GoGuardian: Difference between revisions - Consumer_Action

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[[Wikipedia:GoGuardian|'''GoGuardian Inc.''']] is a software company that focuses on education. They offer a few browser extensions for Google Chrome called "GoGuardian" that has been known to spy on people, give teachers/admins full control to your computer, and block websites. Another one is called "GoGuardian Beacon" which does the things previously mentioned as well as prevent suicide.{{CitationNeeded}} GoGuardian has caused a lot of controversy, as it accesses sensitive information.

==~~Controversies~~==

==Consumer impact summary==

~~===Student data collection~~ concerns~~===~~

{{Placeholder box|Overview of concerns that arise from the company's conduct regarding (if applicable):

~~According to a study in 2023, school administrators using~~ the GoGuardian admin tool have access to student "browsing histories, documents, videos, app and extension data, and content filtering and alerts."<ref name="EFF">https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/10/how-goguardian-invades-student-privacy?language=en</ref> GoGuardian claims "they de-identify data before sharing it with third parties or other entities", though it is reported the data can be deanominized.<ref name="EFF" /> This is an issue as students in American school districts are under the age of 18, which if advertised to with targeted ads based on their GoGuardian data is a direct violation of the Children's ~~Online Privacy Protection Act~~ (~~COPPA~~)~~. Also, students who utilize this software as a service (SAAS) are forced into using school devices with the monitoring software preinstalled, such as Chromebooks.~~

* User Freedom

* User Privacy

* Business Model

* Market Control}}

===Workarounds===

==Incidents==

===Student data collection concerns (2023)===

According to a study in 2023, school administrators using the GoGuardian admin tool have access to student "browsing histories, documents, videos, app and extension data, and content filtering and alerts."<ref name="EFF">{{Cite web |last=Kelley |first=Jason |date=30 Oct 2023 |title=How GoGuardian Invades Student Privacy |url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/10/how-goguardian-invades-student-privacy?language=en |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[EFF]]}}</ref> GoGuardian claims "they de-identify data before sharing it with third parties or other entities", though it is reported the data can be deanominized.<ref name="EFF" /> This is an issue as students in American school districts are under the age of 18, which if advertised to with targeted ads based on their GoGuardian data is a direct violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Also, students who utilize this software as a service (SAAS) are forced into using school devices with the monitoring software preinstalled, such as Chromebooks.

====Workarounds====

There are a few workarounds, like going to task manager (Shift+Esc) and ending the GoGuardian process. Some schools have disabled ending processes as a result. Another workaround is using your own laptop with a browser other than Google Chrome.

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 [[Wikipedia:GoGuardian|'''GoGuardian Inc.''']] is a software company that focuses on education. They offer a few browser extensions for Google Chrome called "GoGuardian" that has been known to spy on people, give teachers/admins full control to your computer, and block websites. Another one is called "GoGuardian Beacon" which does the things previously mentioned as well as prevent suicide.{{CitationNeeded}} GoGuardian has caused a lot of controversy, as it accesses sensitive information.
-==Controversies==
+==Consumer impact summary==
-===Student data collection concerns===
+{{Placeholder box|Overview of concerns that arise from the company's conduct regarding (if applicable):
-According to a study in 2023, school administrators using the GoGuardian admin tool have access to student "browsing histories, documents, videos, app and extension data, and content filtering and alerts."<ref name="EFF">https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/10/how-goguardian-invades-student-privacy?language=en</ref> GoGuardian claims "they de-identify data before sharing it with third parties or other entities", though it is reported the data can be deanominized.<ref name="EFF" /> This is an issue as students in American school districts are under the age of 18, which if advertised to with targeted ads based on their GoGuardian data is a direct violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Also, students who utilize this software as a service (SAAS) are forced into using school devices with the monitoring software preinstalled, such as Chromebooks.
+* User Freedom
+* User Privacy
+* Business Model
+* Market Control}}
-===Workarounds===
+==Incidents==
+===Student data collection concerns (2023)===
+According to a study in 2023, school administrators using the GoGuardian admin tool have access to student "browsing histories, documents, videos, app and extension data, and content filtering and alerts."<ref name="EFF">{{Cite web |last=Kelley |first=Jason |date=30 Oct 2023 |title=How GoGuardian Invades Student Privacy |url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/10/how-goguardian-invades-student-privacy?language=en |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[EFF]]}}</ref> GoGuardian claims "they de-identify data before sharing it with third parties or other entities", though it is reported the data can be deanominized.<ref name="EFF" /> This is an issue as students in American school districts are under the age of 18, which if advertised to with targeted ads based on their GoGuardian data is a direct violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Also, students who utilize this software as a service (SAAS) are forced into using school devices with the monitoring software preinstalled, such as Chromebooks.
+====Workarounds====
 There are a few workarounds, like going to task manager (Shift+Esc) and ending the GoGuardian process. Some schools have disabled ending processes as a result. Another workaround is using your own laptop with a browser other than Google Chrome.