Educational Apps and Sites with Solid Privacy Policies

High-quality educational apps are many parents' go-to when kids are home from school for extended periods. But even great apps can have subpar privacy. Tracking, collecting, and analyzing the data of your kids' online activities and then sharing and selling that information to third parties is a common way app developers make money. Not all companies go that route, and Common Sense Media recommends that families take a look under the hood before they download anything. If you want your kid using the most highly rated learning apps (and of course you do), then you should expect those apps' privacy policies to be highly rated too. The apps and sites below offer the best of both worlds: awesome educational lessons and solid privacy practices to protect your families' data. Dig into the privacy ratings for more details on each one. Also:

At the App Store: Check to see whether the app even has a privacy policy -- that's the baseline requirement. Be cautious with "free" apps (in addition to sharing and selling data, they may be more likely to display targeted ads).

After you download: Input as little information as required for registration; enable settings to restrict the app's access to features on the device (camera, contact list, location, etc.). In addition, California residents can tell companies to not sell their data by visiting our website Do Not Sell.

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PBS KIDS Video Poster Image
APP

PBS KIDS Video

age 3+

TV show clips in easy-to-navigate app for young kids.

Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android , Kindle Fire (2012)
Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame Poster Image
APP

Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame

age 4+

Adorable monster de-stresses kids with Sesame Street style.

Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android (2013)
Khan Academy Poster Image
WEBSITE

Khan Academy

age 5+

Excellent tutorials on math, humanities, and more, for free.

URL: https://www.khanacademy.org (2013)
NASA Poster Image
APP

NASA

age 7+

Information-packed tool delivers videos, photos, and more.

Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android (2011)
Code.org Poster Image
WEBSITE

Code.org

age 8+

Clear instruction can turn kids into coding superstars.

URL: https://code.org (2019)
BrainPOP Icon
WEBSITE

BrainPOP

age 8+

Videos and activities are fun, accurate, and valuable.

URL: https://www.brainpop.com (2012)
Desmos Graphing Calculator Poster Image
APP

Desmos Graphing Calculator

age 13+

Advanced graphing calculator includes powerful features.

Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android , Chromebook (2016)
Procreate Poster Image
APP

Procreate

age 13+

Awesome professional-level tool for digital artists.

Devices: iPad (2016)
Wikipedia.org Poster Image
WEBSITE

Wikipedia.org

age 13+

Collaborative reference: Research with caution.

URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (2007)