Education Privacy Notice

Date Last Updated: May 2026

Summary

We created this summary to explain—in plain language—what you can expect when using VoiceThread's education services. You can read our full Education Privacy Notice below for more details.

Our Commitments

  • We don't sell student data.
  • We do not use or share student data for marketing or behavioral advertising.
  • Schools retain ownership of all student information.
  • We only collect what's necessary to provide educational services.

What Information We Collect

We collect information like:

  • Names, usernames, and email addresses (for teachers, students, and parents)
  • Class or school information
  • Uploaded content like presentations, videos, or comments
  • Technical data like IP address and location (region only)

How We Use Information

We use your information to:

  • Deliver and support the service
  • Help educators manage student accounts
  • Improve VoiceThread for schools
  • Send important updates (no marketing to students)

How We Share Information

We only share personal information with:

  • Trusted vendors
  • Invited collaborators and other education users (only with school approval)
  • Legal authorities (when required by law)
  • Other parties as directed by the school

We never sell or share student information for advertising or marketing.

How We Protect Information

We protect personal information with:

  • Industry-standard encryption
  • Access controls for authorized employees and contractors
  • Secure data hosting in the U.S.

How We Retain Information

  • We retain information only as long as necessary to provide the Services.
  • Schools decide how long student data is retained and choose how to manage student data at the end of a license agreement.

What does this policy cover?

This Education Privacy Notice outlines the personal information that VoiceThread may collect, how VoiceThread uses and safeguards that information, with whom we may share it, and provides resources. VoiceThread processes student data only at the direction and control of the school.

VoiceThread encourages administrators, educators, customers, visitors, business associates, and any other interested parties to read this Education Privacy Notice, which applies to all Education Users. This policy applies to use of the Services by Authorized Users under an institutional license held by a school, district, college, university, or other educational institution. For use of the Services by individual consumers (not in connection with an institutional license), see our General Consumer Privacy Notice.

VoiceThread education services, including (without limitation) the voicethread.com website and related online services accessible through the Website, including via desktop and mobile web browsers (collectively, the 'Services') are owned, operated, and distributed by VoiceThread (referred to in this Education Privacy Notice as "VoiceThread" or "we" and through similar words such as "us," "our," etc.).

While VoiceThread provides some Education Services internationally, those Education Services are subject to specific contractual protections negotiated between VoiceThread and those institutions, and not this policy. This policy applies solely to individuals and institutions located within the United States. Individuals or institutions located in other countries are encouraged to contact us directly to request a data processing agreement that aligns with the data protection and/or privacy laws applicable in their jurisdiction.

THIS SERVICE IS OFFERED FROM THE UNITED STATES ("US"), our servers are located in the US, and VoiceThread is a US-based company. If you use the Service, all information, including personal information, will be transferred to VoiceThread in the US and used as described in this Education Privacy Notice.

While this policy applies broadly to all Education Users, specific guidance around how we handle personal information from students under the age of 13 can be found in the section labeled "Children's Privacy." Within the education environment governed by this Notice, users under the age of 18 may only access and use the Services through an account created for them by an authorized school representative or other school official.

By using our Service or submitting personal information to VoiceThread by any other means, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to be bound by this Education Privacy Notice, and agree that VoiceThread may collect, process, transfer, use, and disclose your personal information as described in this Notice.

Further, by accessing any part of the Service, you are agreeing to our TERMS AND CONDITIONS (the "Terms and Conditions"). IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH ANY PART OF THIS EDUCATION PRIVACY NOTICE OR OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS, PLEASE DO NOT USE ANY PORTION OF THE SERVICES.

Definitions

The following definitions apply throughout this Education Privacy Notice:

An "Admin User" is an adult Education User (but in no case also a Student User, even if a student is over 18 years of age) that has the authority to create, change privacy and security settings for, and otherwise control the Student User accounts within a specified school or classroom. This may include educators and school administrators.

A "Child User" is a Student User who is under the age of 13.

"De-Identified Data" is information that cannot be used, alone or in combination with other information, to allow identification of an individual. Simple removal of direct identifiers from Personal Information DOES NOT constitute adequate de-identification. Properly performed de-identification involves removing or obscuring all identifiable information until all data that can lead to individual identification have been expunged or masked.

