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Privacy Evaluation for Planet Boing- Free PreK & K Kid Games & Activities

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Overview

Planet Boing - Free PreK & K Kid Games & Activities offers children a free play environment where they can build skills in math, science, literacy, and more. However, the service does not make a privacy policy, terms of service, or any additional data use agreements available from any easily discoverable link on their website. Without being able to access and review a product’s privacy and security statements, we are not able to provide a privacy evaluation of the product at this time.

Planet Boing is available for download at the iOS App 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 Planet Boing state they do not provide social interactions between users or make a user's information publicly visible to others. The Service recommends a username should be fictional and not include the child’s family name. In addition, the terms state a child's username is used solely for the purpose of personalizing the Service for a child and creating learning progress reports for parents.

Privacy

The terms of Planet Boing state they may collect Personal Information about users through its Service such as their email address, username, birthday, and learning profile. Also, the Service may automatically collect non-personal information such as usage information and demographic information for data analytics purposes. However, the terms state users must agree that the Service may have unrestricted use and transfer of non-personal usage information to third parties.

In addition, the terms state users should be aware that the Service's policies are not available on the homepage and labeled Privacy Policy or Terms of Use as required by CalOPPA, but rather only available from the "Support" tab. The Service does not contain any third party advertising or product placement, but may use third party vendors to track which products and services users have purchased. Lastly, the terms state the Service may cross-promote other products and services of Tribal Nova and its Affiliates to users including in the form of advertisements. But the terms state a user's information will not be sold or rented to third parties for their use and will not be used to advertise products to parents or their children.

Security

The terms of Planet Boing state they incorporate commercially reasonable safeguards to help protect and secure a user's personal information. However, the terms do not contain details about whether or not users are notified in the event of a data breach, or whether the Service encrypts personal information while in transit or at rest.

Compliance

The terms of Planet Boing state they do not have actual knowledge children are using the Service, because it is intended for parents to use in connection with their pre-literate preschool aged children. Therefore, the terms state the Service is intended for general audiences 18 years of age or older. In addition, the terms state that only a parent or legal guardian may register or manage an account with the Service.

However, COPPA provides an exception that requires obtaining parental consent for a otherwise general audience site, if the Service would appeal to children under 13 years of age. This exception takes several factors into account, including subject matter, visual content, age of models, and activities provided. Therefore, because the Service would likely appeal to children and collects personal information from children, all of the compliance obligations under COPPA would apply to this Service.

Lastly, because this Service would appeal to children and does not contain a clear parental consent process, teachers and parents should be aware that by providing permission for a child to use this Service, they are potentially giving the vendor permission to collect and use information that would be protected under COPPA.

Rating

This product received a Warning rating based on the following details:
  • Personal information is not sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is not shared for third-party marketing.
  • Unclear whether this product displays personalised advertising.
  • Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • User's information is used 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: 30%

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 limited to product requirements.
  • Unclear whether this product collects geolocation data.
  • Unclear whether this product collects biometric or health data.
  • Unclear whether this product collects interactions, behaviors, or usage analytics data.
  • Unclear whether this product collects sensitive data.
  • 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.
  • Unclear whether the purpose for sharing a user's personal information with third parties is indicated.
  • The categories of third parties that receive data are indicated.
  • Unclear whether data are shared for analytics.
  • Unclear whether 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.
  • Third-party login is not supported.
  • Contractual limits are placed on third-party data use.
Data Security
SCORE: 30%

How does it secure data?

  • Unclear whether a user's identity is verified with additional personal information.
  • Account creation is required.
  • Managed accounts are available.
  • Unclear whether multi-factor account protection is available.
  • Unclear whether 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.
  • Unclear whether this product limits employee or physical access to user information.
  • Unclear whether this product encrypts all data in transit.
  • Unclear whether all data are stored in an encrypted format.
  • Unclear whether this product provides notice in the event of a data breach.
Data Rights
SCORE: 40%

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 not available.
  • Unclear whether this product provides processes to modify data for authorized users.
  • A data-retention policy is available.
  • Unclear whether authorzied users can delete data.
  • A user's data are deleted upon account cancellation or termination.
  • Unclear whether this product deletes data when no longer necessary.
  • Unclear whether 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: 25%

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.
  • Unclear whether users are notified if their information is transferred to a third party.
  • Unclear whether user information can be deleted prior to its transfer to a third party.
  • Unclear whether third-party transfers are contractually required to use the same privacy practices.
  • 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.
  • Unclear whether 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: 15%

How safe is this product?

  • Unclear whether this product supports interactions between trusted users.
  • Unclear whether users can interact with untrusted users, including strangers and/or adults.
  • Unclear whether profile information must be shared for social interactions.
  • Personal information can be not displayed publicly.
  • Unclear whether this product allows users to control how their data are displayed to others.
  • User-created content is not reviewed, screened, or monitored by the company.
  • Unclear whether user-created content is filtered for personal information before being made publicly visible.
  • Unclear whether social interactions between users are moderated.
  • Unclear whether social interactions of users are logged.
  • Unclear whether users can report abuse or cyberbullying.
Ads & Tracking
SCORE: 50%

Are there advertisements or tracking?

  • Personal information is not shared for third-party marketing.
  • Traditional or contextual advertisements are displayed.
  • Unclear whether this product displays personalised advertising.
  • Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • User's information is used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Unclear whether this product creates and uses data profiles for personalised advertisements.
  • The company can send marketing messages.
  • The company does provide promotional sweepstakes, contests, or surveys.
  • Users cannot opt out of contextual, or personalised advertising.
  • Users can opt out or unsubscribe from marketing communications.
Parental Consent
SCORE: 65%

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.
  • 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.
  • Unclear whether this product provides parental consent notice and method for submission.
School Purpose
SCORE: 0%

Is the product intended for school?

  • Unclear whether intended for students.
  • Unclear whether personal information or education records are collected from preK-12 students.
  • Unclear whether intended for teachers.
  • Unclear whether this product is primarily used by, designed for, and marketed toward students in grades preK–12.
  • Processes to enter education records into the product are not 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.
  • Unclear whether this product transfers parental consent obligations to the school or district.
Individual Control
SCORE: 45%

Can I control the use of my data?

  • 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.
  • Unclear whether 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.
  • 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.
  • Unclear whether 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.