How Google G Suite for Education is protecting teacher-student privacy

As several schools are now using G Suite for Education owing to coronavirus lockdowns, Google has strengthened security and privacy to protect teachers and students from hackers.

Google said in a statement that its engineers are working around the clock to ensure the security of its products and quickly respond to any threats that may emerge, according to news agency IANS.

"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," said the tech giant.

"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," it added.

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.

G Suite for Education provides school-managed Google accounts specifically for students, faculty and staff.

According to Google, 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," informed Google.

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.

Google said there are no ads running 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," said the company.

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.

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," said Google.