To "Distribute" (also referred to as distributing) is the act of posting, uploading, submitting, or otherwise making User Content available to other Education Users (besides the Admin User(s) in control of that student's account who always have access to their User Content) on the Services.

An “Education User” is an individual with an account associated with an institutional license held by a school, district, college, university, or other educational institution. This may include students, parents, educators, and school administrators.

An "Invited User" is an individual outside of the school community who an Admin User allows to collaborate on the Services. This may include subject matter experts and parents.

The term "Parent" includes a legal guardian or other person standing in loco parentis (such as a grandparent or stepparent with whom the child lives, or a person who is legally responsible for the welfare of the child).

"Personal Information" is information that, alone or in combination, is linked or linkable to a specific individual. Personal Information includes direct identifiers that are unique to an individual (such as name or email address), indirect identifiers that may apply to a group of individuals (such as school or class year), and information associated with a targeted request from a person who knows the identity of an individual (such as when a request is made to view all content distributed or published to the Services on a specified date following a news story about a specific Education User's posts on that date). Any data (whether such data on its own would be considered personal or non-personal information) shall be treated as Personal Information once it has been combined with or otherwise linked to Personal Information. For the avoidance of doubt, Personal Information should be read to encompass all student personally identifiable information as defined under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), as well as child and student data protected under state privacy laws.

To "Publish" (also referred to as publishing) is the act of making User Content publicly available and accessible to anyone on the internet.

The "School" (also referred to as "you") means public and private K-12 and postsecondary institutions. This includes all types of Educational Agencies and Institutions, as defined by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. Section 1232g.

The 'Services' refers to VoiceThread education services, accessible through the voicethread.com website and related online services via desktop and mobile web browsers.

A "Student User" is an Education User who (1) is or has been in attendance at a school; and (2) is interacting with the Services at the direction of the school, using an account created for them by an educator or administrator.

A "Third Party" is any entity who is not (1) the School; (2) an Education User; or (3) VoiceThread.

"VoiceThread" (also referred to "we" and through similar words such as "us," "our," etc.) is VoiceThread Inc., a Delaware corporation, that owns, operates, and distributes the Services. All references to and requirements/responsibilities of "VoiceThread" in this Education Privacy Notice also apply to VoiceThread employees.

"User Content" is any materials an Education User uploads or creates on the Services. User Content may include uploaded media (images, videos, presentations, documents, etc.), comments on uploaded media, reviews of the Services, messaging in private comments, and posts on public forums or discussion boards.

What Personal Information do we collect?

We will only collect, use, and share Personal Information in accordance with this Education Privacy Notice, or as directed by the school. The types and amounts of Personal Information collected vary depending on whether an Education User is a student, parent, educator, or school administrator. VoiceThread may collect Personal Information directly from Education Users. Additionally, VoiceThread may collect Personal Information about Student Users from educators or school administrators to facilitate Student Users' access to services in accordance with this Education Privacy Notice.

VoiceThread does not collect Personal Information from any other sources.

Student Users may only access and use the Services if an account has been created for them by an educator or administrator at their school. Student Users are not permitted to register for an account; only school personnel (such as educators and administrators) may do so.

Automatically Collected Information

VoiceThread automatically collects some Personal Information in order to provide the Service, including:

  • Internet Protocol (IP) address;
  • Information as detailed in our Cookie Policy;
  • Regional location data (e.g. zip code).

Information Collected from Education Users

Additionally, VoiceThread may collect the following categories of Personal Information from Education Users:

Educator/Administrator Data: When an educator or school administrator registers for a VoiceThread account, we ask them to provide and/or create personal information such as:

  • Name;
  • Contact information (e.g. address; phone number; email);
  • Account and profile information (e.g. username, password, profile picture, Identity Name);
  • School information (e.g. school name, address, administrator contact);
  • Order information (e.g. current order/purchase information, purchase history, shipping details); and
  • Billing information (e.g. credit card, bank account, billing contact information).

Educator/Administrator Data may also be collected directly from Admin Users interacting with the Services, including Personal Information contained in User Content.

Student Data:

When an educator or school administrator registers an account for a Student User on the Services, we may ask them to provide Personal Information about the student they are registering, including the student's:

  • Name;
  • Account and profile information (e.g. username, password, profile picture, Identity Name); and
  • Class information (e.g. class year).

Student data may also be collected directly from Student Users interacting with the Services, including Personal Information contained in User Content.

