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GoGuardian
IndustryEducation Technology
Founders
  • Advait Shinde
  • R. Todd Mackey
  • Aza Steel
Headquarters2030 E Maple Ave,

El Segundo, CA
,
U.S.
Products
  • GoGuardian Admin
  • GoGuardian Teacher
  • GoGuardian Beacon
  • GoGuardian DNS
  • GoGuardian Fleet
  • GoGuardian Director
Websitewww.goguardian.com

GoGuardian is an educational software company founded in 2015 and based in Los Angeles, California. The company's services monitor student activity online, filter content, and alert school officials to possible suicidal or self-harm ideation.[1] It also offers a network-level filtering solution marketed for bring your own device enviroments, GoGuardian DNS. Concerns have been raised over these functions, claiming the software is spyware.

Product history

GoGuardian was founded in 2015 and is based in Los Angeles, CA.[2] Its feature set includes computer filtering, tracking, monitoring, and management, as well as usage analytics, activity flagging, and theft recovery for ChromeOS devices.[3] GoGuardian also offers filtering functionality for third-party tools such as YouTube.[4]

In June 2015, GoGuardian reported it was installed in over 1,600 of the estimated 15,000 school districts in the United States.[5]

In January 2015, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) chose GoGuardian to support their 1:1 device rollout program. This provides LAUSD device tracking and grade-level-specific filtering, and facilitates compliance with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA).[6]

In September 2015, the company released GoGuardian for Teachers, a tool to monitor student activity and control student learning.[7][8][9] In January 2016, GoGuardian announced the launch of Google Classroom integration for GoGuardian for Teachers.[10]

In May 2018, GoGuardian was acquired by private equity firm Sumeru Equity Partners and appointed Tony Miller to their board of directors.[11]

In August 2018, GoGuardian launched Beacon, a software system installed on school computers that analyzes students' browsing behavior to alert people concerned about students at risk of suicide or self-harm.[12]

In November 2020, GoGuardian merged with Pear Deck.[13][14]

Student privacy

GoGuardian products allow teachers and administrators to view and snapshot students' computer screens, close and open browser tabs, and see running applications.[15] GoGuardian can collect information about any activity when users are logged onto their accounts, including data originating from a student's webcam, microphone, keyboard, and screen, along with historical data such as browsing history.[16] This collection can be performed whether students connect from school-provided or personally-owned devices.[17] Parents have raised privacy concerns over this data collection, claiming the software is spyware.[18]

In 2016, researcher Elana Zeide raised the concern that the use of GoGuardian software for suicide prevention, though "well-meaning", could result in "overreach". Zeide further noted that legitimate personal reasons could motivate a student to wish to search for sensitive information in private. According to Zeide, this concern is compounded by the fact that school devices may be the only devices for lower-income students. American School Counselor Association ethics chair Carolyn Stone said that GoGuardian's ability to track web searches conducted at home is "intrusive" and is "conditioning children to accept constant monitoring" as normal.[19]

Until October 2015, GoGuardian software was able to track keystrokes and remotely activate student webcams.[20] GoGuardian said that the features were removed as part of its "ongoing commitment to student privacy."[20]

GoGuardian technical product manager Cody Rice stated in 2016 that schools had control over GoGuardian's collection and management of data and that no client had complained about privacy.[19]

GoGuardian faced scrutiny by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in 2023, over the inconsistent filtering presented by it. The EFF has presented problems with GoGuardian Beacon being used to replace social workers and other mental health professionals in a school landscape. The EFF has also stressed the possibility of using the data collected by GoGuardian to track and to advertise to children under the age of 13. [21][22] GoGuardian has also faced criticism for flagging LGBTQ keywords.[23]

Recognition

  • Inc. 500[1]
  • Deloitte's Fast 500
    • In 2018, GoGuardian was named as the 27th fastest growing technology company in North America.[24]
  • Forbes 30 Under 30
    • In January 2016, two of the company's co-founders, Aza Steel and Advait Shinde, were named to Forbes magazine's annual "30 Under 30" list in the Education category.[25]
  • International Design Awards Gold: GoGuardian Teacher[26]
  • 2016 Awards of Excellence Tech and Learning[27]

References

  1. ^ a b "From Snack Delivery to Sustainable Energy, Here Are the Fastest-Growing Companies in L.A." Inc.com. October 9, 2018. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  2. ^ Fan, Ryan (January 20, 2021). "I Monitor My Students With a Chrome App — and It's Made a Huge Difference". OneZero. Archived from the original on May 14, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  3. ^ "GoGuardian Builds Chromebook Security for the Digital Classroom". Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  4. ^ "GoGuardian: Chromebook Monitoring, Filtering, and Anti-Theft for Schools". EdTech Roundup. October 14, 2014. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  5. ^ "Scalability and Infrastructure". GoGuardian. June 30, 2015. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  6. ^ "LAUSD Gets GoGuardian's Suite Of Solutions To Implement Chromebooks". iSchool Guide. January 24, 2015. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015.
  7. ^ "GoGuardian Launches Chromebook Management Tool for Teachers". The Journal. September 9, 2015. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  8. ^ "GoGuardian Announces Nationwide Rollout of Digital Learning Solution". Yahoo Finance. September 10, 2015. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015.
  9. ^ Meyer, Lisa (September 9, 2015). "GoGuardian Launches Chromebook Management Tool for Teachers". The Journal. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  10. ^ "GoGuardian Announces Google Classroom Integration | Business Wire". www.businesswire.com. February 22, 2016. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  11. ^ "GoGuardian Announces Strategic Investment from Sumeru Equity Partners; Appoints Education Veteran Tony Miller to Board of Directors" (Press release). May 24, 2018. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  12. ^ "School internet filter maker launches suicide risk detector". Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  13. ^ "GoGuardian and Pear Deck Merge to Expand K-12 Classroom Management Offerings and Drive Greater Engagement and Effective Digital Learning". www.businesswire.com. November 19, 2020. Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  14. ^ Slobe, Jake. "Pear Deck acquired by California-based edtech company | Clay & Milk". clayandmilk.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  15. ^ "GoGuardian Teacher". www.goguardian.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  16. ^ "Privacy Policy for Product Users". www.goguardian.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  17. ^ "GoGuardian Admin". www.goguardian.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  18. ^ Treanor, John (September 8, 2020). "Spyware or safety: Is 'GoGuardian' on CCSD students' devices sharing personal information?". KSNV. Archived from the original on August 26, 2022. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  19. ^ a b Kamenetz, Anya. "Software Flags 'Suicidal' Students, Presenting Privacy Dilemma". NPR. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  20. ^ a b "SCHOOL POLICIES AND REGULATIONS EXPOSE MASSACHUSETTS STUDENTS TO RISK OF SERIOUS PRIVACY VIOLATIONS". American Civil Liberties Union. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  21. ^ Kelley, Jason (October 30, 2023). "How GoGuardian Invades Student Privacy". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  22. ^ "Probe of school surveillance software finds privacy abuses, inaccurate results". therecord.media. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  23. ^ Kelley, Jason (June 22, 2023). "Student Monitoring Tools Should Not Flag LGBTQ+ Keywords". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  24. ^ "2018 Technology Fast 500 award winners | Deloitte US". Deloitte United States. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  25. ^ "30 Under 30 2016: Education". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  26. ^ "International Design Awards - Architectural, Interior, Fashion, Product, Graphic Design Competition - International Design Awards". idesignawards.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  27. ^ Tech & Learning 2016-12-28T13:40:00Z Resource (December 28, 2016). "2016 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE". TechLearningMagazine. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

Further reading

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