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State audit and network testing finds many EdTech apps share student data beyond contracts; USBE begins remediation
Summary
A technical review of 100 widely used educational apps found about half sent data elements not listed in vendor agreements and sometimes routed data to third‑party advertising and analytics firms; USBE and academic partners notified vendors and began remediation and training.
A technical audit of commonly used educational software presented on Sept. 1 found that many third‑party education apps send student data beyond what vendors declared in their contracts with LEAs. Researchers and USBE staff said the work — combining public registries and network‑traffic testing — found approximately 52% of tested apps transmitted data elements not explicitly disclosed in vendor exhibits and, in multiple cases, forwarded information to third‑party analytics or ad‑tech vendors; USBE has begun vendor follow‑up and remediation.
The study was led by Mark Keith, a professor at Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management, and carried out with USBE staff. Researchers compiled a list of edtech apps used in Utah schools from LEA websites, USBE registries and other sources, cleaned the list to about 3,000 unique apps, and…
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