Invited User Data:

When a parent or other invited user is invited by an Educator or Administrator to collaborate on the Services or view student content, we ask them to provide personal information such as:

  • Name;
  • Contact information (e.g. address; phone number; email);
  • Account and profile information (e.g. username, password, profile picture, Identity Name).

How does VoiceThread use personal information?

VoiceThread uses the above-described categories of Personal Information in several ways. Unless otherwise stated specifically, such as in a data sharing agreement with a school, the above information may be used for any of the following purposes:

  • to administer the Services;
  • to respond to requests for assistance;
  • to provide information about the Services;
  • to understand and improve the Services based on how the Services are operating and being utilized by you (Here is our current list of analytics providers);
  • to issue communications relevant to your use of the Service (e.g. system updates, information about your use of the Services);
  • as may be necessary to support the operation of the Services (e.g. billing, account maintenance, and record-keeping);
  • to allow Admin Users to participate in surveys or provide testimonials (Your testimonials are only published with your consent);
  • to send Admin Users VoiceThread solicitations, product announcements, and other information about VoiceThread we feel may be of interest to you (You may "opt out" of receiving these marketing materials);
  • to notify schools about changes to this Education Privacy Notice;
  • to carry out VoiceThread's legal obligations and enforce rights arising from any contracts between schools and VoiceThread;
  • to investigate and deter fraudulent activity;
  • in other manners after subsequent notice is provided to schools and/or consent is obtained, if necessary.

VoiceThread does not sell, re-sell, or share the Personal Information of Education Users for re-sale. For more information on how VoiceThread uses Student Personal Information, see the section labeled "Student Privacy."

However, VoiceThread may share aggregated, de-identified, non-personally identifiable information publicly, including with partners or the press at its own discretion.

How does VoiceThread share Personal Information?

VoiceThread shares personal information in limited circumstances, described below, in order to provide the Service. VoiceThread will never sell, rent, or otherwise share the Personal Information of Student Users with third-party companies for their commercial or marketing use.

Third Parties

We may provide any of the described categories of Personal Information to VoiceThread consultants, affiliates, or other businesses or persons approved by the school for the purpose of processing such information on our behalf in order to provide the Service to you. In such circumstances, we require that these parties agree to protect the confidentiality of such information consistent with the terms of this Education Privacy Notice, the Terms and Conditions, and any contracts between VoiceThread and the school, as well as comply with applicable federal and state laws and regulations. We also require these parties to provide the same level or heightened security protections as VoiceThread, including but not limited to cybersecurity standards, role-based access controls, and adherence to deletion and other available requests. Third parties that receive your information are prohibited from using your personal information in any manner outside of providing services to VoiceThread in accordance with this Education Privacy Notice and any contract between VoiceThread and the school. Other than as described herein, VoiceThread will not disclose Personal Information for any purpose without consent.

Third parties receiving personal information may include:

  • Third-party vendors or service providers providing crucial services and necessary to provide the Services to you (e.g. emailing on behalf of VoiceThread, database management services, database hosting, customer support software, and security);
  • Business partners, contractors, channel partners, subsidiaries, or other affiliated entities for specific purposes consistent with this Education Privacy Notice;
  • Third party applications, websites, and services that may be integrated with our Services. Integrated third-party service providers may receive information about User Content and what you distribute or publish. For example, when Education Users access their Google Drive or Flickr account in order to import work into a VoiceThread, Google and Flickr receive the information that you imported through that functionality. Information collected through these third parties is subject to their respective terms and policies;
  • Government agencies or other parties in response to legal process or other requests, where permitted by law.

Here is a list of the essential third parties we work with to provide the Services.

In addition, we may release Personal Information:

  • to the extent we have a reasonable, good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with any applicable law;
  • to enforce any provision of the Terms of Service, protect ourselves against any liability, defend ourselves against any claims, protect the rights, property and personal safety of any User, or protect the public welfare;
  • when disclosure is required to maintain the security and integrity of the Service, or to protect any Education User's security or the security of other persons, consistent with applicable laws;
  • to respond to a court order, subpoena, search warrant, or other legal process, to the extent permitted and as restricted by law; and
  • in the event that we go through a business transition, such as a merger, divestiture, acquisition, liquidation or sale of all or a portion of our assets.

