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Plain-English summary
This policy indicates several areas of concern. Your personal information may be transferred to another company if edX is acquired or undergoes bankruptcy (risk_flags-1). There is no guarantee of absolute security for your data, as no internet transmission or electronic storage method is 100% secure. Your data may be transferred to countries with less strict privacy laws (risk_flags-4). When enrolling in courses on third-party sites, edX's privacy policy does not apply, requiring you to review separate policies. Additionally, usernames are permanent and cannot be changed, and Privacy Policy updates are effective immediately upon posting, with continued use implying acceptance. Even after account deletion, your course data may be archived for scientific research by edX and its Members (cancellation_renewal-1). Finally, personal information shared voluntarily in public forums may not be tracked or manageable (risk_flags-5).
90% confidence
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Risk Flags
3 findings
Critical issues and red flags that could lead to significant harm. These are often indicators of potential legal or financial risk, or serious privacy violations.
high95% confidence
Sale or transfer of business or assets
edX may transfer personal information to another entity if it sells or purchases assets during the normal course of business, or if bankruptcy or reorganization proceedings occur.
Why it matters: Your personal information may be transferred to another company if edX is acquired, sells assets, or undergoes bankruptcy or reorganization.
edX may sell or purchase assets during the normal course of our business. If another entity acquires us or any of our assets, information we have collected about you may be transferred to such entity. In addition, if any bankruptcy or reorganization proceeding is brought by or against us, such information may be considered an asset of ours and may be sold or transferred to third parties.
HOW EDX SHARES YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION, paragraph 1 · Citation strength: strong
medium90% confidence
Transfer of data to countries with less strict privacy laws
Personal information may be transferred from your location to other countries, including the United States, where privacy laws may be considered less strict than those of your region.
Why it matters: Your personal information may be stored and processed in countries, such as the United States, which may have less stringent privacy protections than your home country, potentially exposing your data to different legal standards.
If you are in the European Union, Switzerland, or other regions with laws governing data collection and use, you acknowledge that edX and each Member may transfer, process and store your Personal Information in the United States and other countries, the privacy laws of which may be considered less strict than those of your region.
Volunteering personal information in public forums
The company does not track or index every instance where a learner may volunteer personal information on the site, and encourages users to use discretion before sharing such information.
Why it matters: Personal information you voluntarily share in public forums or other interactive experiences on the site may not be tracked or manageable by edX or its Members, making it difficult to control or remove once posted.
Also, edX does not track or index every time or every place on the edX Site when or where a learner may volunteer Personal Information, so neither edX nor Members will be able to help you locate or manage all such instances. edX encourages you to use discretion before volunteering Personal Information on the edX Site.
Access and correct your Personal Information, paragraph 1 · Citation strength: strong
Data Use
2 findings
How the company collects, uses, and shares your personal information, including for marketing, advertising, and analytics.
medium95% confidence
Sharing information with Members upon enrollment or participation
When users enroll in or participate in courses or programs, edX shares their personal information with the Members offering those courses.
Why it matters: Your personal information is shared with third-party Members when you enroll in or participate in their courses, meaning these Members will also have access to and use your data.
With Members — Members receive your Personal Information when you enroll or participate in their courses or programs, as described in Section V below.
HOW EDX SHARES YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION, paragraph 1 · Citation strength: strong
medium95% confidence
Sharing with employers or sponsors
If an entity sponsors your enrollment or course participation, edX will share information needed to confirm your enrollment, participation, progress, and completion status with that entity.
Why it matters: Your academic progress and status will be shared with any employer, government program, institution, or enterprise that sponsors your course enrollment or participation.
With employers, government programs, institutions, or other enterprises that sponsor your enrollment in a course for training or other educational purposes — If an entity pays for or otherwise sponsors your Certificate or course participation, edX will share information with the entity as needed to confirm your enrollment, participation, progress, and completion status in that course.
HOW EDX SHARES YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION, paragraph 1 · Citation strength: strong
Cancellation & Renewal
1 finding
Terms related to subscription cancellations, account termination, and automatic renewals.
medium95% confidence
Data retention after account deletion for scientific research
Upon account deactivation and deletion request, edX will archive course data for scientific research, and Members may also keep and use this data for scientific research.
Why it matters: Even after you request to delete your account, your course data will be archived and used for scientific research by edX and its Members, which means your past academic activity remains available for these purposes.
Upon your request that edX deactivate your account and delete your information, edX will, within 30 days of your request, follow the process described in Section VI.C above, including, without limitation, archiving your course data (in a manner and to the extent permitted under applicable law) to serve its mission to enable scientific research on cognitive science and education. These archives will be used to produce encrypted research data packages for Members, and each such Member may also keep and use course data for scientific research.
Data retention, paragraph 1 · Citation strength: strong
Gotchas
All clear
Potentially overlooked clauses that could be unfavorable to the user, such as limitations of liability, changes to terms, or dispute resolution processes.
✓
Looking good
No hidden gotchas
Verbaterm only flags concerns it can cite. Nothing easy-to-miss stood out in this section.
Protections
3 findings
Commitments and features that benefit the user, such as data encryption, clear data deletion processes, or user control over privacy settings.
Protection95% confidence
Non-collection of personal information from children under 13
edX does not knowingly collect any Personal Information via the edX Site from children under the age of 13.
Why it helps: This policy helps protect the privacy of young children by explicitly stating that the service does not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 13.
We do not direct the edX Site to, nor do we knowingly collect any Personal Information via the edX Site from, children under the age of 13.
Clear process for account deletion and personal information removal
Users can request deletion of their edX account and Personal Information through their account settings, which is a permanent action.
Why it helps: Users have a clear and permanent method to delete their account and associated personal information, providing control over their data.
To request deletion of your edX account and Personal Information, you should click the button labeled “Delete my account” in your edX account settings. Because this is a permanent action and cannot be reversed, edX may ask you to complete an authentication process that aims to confirm your authority to manage the edX account affected by your request.
Delete account and Personal Information, paragraph 1 · Citation strength: strong
Protection85% confidence
Notification of security breaches
If edX learns of a security breach involving your Personal Information, it may attempt to notify you electronically.
Why it helps: Users will be informed if their personal information is involved in a security breach, allowing them to take protective steps.
If edX learns of a security breach involving its copy of your Personal Information, edX may attempt to notify you electronically so that you may take appropriate protective steps.