Student privacy is everyone’s concern. VoiceThread is proud to support the effort to safeguard student data by signing The Student Privacy Pledge. We have believed strongly in these protections ever since VoiceThread was founded almost 10 years ago. Ed.VoiceThread, our dedicated K-12 community, was developed on those very principles.

This New York Times article makes clear the dangers of not understanding the terms of use and the business models of your EdTech services. VoiceThread has never engaged in data mining and reselling. Our business model has been transparent since the moment we launched in December 2005. We offer premium services to generate revenue. That’s it. Our goal is long term and sustainable: to be a trusted partner to educators and administrators around the world.

The Student Privacy Pledge is an important step in making sure that your students’ data is safe.  We believe all EdTech vendors should be required to sign.

The Pledge

We commit to:

• Not sell student information
• Not behaviorally target advertising at students
• Use data for authorized education purposes only
• Not change privacy policies without notice and choice
• Enforce strict limits on data retention
• Support parental access to, and correction of errors in, their children’s information
• Provide comprehensive security standards
• Be transparent about the collection and use of data

Read the complete pledge here.