Public Availability

User Content generated by Education Users is private by default, meaning that an Education User's User Content on the Service is not visible to others unless that Education User chooses to Distribute or Publish it, with the exception that all User Content (whether distributed, published, or unpublished) generated by a Student User will be automatically accessible to the educator or administrator who set up that student's account.

VoiceThread has a feature that enables Education Users to make their User Content available to other Education Users, or to the general public, as permitted by the capabilities of the Service. Admin Users and Postsecondary Student Users may independently choose if and when to Distribute or Publish their own User Content. K-12 Student Users may only choose to Distribute or Publish their User Content if the Admin User who set up their student account has opted-in to this functionality. The option to distribute or publish such student information is at the discretion of the educator, and students and parents should inquire with the educator about such sharing.

Admin Users have the option to invite individuals outside of the school community (such as subject matter experts) to view and/or comment on Student Users' work ("Invited Users"). If a school opts to include such third parties on the Services, we will collect and store the names, email addresses, phone numbers, and log-in credentials of all Invited Users the school allows to access User Content, and those items will be treated as Personal Information in accordance with this Education Privacy Notice. If an Invited User would like to remove their information from the system, they may contact VoiceThread as described herein. Please note that we will not remove content or information that we may be required to retain at the direction of the school.

Please keep in mind that any information (including the Personal Information of yourself or others) in distributed or published User Content may potentially be viewed, copied, stored, and used by the Education Users and subject matter experts you share it with. We cannot control the actions of other Education Users with whom you choose to share information.

VoiceThread Employees and Contractors

VoiceThread utilizes a cloud infrastructure to store and back-up User Content. You expressly acknowledge and agree that VoiceThread employees and contractors may access in real-time, record, and store archives of any User Content on our servers to make use of them in connection with your use of the Service. All User Content generated by Education Users will be available to authorized employees of VoiceThread who need to know the information in order to process it. All employees and contractors who have access to Personal Information are required to comply with all applicable provisions of this policy.

VoiceThread commits itself to periodic examinations of the security infrastructure and privacy practices, as well as compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA"), the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA"), this Education Privacy Notice, and our Terms and Conditions.

Change of Control

In the event that VoiceThread or its assets are acquired by or merged with a third party, Personal Information may be one of the assets transferred to or acquired by that third party. In such circumstances, this Education Privacy Notice would continue to apply to your Personal Information and any acquirer would only be able to handle your Personal Information as per this Notice unless the school consents otherwise. We will provide schools with notice of acquisition within thirty (30) days following the completion of such transaction and prior to allowing the third party to access personal information by posting on the Services or via the email associated with your account. If a school does not consent to the use of your personal information by the third-party successor company, you may request deletion from the Services. In the unlikely event that VoiceThread ceases operations or files for bankruptcy, we will protect your information and will not sell your Personal Information to any third party.

Student Privacy

VoiceThread is committed to protecting student privacy. We comply with state student privacy laws (such as the Student Online Personal Information Protection Act or "SOPIPA") and assist schools in meeting their requirements under FERPA. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA") is a federal privacy law that protects the privacy of students' personally identifiable information (which we refer to as their "Personal Information") in education records. Through your use of our Services, VoiceThread may create, receive from or on behalf of a school, or otherwise have access to information that is protected under FERPA or state student privacy laws.

VoiceThread views FERPA's protections as establishing the minimum requirements for protecting students' Personal Information and we strive to exceed what is required under FERPA and to strengthen protections for our Student Users' data. For example, while FERPA only protects student Personal Information when it is "in education records," we go a step farther and provide the protections described in this section for all student Personal Information, regardless of where it is located.

In addition to the legal requirements described above, VoiceThread voluntarily commits to the following principles governing the handling of student personal information:

VoiceThread commits:

