Canvas

Canvas is an online platform that powers digital learning environments for schools and colleges.

6.7/10

How we calculate ratings →

Handling

Does the policy allow personally-targeted or behavioral marketing? No

10/10

Does the service allow you to permanently delete your personal data? Yes, by contacting someone

3/5

Does the service allow third-party access to private personal data? Yes, not all parties specified (but only to critical service providers)

7/10

This may come in the form of outright data sharing or by using local third-party analytics software (such as Google Analytics, which collects a plethora of user information).

Note that whether the policy allows sharing aggregated user data does not affect this question.

If the personal data is encrypted when it passes through the third-party, it does not count as third-party access (as the data is inaccessible to that party).

If personal data has been made public by, for example, posting it to a blog, it does not count as private personal information (and is therefore not considered by this question).

Score

Yes

The policy allows sharing personal data with third parties (not just critical service providers), and does not explicitly list the third parties.

Yes, all parties specified (including non-critical service providers such as advertisers)

30%

Yes, not all parties specified (but only to critical service providers)

70%

Yes, all parties specified (only to critical service providers)

80%

100%

Citation

"We may share your personal information with third party service providers for the sole purpose of providing you with the Services that we offer you through our Site. For example, we may share data with service providers who host our websites or provide email services on our behalf."

"We may also share information about you in connection with or during negotiation of any merger, financing, acquisition, bankruptcy, dissolution, transaction or proceeding involving sale, transfer, divestiture or disclosure of all or a portion of our business or assets to another company. In the event that information is shared in this manner, notice will be posted on our Site."

When does the policy allow law enforcement access to personal data? When reasonably requested

3/5

Score

Always

This includes cases in which law enforcement either runs the service or has a known backdoor into (or relationship with) the service.

Not specified

When reasonably requested

60%

Only when required by a court order or subpoena

80%

N/A (no personal data to share)

The service would have no personal data to share with law enforcement.

100%

Never (special legal jurisdiction)

The service operates in a jurisdiction in which sharing data with law enforcement is never required.

100%

Citation

With respect to personal data received or transferred pursuant to the Privacy Shield Framework, Instructure is subject to the regulatory enforcement powers of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. In certain situations, Instructure may be required to disclose personal data in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements.

Transparency

Does the policy outline the service's general security practices? Yes

2/3

Score

Somewhat

The policy provides only a very vague overview of its security practices.

30%

Yes

60%

Yes, including audits

"Reviews," "monitoring," etc. also count as audits.

80%

Yes, including independent audits

Independent "reviews," "monitoring," etc. also count as independent audits.

100%

N/A

The service doesn't collect any personal information.

100%

Citation

"Instructure takes reasonable steps to help protect your personal information in an effort to prevent unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. Despite these measures, you should know that Instructure cannot fully eliminate security risks associated with personal information. No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. Any content you post while using the Services is at your own risk. If you have any questions about security on our Site or Apps, you can contact us at the contact information set forth below."

Notes

See https://www.instructure.com/canvas/security

Is the policy's history made available? Only the date it was last modified

3/5

Does the policy require users to be notified in case of a data breach? Not necessarily

0/7

Will affected users be notified when the policy is meaningfully changed? No

0/5

Collection

Does the service collect personal data from third parties? No

10/10

Is it clear why the service collects the personal data that it does? Mostly

7/10

Score

Somewhat

30%

Mostly

70%

Yes

100%

N/A

The service doesn't collect any personal information.

100%

Citation

"In general, personal information you submit to us is used either to respond to requests that you make, or to aid us in serving you better. Instructure uses your personal information in the following ways: to create and maintain your account; to identify you as a user in our system; to operate, maintain, and improve our Site, Apps, and Services; to personalize and improve your experience; to send you administrative e-mail; to respond to your comments or inquiries; to protect, investigate, and deter against fraudulent, unauthorized, or illegal activity; and to make telephone calls to you, from time to time, as a part of secondary fraud protection or to solicit your feedback with your permission."

Notes

The reason why "Mostly" is selected is due to the following citation: "We may also use de-identified and/or aggregated data for our own use." The policy does not describe what such "own use" might constitute.

Does the service allow the user to control whether personal data is collected or used for non-critical purposes? On an opt-out basis, for all non-critical data/uses

6/10

Does the policy list the personal data it collects? Yes, exhaustively

10/10

Score

The policy does not claim to not collect personal data, but it also doesn't provide any meaningful insight into the types of personal data it collects.

Only summarily

The policy uses overly vague language to provide a summary of the types of collected personal data.

30%

Yes, generally

All general categories of collected personal data are listed, though not all types of personal data are explicitly mentioned (for example, the list might use a phrase like 'such as' when listing types of personal data).

70%

Yes, exhaustively

All types of collected personal data are listed specifically

100%

N/A (no personal data is collected)

100%

Notes

The list of data that Instructure collects is listed in the "DATA YOU PROVIDE TO US" section. Refer to the original policy for the full list.

Last Updated

March 28, 2021

Sources

Source #1 ↗

Contributors

ibarakaiev