Privacy & Trust Center

Our Proactive Approach to Privacy

As recognized leaders in student data privacy, GoGuardian is independently certified as FERPA compliant and is a proud signatory of the 2020 Student Privacy Pledge. Our dedicated Privacy Team works across all divisions of the company to implement proactive privacy protections.

The GoGuardian Commitment to Privacy

GoGuardian recognizes the trust educators place in us — trust that our technologies help schools protect students’ safety, and trust that the company protects students’ privacy.

We envision a future where all learners are ready and inspired to solve the world’s greatest challenges, and that vision helps drive our decisions — from product design to our thoughtful approach to student privacy and data protection.

How Does GoGuardian Protect Student Data?

We take a proactive approach to protect student information.

  • GoGuardian does not sell, trade, or rent student personal information.
  • We are independently certified as FERPA compliant by iKeepSafe, meaning that schools always maintain certain rights over their student data.
  • We're a proud signatory of the 2020 Student Privacy Pledge, a public and legally-enforceable commitment regarding the collection, maintenance, and use of student personal information.

We ensure schools maintain control over their data.

  • Schools and districts that partner with GoGuardian own and control their Personal Student Information, and can request deletion of Personal Student Information at any time.
  • GoGuardian does not use Personal Student Information beyond the purposes explicitly outlined in agreements.
  • Schools and districts that partner with us control their own settings — such as where and when GoGuardian's services are active, and which websites are on- and off-limits when using GoGuardian Admin.

We utilize industry-leading best practices to safeguard data.

  • We apply a combination of technical, administrative, and physical safeguards to protect student and school data.
  • We use military-grade TLS encryption across our products and websites to protect personal information in transit.
  • We restrict access to Personal Student Information on a "need-to-know" basis.

We continuously test and assess to improve privacy practices.

  • We constantly monitor state and federal laws to ensure our policies meet — and often exceed — legal requirements.
  • We have a dedicated Privacy Team that works across all divisions of the company to implement proactive privacy protections.
  • We work with experts and advocates to help us thoroughly examine industry-leading privacy topics.

Discuss GoGuardian's privacy practices with your learning community: View and download our infographic and white paper about protecting student data and privacy.

How Does GoGuardian Provide Transparency?

We’ve created indicators and notifications to help schools and districts inform students when GoGuardian is being used on their device, including the following:

screenshot of a user 'student@school.edu' receiving a GoGuardian device notification

On devices where GoGuardian is being used, we prominently display the GoGuardian shield icon at the top of the Chrome browser to provide transparency to students at all times.

Schools can also provide students with a clear notification that indicates when GoGuardian Admin and/or Beacon are active on their school-managed account, school-managed device, and/or school system internet.

On devices where GoGuardian Teacher is being used, an additional icon in the browser bar indicates that a student is in an active GoGuardian Teacher session.

Certifications and Partnerships

GoGuardian products comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Rule (COPPA), and all applicable state-level student data privacy laws. GoGuardian is also aligned with NIST-CSF and has received certification for having an Information Security Management System (ISMS) that is compliant with ISO 27001.

Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act, Student Privacy Pledge 2020 Signatory, and California Student Privacy Certified iKeepSafe logos

More About Our Approach to Student Data Privacy

We Do Not:

  • WE DO NOT use Personal Student Information to market or advertise to students, parents, or anyone else.
  • WE DO NOT sell, trade, or rent Personal Student Information under any circumstances.

We Do:

  • WE DO process student data only if explicitly stated under contract with schools to perform specific educational functions.
  • WE DO affirm that schools maintain certain rights over their students’ data.
  • WE DO adhere to the 2020 Student Privacy Pledge and its set of student data privacy commitments.
  • WE DO obtain certification by iKeepSafe as compliant in FERPA and California student privacy laws.
  • WE DO comply with all federal and state student privacy laws.
  • WE DO de-identify Personal Student Information for product development.
  • WE DO provide schools with controls that enable them to establish when and where GoGuardian is active.
  • WE DO maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect Personal Student Information.
  • WE DO train all employees who need to access Personal Student Information to perform their job functions effectively and with great respect to privacy.
  • WE DO use security technologies such as HTTPS and TLS-encryption across our products and services.
  • WE DO obtain third-party attestation of our alignment with the NIST Cyber Security Framework.

Have additional privacy questions?

Our Privacy Team is dedicated to providing industry-leading service and practices to protect student and school data privacy. If you have any specific questions, please email privacy@goguardian.com — we’re happy to answer them for you.