  • We will not collect, maintain, use or share student Personal Information beyond that needed for authorized educational/school purposes, or as authorized by the parent/student.
  • We will not sell student Personal Information.
  • We will not use or disclose student information collected through an educational/school service (whether personal information or otherwise) for behavioral targeting of advertisements to students.
  • We will not build a personal profile of a student other than for supporting authorized educational/school purposes or as authorized by the parent/student.
  • We will not make material changes to education privacy policies without first providing prominent advance notice to the account holder(s) (i.e., the institution/agency, or the parent/student when the information is collected directly from the student with student/parent consent), with sufficient time before the change takes effect for account holders to evaluate the change and exercise any rights they may have under their applicable agreements with VoiceThread; and not make material changes to other policies or practices governing the use of student Personal Information that are inconsistent with contractual requirements.
  • We will not knowingly retain student Personal Information beyond the time period required to support the authorized educational/school purposes, or as authorized by the parent/student.
  • We will collect, use, share, and retain student Personal Information only for purposes for which we were authorized by the educational institution/agency, teacher, or the parent/student.
  • We will disclose clearly in contracts or privacy policies, including in a manner easy for institutions and parents to find and understand, what types of student Personal Information we collect, if any, and the purposes for which the information we maintain is used or shared with third parties.
  • We will support access to and correction of student Personal Information by the student or their authorized parent, either by assisting the educational institution in meeting its requirements or directly when the information is collected directly from the student with student/parent consent.
  • We will maintain a comprehensive security program that is reasonably designed to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of student Personal Information against risks – such as unauthorized access or use, or unintended or inappropriate disclosure – through the use of administrative, technological, and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.
  • We will provide resources to support educational institutions/agencies, teachers, or parents/students to protect the security and privacy of student Personal Information while using the educational service.
  • We will require that our vendors with whom student Personal Information is shared in order to deliver the educational service, if any, are subject to contractual obligations consistent with the student data protections set forth in this Education Privacy Notice.
  • We will allow a successor entity to maintain student Personal Information, in the case of our merger or acquisition by another entity, provided the successor entity is subject to these same commitments for the previously collected student Personal Information.
  • We will incorporate privacy and security when developing or improving our educational products, tools, and services and comply with applicable laws.

Additional Protections for Student Information

VoiceThread represents, warrants, and agrees that we will:

  • Hold student Personal Information in strict confidence and not collect, use or disclose the Personal Information of Student Users except:
    • for educational purposes, as specified in a written agreement with the school,
    • as permitted or required by the Terms and this Education Privacy Notice,
    • as required by law, or
    • as otherwise authorized by educators or school administrators in writing to fulfill an educational purpose, as identified by the school.
  • Safeguard student Personal Information according to commercially reasonable administrative, physical and technical standards that are in no instance less rigorous than the the standards by which VoiceThread protects its own confidential information or any other personal information collected through the Services;
  • Regularly monitor our operations and the operations of our subcontractors, and take any action necessary to ensure that student Personal Information is safeguarded in accordance with the Terms, this Education Privacy Notice, and any agreements with schools;
  • Not use, disclose, or sell Student Data to (a) inform, influence, or enable Targeted Advertising; or (b) develop a profile of a student, family member/guardian or group, for any purpose other than providing the Service to School;
  • Not access, read, or share the contents of any files containing student Personal Information, except as necessary to process an activity or interaction in the system, to store the data as part of providing the Service, to provide customer support, to investigate suspected violations of these Terms or applicable law, to respond to security incidents or maintain the security and integrity of the Service, as permitted in the Education Privacy Notice, or at the direction of the school; and
  • Provide administrative mechanisms enabling Admin Users to (a) access and review student Personal Information stored on the Service; (b) export available student content in standard formats; and (c) destroy student Personal Information, in each case both at the individual Student User level and for the entire school. For requests requiring data or formats not available through standard administrative tools, VoiceThread will work in good faith with schools to provide reasonable access through alternate means.

Student Data Use and Sharing

The Service will never share student Personal Information except:

  • with the Admin User who created a Student User's account;
  • with other Education Users, if Distributing or Publishing is enabled by the Admin User who created a Student User's account;
  • with Invited Users, if such third party collaboration is enabled by the Admin User who created a Student User's account;
  • as directed by the school (i.e. teacher sharing with another teacher or in response to a parent's request to access their child's information under FERPA); or
  • to our service providers that are necessary for us to provide the Service, as stated in the Terms and this Education Privacy Notice. Here is a list of our current essential service providers.

The Personal Information of Student Users is never used, sold or disclosed for advertising purposes, including any kind of first- or third-party behaviorally-targeted advertising to students or parents.

Student Personal Information may be used for adaptive learning or customized student learning purposes, as authorized by the school.

We may use Student Users' Personal Information once it has been sufficiently De-Identified (stripped of all data that could be used to identify the person described) for product development, research, or similar internal business purposes. Such De-Identified Data will have all direct and indirect identifiers removed, including but not limited to the following categories of Personal Information: name, date of birth, demographic information, geolocation information, and school name.

