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added infobox and logo. No using first person please, this isn't a blog. School districts have different settings for GoGuardian than others.
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==Controversies==
==Controversies==
===Student data collection concerns===
===Student data collection concerns===
According to a study, GoGuardian admins have access to "browsing histories, documents, videos, app and extension data, and content filtering and alerts."<ref>https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/10/how-goguardian-invades-student-privacy?language=en</ref> This is an issue as students in school districts who utilize this software as a service (SAAS) are forced into using school devices with the monitoring software preinstalled, such as Chromebooks.  
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.  
 
GoGuardian knows what they are doing because on their [https://www.youtube.com/@GoGuardian YouTube channel], they disabled comments on their videos. On some videos, they disabled like and dislike count but on others, the dislike percent is very high, usually 90-95%. (Data obtained from Return Youtube Dislike Extension)


===Workarounds===
===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.
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.
 
Another workaround is using your own laptop with a browser other than Google Chrome.


==References==
==References==
<references />
<references />

Revision as of 20:27, 27 February 2025

GoGuardian
Basic information
Founded 2015
Type Private
Industry Education
Official website https://www.goguardian.com/


GoGuardian Inc. is a software company that focuses on education. They offer a browser extension for Google Chrome called "GoGuardian Beacon" that has been known to spy on people, give teachers/admins full control to your computer, and prevent suicide.[citation needed] GoGuardian has caused a lot of controversy, as it accesses sensitive information.

Controversies

Student data collection concerns

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."[1] GoGuardian claims "they de-identify data before sharing it with third parties or other entities", though it is reported the data can be deanominized.[1] 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.

References