How We Protect Your Student’s Data
myOwl uses bank-level security to keep your student’s grades, assignments, and athletic schedules safe. Here’s what that means – and why you can trust us.
Quick Facts
✅ We never store passwords. Google Classroom connects through a secure token exchange (OAuth). Canvas and TeamSnap connect by reading your student’s already-logged-in session — either way, your student logs in directly to that service, and we never see or store the password. (Schoology sync is in development.)
✅ All data is encrypted. Your student’s grades, assignments, and schedules are encrypted like bank data. Even if someone hacked our servers, they couldn’t read the data.
✅ We don’t sell your data. We will never sell, rent, or share your student’s information with marketing companies, data brokers, or anyone else.
✅ You control the data. Your student can disconnect myOwl from their LMS or calendar anytime. You can delete all their data anytime.
✅ We respond to breaches fast. If there’s ever a security incident, we notify you within 30 days and tell you exactly what happened.
✅ We hold ourselves to strict privacy standards. FERPA is a federal law that applies to schools and the vendors schools directly contract with. myOwl works directly with families, not schools, so FERPA’s vendor requirements don’t apply to us — but we still comply with COPPA (the law that protects children under 13) and applicable state student data privacy laws, and we hold your student’s data to the same confidentiality standard FERPA requires of schools.
What Data Does myOwl Collect?
Your student provides:
- Name
- Email address
- Student ID number
- A password (just for logging into myOwl)
myOwl retrieves from your student’s school and athletic sites:
- Assignment names and due dates
- Grades (only what your student can see)
- Class schedules
- Athletic schedules
myOwl automatically collects:
- How your student uses the app (pages visited, features used)
- What device they’re using (phone, laptop, etc.)
What we do NOT collect:
- ❌ Teacher comments or feedback
- ❌ Personal calendar events unrelated to school
- ❌ Payment information
- ❌ Parent contact information beyond what’s needed for your own myOwl account (name and email)
- ❌ Anything we don’t need to deliver myOwl
Who Can See My Student’s Data?
- ✅ Your student can see: Their own data (grades, assignments, schedules)
- ✅ You (parent) can see: Your student’s data (grades, assignments, schedules)
- ✅ myOwl employees can see: Only if your student contacts support (and only what’s needed to help)
- ❌ Teachers cannot see: Your student’s myOwl account, study plans, or activity
- ❌ Third parties cannot see: Nobody outside myOwl can access your student’s data
- ❌ Schools cannot see: Individual student data. Schools can only see how many students in their school use myOwl — unless you specifically authorize us to share your student’s name, grade, and school with them.
How is My Student’s Data Encrypted?
In simple terms: Encryption is like a lock and key. Your student’s data is locked with a mathematical code (AES-256) that would take millions of years to break.
At rest (stored on our servers):
- All data is locked with AES-256 encryption
- Even our employees can’t read it without the key
- Only authorized people have the key
In transit (traveling from your student’s device to our servers):
- All data is locked with TLS 1.2+ encryption (the same technology banks use)
- Hackers can’t intercept it
Passwords:
- We never store your student’s school passwords
- Google Classroom: your student logs in directly, and we receive a secure token — we never see the password
- Canvas and TeamSnap: myOwl reads data from your student’s already-logged-in session with that service, without ever touching their password
- Schoology sync is in development
What Happens If myOwl Gets Hacked?
We have a plan:
- We detect the breach (within hours)
- We investigate (within 24 hours)
- What data was accessed?
- How many students were affected?
- How did it happen?
- We notify you (as soon as practicable, and no later than required by applicable state law)
- Email from [email protected]
- Exactly what happened
- What data was accessed
- What you should do (e.g., monitor accounts)
- We fix it (within 48 hours)
- Patch the vulnerability
- Add extra security measures
- We cooperate with authorities (if needed)
- Work with law enforcement
- Provide forensic reports
We’re also working toward SOC 2 Type II certification, the gold standard in data privacy protection, which is an independent audit that verifies our security practices. Target: within 12 months of achieving product-market fit.
Can I Delete My Student’s Data?
Yes. Anytime.
How to delete:
- Log into your myOwl parent account
- Go to Settings → Account
- Click “Delete Account”
- Confirm deletion
What happens:
- Your student’s account is deleted immediately
- All their data (grades, assignments, study plans) is deleted within 24 hours
- All backups are deleted within 30 days
- You get a confirmation email
You can also:
- Disconnect your student from Google Classroom, Canvas, or TeamSnap without deleting their account
- Request deletion by emailing [email protected]
Can My Student Disconnect From Their LMS/Athletic Sites?
Yes. Anytime.
How:
- Log into myOwl
- Go to Settings → Connected Accounts
- Click “Disconnect” next to the service (Google Classroom, Canvas, etc.)
- myOwl will stop syncing data from that service
What happens:
- myOwl stops pulling new assignments, grades, or schedules
- Data already synced to myOwl stays in their dashboard (until they delete their account)
They can also disconnect through the service:
- Log into Google Classroom (or Canvas, etc.)
- Go to Settings → Connected Apps
- Find myOwl and click “Disconnect”
Does myOwl Comply With Federal Law?
Yes.
FERPA is a federal law that governs schools and the vendors schools directly contract with to manage student records. myOwl works directly with families — your student connects with their own login, not through the school — so we fall outside FERPA’s vendor requirements. That said, we don’t treat this as a reason to be less careful: we treat every student record with the same confidentiality FERPA requires of schools, and we fully comply with COPPA and applicable state student privacy laws, both described below.
COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act):
- Federal law that protects children under 13
- myOwl gets parental consent before collecting data from children under 13
- We don’t use children’s data for marketing
- You can delete your child’s data anytime
State Laws:
- Many states have their own student data privacy laws. myOwl is committed to complying with the laws applicable to where our users are located, and can provide current, state-specific compliance documentation upon request.
What If My School Blocks myOwl?
Schools can block myOwl if they want. Here’s how:
Option 1: At the firewall
- Schools can block the myOwl domain
- Students can’t access myOwl on school devices/networks
Option 2: In the LMS
- Schools can disable third-party app access
- Students can’t connect myOwl to Google Classroom or Canvas
Option 3: On student devices
- Schools can restrict which apps students can install
If your school blocks myOwl:
- Your student can still use myOwl at home on their personal device
- Your student can access their school data from home
Want your school to approve myOwl?
- Contact your school IT director to ask why myOwl is blocked.
- Let us know too! Email [email protected] with your school name and IT director’s contact info.
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We’ll reach out directly with our security documentation to request that myOwl be added to their approved list — most districts can review and unblock a parent-directed tool like myOwl faster than a full vendor approval, since there’s no contract or district data-sharing agreement involved. If your district’s process requires a formal Data Processing Agreement, we’re prepared to provide one.
How Does myOwl Make Money?
Parents pay a subscription.
- $9.99/month for one student
- $6.99/month for a second student
- $19.99/month for 3+ students
- $99/year for a single student
We do NOT:
- ❌ Sell student data
- ❌ Show ads to students
- ❌ Use student data for marketing
- ❌ Share data with third parties
Our revenue comes only from parent subscriptions. We have no incentive to misuse your data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is myOwl safe for my student to use?
A: Yes. myOwl uses bank-level encryption, complies with COPPA and applicable state student privacy laws, and never stores passwords. Your student’s data is protected the same way a bank protects your money.
Q: Can myOwl see my student’s passwords?
A: No, for any connected service. For Google Classroom, your student logs in directly and we receive a secure token. For Canvas and TeamSnap, myOwl reads data from your student’s already-logged-in session. Either way, we never see or store the password.
Q: Can teachers see my student’s study plans or activity in myOwl?
A: No. Teachers can’t see myOwl at all. myOwl is private between your student and you. Teachers only see what’s in the school’s gradebook.
Q: What if my student’s school email is hacked?
A: Your student’s myOwl account is separate from their school email. If their school email is hacked, their myOwl account is still safe. They can change their myOwl password independently.
Q: Does myOwl work if my student switches schools?
A: Yes. Your student can disconnect from their old school’s LMS and connect to their new school’s LMS. All their data stays in myOwl.
Q: Can my student use myOwl on a school device?
A: It depends on your school’s policies. Some schools allow it; some block it. Your student can always use myOwl on a personal device at home. If your school blocks myOwl and you’d like them to approve it, email [email protected] with your school name and IT director’s email address. We’ll reach out with our security documentation to request myOwl be unblocked, and provide a formal agreement if your district’s process requires one.
Q: What if I want to delete my student’s data but keep their account?
A: You can disconnect myOwl from Google Classroom, Canvas, or TeamSnap without deleting the account. This stops new data from syncing but keeps old data in the dashboard. To fully delete all data, delete the account.
Q: How do I know myOwl is secure?
A: myOwl uses AES-256 encryption (same as banks), complies with COPPA (see below) and applicable state student privacy laws, and is working toward SOC 2 Type II certification. myOwl works directly with families rather than through school contracts, so FERPA’s vendor requirements don’t apply to us — though we still hold your student’s data to that same confidentiality standard. You can also read our full Security Overview or contact us with questions.
Q: What happens if myOwl goes out of business?
A: We’re committed to deleting all student data within 30 days if myOwl closes. You can also request data deletion anytime.
Q: Can I see what data myOwl has about my student?
A: Yes. Log into your parent account and you can see all your student’s data. You can also request a copy of all their data by emailing [email protected].
Q: Does myOwl use artificial intelligence (AI)?
A: Yes. myOwl uses AI to generate personalized study plans based on your student’s assignments and schedule. This is powered by Google’s Gemini API — we send assignment names, due dates, class and teacher names, and scoring information to generate the plan, and we don’t use this data for any other purpose. We don’t share this data with any other third-party AI services.
We Want To Work With Your School
If your school is blocking myOwl (or if you’d like your school to officially approve it), we can help.
Here’s what to do:
- Let us know. Email us: [email protected] with your school name and IT director’s contact info.
- We reach out to your school. Because myOwl is a tool families connect to directly — not a service the school contracts with — we ask most districts to simply add myOwl to their approved list, and we send your IT director our Data Security Addendum and Privacy Policy so they can review our practices firsthand.
- Review process – timelines vary by district, and we’ll keep you updated on progress.
- If your district requires a formal Data Processing Agreement before unblocking any outside tool, we’re ready to provide one — we’ll let you know if that’s the case.
Once approved, your student can use myOwl on school devices and school networks.
We handle the technical conversation with your school IT director so you don’t have to.
Ready to get your school on board?
Email [email protected]
Subject: [School Name] – myOwl Approval Request
Include:
- Your school name
- Your student’s grade
- Your school IT director’s name and email address (if you have it)
We’ll take it from there!
Still Have Questions?
Email us: [email protected]
We’ll respond within 2 business days.