Control of Student Data

VoiceThread requires a student's educators and school administrators to have control and visibility over that student's work. If you are a Student User or the parent of a Student User, contact your school for information on how to exercise your right to inspect, review, and request amendment to your Personal Information.

VoiceThread asserts no ownership rights over any Personal Information submitted via the Service, as all such data ownership rights are retained by the educational agencies and institutions (referred to in this Education Privacy Notice as "the school" or "schools") with which Education Users are associated. VoiceThread does retain limited data licenses in order to provide the Services as described in the Terms and Conditions, including a limited license to use User Content (though VoiceThread does NOT retain Copyright License). For more information about licenses retained by VoiceThread, and when such licenses terminate, please review the Terms and Conditions.

There is a "two-level-identity-policy" available for students that allows a student's nickname or generic name (Identity Name) and image to be anonymized as locally appropriate while ensuring that all educators and administrators within the same school or district license can see the true name of the student. This two-level-identity system enables more schools to opt to allow their students to collaborate with other Education Users and Distribute User Content with an appropriate level of anonymity, while also ensuring that students are working within a transparent environment. Educators and administrators may deploy this method when registering Student User accounts, or the two-level-identity system can be enabled later.

Use of Artificial Intelligence Services

VoiceThread uses third-party artificial intelligence ("AI") services to provide and improve the Services. Current AI sub-processors and their purposes are listed on our Third-Party Service Providers page. AI sub-processors currently include:

  • Captioning of media uploads (currently provided by AWS Transcribe);
  • AI-assisted features supporting account management, customer support, and service operations (currently provided by Anthropic).

Personal Information processed by AI sub-processors is subject to contractual restrictions that prohibit its use to train foundation models and require deletion or aggregation consistent with the purposes listed above. These contractual restrictions are consistent with the Student Privacy commitments described in the section above, including our commitment not to sell student Personal Information and not to use student Personal Information for advertising or profiling.

Schools may opt out of AI-assisted features that are not part of core platform functionality by contacting their VoiceThread account manager or support contact. Captioning is considered core accessibility functionality and is available to users of the Services. Schools that have entered into a separate written agreement with VoiceThread should refer to that agreement, including any executed Data Processing Addendum, for the binding definitions and processing scope governing AI sub-processor use.

VoiceThread will update this section and the third-party providers list when we add or change AI sub-processors. Schools will be notified of material changes consistent with VoiceThread's sub-processor change notification procedures.

Children's Privacy

The Services, when used through an institutional license designated for K-12 use, are designed to be suitable for educational use in an academic setting, among other uses.

Before providing children access to any of the Services, VoiceThread obtains consent from a school representative who has the ability to authorize collection on behalf of students' parents as required under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), its implementing regulations, and guidance from the Federal Trade Commission.

If VoiceThread receives notice or discovers independently that a Child User's Personal Information was collected without the required parental consent or consent from authorized school officials, that child's personal information will be promptly deleted if consent cannot be confirmed or obtained within a reasonable time.

Accessing or Deleting Children's Information

We support parents' rights to review and delete children's information. To ensure that the requester is the parent or guardian of the Child User whose information is requested and retained by VoiceThread, we will only facilitate Child Users' access requests with permission from the school. If you are a Child User or a Parent of a Child User, please contact the school with any requests to review or delete Personal Information. Upon the request and direction of the school, we will facilitate Child Users' access to all of their Personal Information in a manner specified in VoiceThread's written agreement with that school.

The Services include controls that allow educators and administrators to implement age-appropriate and individually appropriate sharing and publishing policies. For assistance on these control features, please see our FAQ on the subject or contact us as described herein.

VoiceThread will never profile or contact Student Users for advertising or marketing purposes.

How does VoiceThread communicate with and advertise to Admin Users?

For Admin Users that registered for the Services, provided an email or phone number, and opted-in to receive communications from VoiceThread, we may use third party marketing providers to market or promote our products and services and/or send you messages regarding the Services via social media updates, SMS, push notifications, and/or email. Your notification preferences may be viewed and adjusted at any time within your account settings.

Opt-Out of Communications

If you no longer wish to receive correspondence, emails, or other communications from us, you may opt-out by submitting a request through one of the following means:

  • using the UNSUBSCRIBE link in any email communication you may have received;
  • noting your preferences at the time you register your account with our Service;
  • logging into your account settings and updating your preferences;
  • contacting us using the contact information provided below.

