Securly Class Action Lawsuit: Data Privacy Concerns and Why Parents Are Switching

The Privacy Controversy: What Happened

The Petition (2021)

The tension boiled over in 2021 when a Change.org petition called "Stop Securly from selling our data!" started making rounds. It eventually pulled in over 1,430 signatures. The main gripes were:

• Securly grabs way more data than a simple web filter needs
• Allegations that student data is being sold for profit
• Potential violations of FERPA and COPPA (the big federal privacy laws)
• A general lack of transparency—parents and kids often don't realize how much is being tracked

Student and Parent Complaints

If you look at forums or the petition comments, the sentiment is usually the same:

• "Securly watches me on my school laptop even when I'm at home on my own Wi-Fi."
• "The software takes screenshots of my screen without me knowing."
• "It feels like someone is reading my private emails and school docs."
• "I feel like I'm being watched 24/7, even during my free time."

Privacy Advocate Concerns

Groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) aren't happy either. They argue that this level of surveillance does more harm than good. They’ve pointed out that schools often don't even realize how much data they've given Securly permission to take, and that this data is being used to train the company's AI models.

Class Action Lawsuit Status

Here is where things stand as of February 2026:

• There hasn't been a successful, large-scale class action settlement yet.
• Lawyers are still looking into individual complaints in various states.
• Privacy groups are still digging for clear FERPA violations.
• Some schools have actually ditched Securly because the privacy PR was too much to handle.

What Data Does Securly Actually Collect?

According to Securly's Privacy Policy

Securly is fairly open about what it tracks in its fine print. It collects:

• Web browsing: Every single site visited on a school device.
• Search queries: Every Google or Bing search.
• Email content: It scans Gmail for "concerning" language.
• Google Drive: It looks through docs, slides, and spreadsheets.
• YouTube: Every video watched and every comment made.
• Social media: Activity on platforms like Instagram (if accessed on the device).
• Screenshots: It automatically captures images of the screen if the AI flags something.
• Location: Where the device is physically located.

How the Data is Used

Securly says this data is for safety, but it also uses it for AI training. By feeding millions of student actions into their algorithms, they "improve" their detection models. They also share some data with third-party service providers, though they are vague about who those providers are.

Data Retention

This is a big sticking point. Securly’s policy says they keep data "as long as necessary." That’s lawyer-speak for "a long time." Some browsing logs stay in the system for years, and flagged screenshots might never be deleted. It’s often unclear what happens to that data once a student graduates.

Legal Framework: FERPA and COPPA

FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)

This law is supposed to protect school records. Schools can share data with vendors like Securly under a "school official" exception, but only for "legitimate educational purposes." The big question is: Is training a commercial AI model really a "legitimate educational purpose"?

COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act)

COPPA is meant to protect kids under 13. Usually, companies need a parent's OK to collect data. Schools can technically give this consent for the parents, but only if the data is used for education. Critics argue that monitoring a kid's private social media messages doesn't exactly fit that definition.

The Legal Gray Area

Securly operates in a gap in the law. Schools sign the contracts, parents often don't get a say, and the monitoring follows the student home. Because the device belongs to the school, the legal protections for the student are much weaker than they would be on a personal phone.

Comparison: Securly vs. Privacy-Focused Alternatives

Why Schools Use Securly Despite the Backlash

CIPA Compliance

Schools need federal funding (E-Rate), and to get it, they have to prove they are filtering the internet. Securly is an easy "check the box" solution for administrators.

The Chromebook Problem

Since Google Chromebooks dominate classrooms, schools need tools that play nice with Google. Securly was built specifically for this ecosystem, making it incredibly easy for an IT person to flip a switch and monitor thousands of kids at once.

Liability and Safety

No principal wants to be on the news because a student harmed themselves and "the school should have known." The pressure to prevent tragedies is immense. Securly sells the idea of a safety net—an AI that catches the warning signs before they turn into actions. For many schools, that perceived safety is worth the privacy trade-off.

The Student Experience: What It Feels Like

Testimonials from Students

"I'm constantly paranoid about what I search for. Even on weekends, Securly is watching. It makes me feel like a criminal just for being online."

"Securly blocked my research on LGBTQ+ history for a project. It flagged it as 'sexual content' even though it was for class. I had to explain to my teacher why I couldn't do my work."

The Chilling Effect

When kids know they are being watched, they change how they behave. They stop searching for help with mental health. They stop researching sensitive political or social topics. They lose trust in the school. Ironically, this often makes them *less* safe because they move their "risky" behavior to unmonitored personal devices where no one can help them if things go wrong.

What Parents Can Do

If Your Child's School Uses Securly

1. Get the facts: Ask the school for a list of exactly what Securly is tracking.
2. Check for opt-outs: Some districts have a "quiet" opt-out policy if you push hard enough.
3. Keep school work on school devices: Don't let your kid use the school Chromebook for personal stuff. Use a separate tablet or computer for home life.
4. Talk to your kid: Make sure they know the school is watching so they aren't surprised by a flagged search.

For Home Devices: Choose Privacy-First Tools

At home, you don't need to be a spy. You can use tools that set boundaries without logging every click:

• WhitelistVideo: Great for YouTube. It only lets them see channels you've approved, so you don't have to watch their history.
• DNS Filtering: Blocks bad categories (like porn or gambling) at the router level without tracking individual sites.
• Native Controls: Apple Screen Time and Google Family Link are built-in and generally less invasive than third-party spyware.

The Broader Debate: Student Surveillance

The argument for monitoring is almost always about safety—preventing suicide and bullying. The argument against it is about civil rights. Research shows that AI alerts have a massive false-positive rate (often 80% or higher), meaning counselors spend their time chasing "ghosts" while students feel increasingly untrusted. There's also evidence that these algorithms flag students of color and LGBTQ+ kids more often, leading to unfair disciplinary actions.

Securly's Response

Securly maintains that they follow all laws and that they don't "sell" data to advertisers in the traditional sense. They’ve updated their privacy policy to be a bit clearer and added a parent portal so families can see what the school sees. However, critics say these are just band-aids on a system that is fundamentally built on surveillance.

Schools That Have Dropped Securly

It’s not just parents complaining—entire districts are walking away. Portland Public Schools dropped Securly in 2022 after a wave of complaints. Minneapolis did the same after a privacy audit. These schools are moving back to basic filtering and putting more resources into human counselors instead of algorithms.

Why WhitelistVideo Takes a Different Path

We don't think you need to monitor a child to keep them safe. WhitelistVideo is built on a different philosophy:

• No tracking: We don't care what your kid watches; we just make sure they can only see what you've allowed.
• No data mining: We don't sell data or use it to train AI.
• Prevention over surveillance: If you only allow "National Geographic" and "Blippi," you don't need to monitor for "bad" videos—they can't load in the first place.

Conclusion: Privacy is a Right

The Securly controversy is a wake-up call. We have to ask ourselves if we're okay with a "safety at any cost" approach to our children's digital lives. Protection doesn't have to mean surveillance. By choosing tools that respect privacy, we can keep our kids safe while still letting them grow up without a digital shadow following them everywhere.