How G Suite for Education protects teacher and student privacy

From its start 13 years ago, G Suite for Education has provided accredited schools and universities around the world with collaboration and teaching tools that are easy to use and manage, and protect student data. Our team works closely with school leaders and educators to continuously improve our tools and empower them with more engaging and effective ways to teach and learn—anytime, anywhere, on any device. And with many more schools now using G Suite for Education, we want to answer some common questions about our approach to security and privacy. 

What’s included in G Suite for Education

G Suite for Education offers two categories of services: G Suite Core Services and Additional Services. G Suite Core Services include products like Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Forms, Slides, Meet, and Classroom, which helps educators easily distribute assignments, grade and send feedback, and communicate with students in one place. Additional Services, like Google Books, Google Earth and Google Search, are designed for consumer users and can be used with G Suite for Education accounts if enabled by a school’s domain administrator, after obtaining parental consent where appropriate.

We keep teacher and student data secure 

Schools own their G Suite for Education data, and it’s Google’s responsibility to keep it safe and secure. Our systems and data centers are among the industry’s most secure and G Suite for Education data gets the same multi-layer safeguards that Google uses for our own operations. Our engineers work around the clock to ensure the security of our products and quickly respond to any threats that may emerge. We also provide all G Suite for Education administrators with extensive security capabilities to protect sensitive information, including Data Loss Prevention. For customers interested in enhanced security capabilities, please check out G Suite Enterprise for Education.

G Suite for Education provides school-managed Google accounts specifically for students, faculty and staff. School administrators can delete their entire domain, delete specific accounts at any time, or export their data at any time. If a school decides to stop using G Suite for Education, all their user accounts and G Suite customer data will be deleted. When users graduate or move to a different school, we provide a Takeout tool students can use to take their data with them. 

If you’re a parent or guardian of a student in primary or secondary school (K-12), you can access your child’s personal information or request that it be deleted through the school administrator. If a parent wishes to stop any further collection or use of the child's information, the parent can request that the school administrator limit the child’s access to features or services, or delete the child’s account entirely. For schools looking for more information about how to communicate with parents and guardians about G Suite for Education, check out this resource.

We don’t allow ads in G Suite for Education Core Services

There are no ads in G Suite for Education’s Core Services. For G Suite for Education users in primary and secondary (K-12) schools, Google does not use any user personal information (or any information associated with the G Suite for Education account) to target ads.

Additional Services (like YouTube, Maps, and Blogger) that are designed for consumers can also be used with G Suite for Education accounts for primary and secondary schools (K-12), if the school’s domain administrator enables access to the services. In that circumstance, these services may show contextual ads, but personal information (or any information associated with the account) is not used to target advertising.

We comply with industry regulations and best practices

G Suite for Education supports compliance with privacy laws around the world like the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). We also signed the Student Privacy Pledge in connection with G Suite for Education Core Services so that educators and parents would know that we follow industry-leading practices. 

G Suite for Education’s commitment to privacy and security helps educators and school leaders create a healthy and safe teaching environment, all while making learning productive and collaborative. To learn more, we encourage you to visit our Privacy & Security Center and our G Suite for Education Privacy Notice. And if you’re a parent or guardian looking for information about how you can keep your family safe online, even outside of school, visit our Family Safety Center.