VoiceThread does not permit third-party contextual advertisements, marketing, or other third-party promotion on the Services.

If an Admin User invites another person to join the Services by adding them as a contact and providing their email address or phone number, we may contact them regarding the Services using email or SMS. If they would prefer to not receive such communications, they may opt-out using instructions contained in those communications.

If an Admin User or Invited User submits a review, recommendation, or endorsement through the Service, or through other websites including Facebook, Instagram, Google, Yelp, and other similar channels, we may share that review, recommendation, endorsement, or content publicly on the Service and our other channels (including VoiceThread's general consumer services and social media pages) without obtaining additional consent. We will not further share the reviews, recommendations, or endorsements of Student Users without obtaining consent as required under COPPA or FERPA (see the section titled "Student Privacy" for more information).

How long does VoiceThread retain your Personal Information?

The length of time that the Personal Information of Education Users is kept on the Service is up to educators and administrators of the license under which the Education Users are working. Administrators of the license have absolute control over the Education User accounts. We only keep an Education User's personal information for as long as administrators of the license allow it. At any time, an administrator of the license can delete an Education User's account and all of their User Content. We do not retain student Personal Information indefinitely. Note that following deletion, limited copies of Personal Information may persist temporarily in system backups, logs, and similar operational systems before being overwritten or expired in the ordinary course of system maintenance. Such residual data is retained only as required for operational continuity, security, and compliance with legal obligations.

When a classroom, school, or district license expires, administrators no longer have access to the management portal. The license may be renewed within the period described in our Data Retention Policy, during which accounts and User Content are preserved. Prior to any institutional license ending, we recommend removing members' accounts rather than deleting them, since deletion would permanently remove all of their work. People who are removed will no longer be part of your School License but can be downgraded to a free account so they retain access to their accounts and past work. There are three options for how administrators of the license may choose to manage Student User accounts:

  1. If the student and/or parent wishes to retain the account:
    • For Postsecondary Student Users, convert the account into a General Consumer Account. This allows Postsecondary Student Users to retain their User Content. Accounts converted to General Consumer Accounts are subject to the terms of our General Consumer Privacy Notice.
    • For K-12 Student Users, accounts may only be transferred to the student's parent or guardian.
  2. Change the passwords for all Student User accounts but keep the accounts and the User Content they've accomplished.
  3. Delete the Student User account and all their User Content on the Service, including comments, presentations, etc.

See more about removing Student User accounts.

We will retain and use Personal Information to the extent necessary to perform our responsibilities pursuant to an agreement with the school and to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes and enforce our legal agreements and policies.

VoiceThread will also retain De-Identified usage data for internal analysis, such as analyzing traffic patterns for automated usage that violates our terms of use. Usage data is generally retained for a shorter period of time, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or to improve the functionality of our Services, or we are legally obligated to retain this data for longer periods.

Data Privacy Rights

VoiceThread is committed to working with schools to provide Education Users with easy ways to access, update, correct, or delete their information. Since the school retains ownership rights over all Personal Information of Education Users retained by VoiceThread, we will only facilitate Education Users' access requests with permission from the school. As such, Education Users should contact their school with their requests to access, update, correct, or delete their Personal Information. Upon the request and direction of the school, we will facilitate Education Users' access to all of their Personal Information in a manner specified in VoiceThread's written agreement with that school, or as specified below for schools without a separate written agreement.

There are certain instances where VoiceThread may not be able to guarantee complete access due to legal restrictions or fulfill requests that are unreasonably difficult, repetitive, or impractical. For example, if a K-12 Education User creates User Content on the Services, FERPA generally permits parents to access that content upon request. However, in situations where multiple K-12 Education Users post comments on the Student's User Content, FERPA may prohibit VoiceThread from sharing other students' comments with the parent of the student who originally uploaded that User Content.

While VoiceThread makes every effort to maintain the accuracy of the personal information it holds through a variety of methods, the primary method for ensuring accurate data is facilitating your ability to correct the personal information we hold about you as described in this Notice. As such, we also encourage our Users to frequently review and update their personal information to ensure its accuracy. All corrections to personal information are made promptly upon submission, unless confirmation with the school or other parties is necessary in which case it could take up to 45 days, as defined by applicable privacy laws.

