Privacy and Security Information
google.com/edu/privacy
The mission of Google is to organize the world’s HOW SOME OF OUR TOOLS ARE USED IN SCHOOLS:
information and make it universally accessible and
Google Docs, Sheets and Slides enable students to
useful. Ensuring teachers and students everywhere collaborate with their peers and teachers in real-time,
have access to technology to learn and work together allowing them to share their work, get feedback, and make
fits naturally with that mission. That is why we provide edits instantaneously. They can be kept private, shared
with others (such as a parent, or the entire class), or even
educators with powerful solutions that are affordable, made public. Best of all they can be accessed from any
safe and easy to use. computer or tablet, anywhere, anytime.
Teachers can save time and better engage their students
The G Suite for Education core services are the heart by using Google Classroom to send assignments and
of Google’s educational offering to schools. The core resources digitally. In addition, Classroom allows teachers
to ensure their students are submitting their work on
services are Gmail, Calendar, Classroom, Contacts,
time. Students using Classroom can easily see when their
Drive, Docs, Groups, Sheets, Sites, Slides, Talk/ assignments are due, and are given clear notifications
Hangouts and Vault. We know that trust is earned when their work is late, helping them stay on track
and organized.
through protecting teacher and student privacy and
providing the best security measures. This handout Google Sites allows teachers and students to create their
tells more about the core services and explains our own websites, without needing to code. Often, this tool
is used to let students create personalized e-portfolios,
privacy and security commitments.
so that teachers and parents may track their student’s
development with ease. Teachers can also use Google
Sites to create quick and easy webpages for their class,
YOU'RE IN GOOD COMPANY
sport, or club.
60 million
Students and teachers use G Suite for Education
The tools in Google’s Admin Console allow administrators
to personalize the G Suite for Education experience for
their schools, teachers, and students. For example, an
administrator may block Gmail for kindergarteners, but
may allow older students to email people within the same
school. Administrators may also choose to block certain
webpages, ensuring their students stay safe and productive.
7 of 8
Ivy League Universities use G Suite for Education
Google Vault gives schools the ability to archive emails
and Documents. This means that if a student or teacher
accidentally deletes a file it can be recovered quickly
and painlessly. Vault is also an important part of legal
compliance for schools — if there is ever a legal matter
that requires old emails to be reviewed, Vault allows
5 million
administrators to find them easily and quickly.
Businesses use G Suite
Protecting Student Our Commitment Security and
Data and Privacy and Compliance Privacy
Does Google own school or student data? Is my organization compliant with Family Which third parties have reviewed Google’s
No. Google doesn’t assume ownership of any Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)? security practices?
customer data in G Suite core services, and Yes. G Suite for Education core services Independent auditors and third party
it says so in our contracts (under “Intellectual comply with the Family Educational Rights and organizations have verified that our privacy
Property”). Privacy Act (FERPA) and our commitment to practices and contractual commitments
We provide powerful, easy-to-use do so is included in our agreements. for G Suite for Education comply with
management tools and dashboards to data standards*. Ernst & Young verified
help administrators keep track of their Can G Suite for Education be used in that our privacy practices and contractual
organization’s services, usage and data. compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy commitments for G Suite for Education
We only keep your personal information as Protection Act (COPPA)? comply with ISO/IEC 27018:2014.
long as you ask us to keep it. If an education Yes. We contractually require that schools
* ISO/IEC 27018:2014 and SSAE 16 / ISAE 3402
department, school or university decides to using G Suite for Education get the parental
Type II SOC 2
stop using Google, we make it easy for them consent required by COPPA. Our services can
to take their data with them. be used in compliance with COPPA as long as
How does Google keep data secure?
a school has parental consent.
We are fully committed to the security and
Are there ads in G Suite for Education?
privacy of your data and protecting you and
No. There are no ads in G Suite for Education How do we know you are keeping your word?
your school from attempts to compromise it.
core services and we do not collect or use We make contractual commitments in our G
Our systems are among the industry’s most
student data for advertising purposes or Suite for Education agreement and commit to
secure and we vigorously resist any unlawful
create advertising profiles. K-12 G Suite for comply with privacy and security standards.
attempt to access our customers’ data.
Education users also don’t see ads when they And whether it’s real time dashboards to verify
use Google search while signed in to their system performance, our ongoing auditing of Google’s data centers use custom hardware
G Suite for Education accounts. Some of our processes or sharing the location of our running a custom hardened operating system
Google’s additional services such as Blogger datacenters, we’re committed to providing and file system. Each of these systems has
and YouTube do show ads to students, all our users utmost transparency. It’s your been optimized for security
however we give Administrators the ability to data, and we want you to know what happens and performance. Because Google controls
restrict access to these services. with it so that you can always make informed the entire hardware stack, we are able to
choices. quickly respond to any threats or weaknesses
Has Google signed the Privacy Pledge? that may emerge.
Yes. In order to reaffirm the commitments
Google encrypts Gmail (including
we’ve made to schools, Google has signed
attachments) and Drive data while on the
the Student Privacy Pledge introduced by
move. This ensures that your messages are
the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and The
safe not only when they move between you
Software & Information Industry Association
and Google’s servers, but also as they move
between Google’s data centers.
Learn more about Google for Education’s commitment to privacy and security at google.com/edu/privacy
Staying Safe Online
We also have a lot of information about how you can keep yourself and your students safe online at home too, even when
they are using tools outside of school. To learn more, visit our Family Safety Center at google.com/safetycenter
google.com/edu/privacy
