Google often announces new services, apps and features and while this is good for the consumer, this does often come at the expense of older features and services. Soon, Google Play for Education will be added to the list of discontinued services. The company launched Play for Education in 2013 to give educators in the United States an easy way to buy apps and books en masse and push them to their students’ Android tablets.
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Two years later, the Google Play for Education is closing up, but the company will continue to provide support for the tablets in schools.
“I believe Americans have a fundamental right to privacy, and that right includes a student or parent’s access to information about what data are being collected about them and how the data are being used”, Franken wrote in his January 13 letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Google is also committed towards the growing ecosystem of educative apps.
Google collects additional information when a student uses services outside the educational suite, like Google Maps or search.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) did not clearly explain the reason for the discontinuation of the educational service.
Franken said that Google’s response was “thorough”, but said he will seek further clarification from Google about some of its privacy policies regarding student data.
A Google spokesperson said the company would be happy to answer any of Franken’s questions.
Concerns about the student data protection may entice many students to switch to Apple, which is quite stern about its users personal data protection as compared to Google.
It’s not clear if Google is working on a replacement for GPFE.
Aside from asking Google whether or not it targeted ads at students before, Franken asked the company if it did so in the past.
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Google affirms that it refuses to sell the personal data of students to third parties, and adds that disclosure of personal information happens under strict circumstances. Privacy advocates saw it as a tacit admission that the company had indeed been scanning student emails in order to target ads.
