain.
7. Data Safety
How safe is this product?
Data safety best practices limit the visibility of a person's information and their interactions with others to protect their physical and emotional well-being.
8. Ads & Tracking
Are there advertisements or tracking?
Responsible advertising practices limit the use of personal information for any third-party marketing, targeted advertising, tracking, or profile generation purposes.
9. Parental Consent
Can I provide parental consent?
For children age 13 or under, a parent or guardian's verifiable consent is required before the collection, use, or disclosure of the child's personal information to an application or service.
10. School Purpose
Is the product intended for school?
Data collection from K–12 students or teachers must abide by the legal obligations for the privacy and security of that educational information.