If you are a Student User or the parent of a Student User, contact your school for information on how to access or update any personal information. If you are an Admin User and would like to access, update, correct, or delete Student Information, submit a request by contacting us here or by calling us at (888) 407-3929.

State Consumer Privacy Laws

VoiceThread is a small business that processes limited personal data for educational purposes. As such, we do not meet the thresholds required under most U.S. state consumer privacy laws (such as those in California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, and others). However, we strongly believe in transparency and supporting user rights. Even though we are not legally required to do so, we do our best to honor all reasonable requests from Education Users to access, amend, or delete personal information in collaboration with the school.

Please note that requests regarding student data must be directed to the school, as they retain control over the data and may require us to retain information in order to comply with applicable laws. If you have a request related to a particular student, please contact your school.

For all other Education Users, you may submit a request regarding your rights by contacting us here or by calling us at (888) 407-3929.

Consumers Outside the United States

This policy applies solely to individuals and institutions located within the United States. Users or entities located in other countries are not covered by this Policy and are encouraged to contact us directly to request a data processing agreement that aligns with the data protection laws applicable in their jurisdiction.

California Erasure Law

If you are a California resident under the age of 18 and a registered user of the Services, California Business & Professions Code § 22581 permits you to request and obtain removal of content or information posted on the Services by you. If you wish to make a request, please contact us as described in this Notice. Please note that we will not remove content or information that we may be required to retain at the direction of the school. If you would like this content deleted, please contact your school.

Information Security and User Responsibility

We employ industry-standard security measures designed to protect the security of all information submitted through the Service. For example, VoiceThread deploys industry standard encryption for all data in transit and at rest (in storage). Further, VoiceThread periodically reviews information, collection, storage, and processing practices, continually develops and improves encryption practices, and works with outside security experts to periodically test VoiceThread's Services for vulnerabilities. However, the security of information transmitted through the internet or via a mobile device can never be guaranteed. We are not responsible for any interception or interruption of any communications through the internet or for changes to or losses of data.

If VoiceThread learns of a security breach, we will attempt to notify you electronically so that you can take appropriate proactive steps. Depending on where you live, you may have a legal right to receive notice of a security breach. In the event of a security breach involving Student Data, we will notify the school as required by applicable law and our agreement with the school.

Your VoiceThread accounts are protected by password. Passwords should be appropriately robust to help prevent unauthorized access. Users of the Service are responsible for maintaining the security of any password, user ID or other form of authentication involved in obtaining access to password protected or secure areas of the Service. In order to protect you and your information, we may suspend your use of any of the Service, without notice, pending an investigation, if any breach of security is suspected.

External Links

The Service may contain links to, or embedded content from, other websites maintained by third parties. Please be aware that we exercise no control over linked sites and VoiceThread is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such sites. Each linked site maintains its own independent privacy and data collection policies and procedures, and you are encouraged to view the privacy policies of these other sites before providing any personal information. While VoiceThread does not permit posting age-inappropriate material and reserves the right to remove links or posts that are not appropriate, VoiceThread does not have a means to automatically delete such links, and there may be a time period where a link is available before it can be removed.

At no time will Users' login credentials, password, or other login data be shared with any third-party site.

You hereby acknowledge and agree that VoiceThread is not responsible for the privacy practices, data collection policies and procedures, or the content of such third-party sites, and you hereby release VoiceThread from any and all claims arising out of or related to the privacy practices, data collection policies and procedures, and/or the content of such third-party sites.

Changes to this Education Privacy Notice

VoiceThread reserves the right to modify this Education Privacy Notice from time to time in order that it accurately reflects the regulatory environment and our data collection principles. When material changes are made to this Education Privacy Notice, VoiceThread will post the revised Notice on our website and/or notify you via the Services or through the email address associated with your account. If the material changes to this Notice impact Student Users, such changes will only be undertaken after appropriate parental consent is obtained by VoiceThread or facilitated through the students' educators or schools.

If you do not agree with any changes made to this Education Privacy Notice, you may terminate your account. Continued use of the Services after this Education Privacy Notice has been changed constitutes an acceptance of the updated Education Privacy Notice. Previous versions of this Education Privacy Notice are available upon request, for a time frame consistent with your use of the Services.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or comments about this Education Privacy Notice or the Service provided by VoiceThread, please contact us using one of the following: