We are fully compliant with GDPR, COPPA and FERPA. There is no obligation to enter real names but users, including schools, are responsible for any data that they enter.
Where GDPR applies, schools are the Data Controller and we are Data Processor. In this situation our DATA PROCESSING ADDENDUM applies.
Within our consumer Apps, parents must verify via email that they consent to their child having an account.
Note that Username and Display Name are visible publicly in some situations.
This is a child-friendly summary of our data protection policies and practices. Click on The Long Version to read our full policy but the same headings are used below.
We are EdShed, which is a company based in the UK and the USA. Customers who are physically in the USA are customers of Education Shed Inc and everyone else is a customer of the parent company, Education Shed Ltd.
The minimum information you must enter is a name (which does not have to be real), and for teachers or parents, an email address. Each user has a unique username and a generated display name, both of which may be viewable publicly, so please be careful to not put personal information in these.
We may also collect secondary data to improve our system or to help us to help you.
We only collect the information that we need for you to access your account, identify yourself or for teachers to manage your learning. For teachers and account administrators, we only collect the information we need for you to operate your account.
If we use your usage data to look for trends, this will always be anonymised first so the outcomes will not relate to you.
We work with a small number of suppliers to aid our operations. These are people like web hosting companies, financial processors and customer service tools.
We may be required to share some data for legal or financial oversight reasons, but this will only be the minimum necessary.
We store all data at a data centre in London.
You (or your teacher) can delete most data yourself. There is certain data we don't delete, like financial information. Otherwise, our system deletes your data 12-months after your account stops being active, or immediately if we are asked.
Note: The reason we wait 12-months is that sometimes accounts are closed by mistake and we would have no way to restore data otherwise.
We try our hardest to make our service as secure as possible. This is done in a number of ways and we have our system tested by an independent security company each year.
Good password security is important as this is the most likely way for someone to access your data. Do not share your password with anyone and, if you are a teacher, please do not give children all the same passwords.
Sadly, not the tasty chocolate-chip variety. This kind of cookie lets us keep track of who you are while you are using our website. This is just to let us understand how people use our websites and to help us support users.
We do not market to children. We do not sell data. We do sometimes tell our users about other features, products and services within our own range. You can opt out of that marketing if you want to.
In some places, privacy laws mean that you have some specific rights. We generally act as if everyone has those rights however.
If we change this policy we will notify our users.
We have some extra policy provisions for children under 13. See The Long Version for more.
The summary is that we only collect minimal data, we do not share that data and parents have a right, sometimes through a school, to have their child's data deleted.
We can be contacted most easily by email at support@edshed.com.
If you would prefer to speak to us by phone, please call 0330 460 9636 from the UK or +1 888 254 3098 from the USA.