Google Classroom is a Google Workspace for Education Core Service — a free learning-management tool bundled with Gmail, Drive, Docs, and other Google apps for K-12 and higher-ed institutional accounts. It is operated by Google LLC, a subsidiary of publicly traded Alphabet Inc. Google's own Workspace for Education Privacy Notice states there are no ads shown in Core Services (which include Classroom) and that none of the personal information collected in Core Services is used for advertising purposes, and that K-12 accounts additionally never see personalized ads even in optional Additional Services. Google's Education trust page lists compliance with GDPR, FERPA, COPPA, and ISO/IEC 27001/27701/42001 certifications. Apple's App Store privacy label for the Google Classroom app discloses that identity-linked location, contact info, user content, search history, and device/usage identifiers are collected for Analytics, Customer Support, App Functionality, and Product Interaction purposes, with no advertising-linked purpose and no 'Data Used to Track You' category listed. In 2024, Google and New Mexico's Attorney General resolved two federal COPPA/consumer-protection cases concerning children's data collected through Google's education products (then G Suite for Education, now Workspace for Education), funding a New Mexico Kids Initiative and adding admin-facing minor-data protection tools.
TRACK RECORD
1 ENFORCEMENT ACTION
New Mexico's Department of Justice announced that Attorney General Hector Balderas's Consumer & Environmental Protection Division resolved two federal court cases against Google LLC alleging COPPA and state consumer-protection violations tied to children's data collected through Google's education products (Workspace for Education, formerly G Suite for Education, the product family Classroom belongs to); the resolution funded a 'Google New Mexico Kids Initiative' and added school-admin tools such as age-based access settings to limit collection of minors' data. The live nmdoj.gov page returns 403 to the pipeline user agent; this claim is sourced from a web.archive.org snapshot.
Google's Workspace for Education Privacy Notice lists Google Classroom among the named Core Services (alongside Gmail, Drive, Docs, and others), and states that as students, educators, and admins use Core Services, Google collects two types of data: 'customer data' (things a user provides or creates) and 'service data' (information collected as the service is used).
Apple's App Store privacy label for the Google Classroom app discloses that data linked to a user's identity — coarse location, contact info (email, contacts), user content, search history, and identifiers (user ID, device ID) — is collected and may be used for Analytics, Customer Support, App Functionality, and Product Interaction purposes.
Alphabet Inc.'s FY2025 Form 10-K, filed with the SEC (CIK 1652044), states directly that Google LLC is a subsidiary of Alphabet, and the filing discloses Google Cloud (which includes Google Workspace offerings) as a reported revenue segment.
Google's Education trust page states that its education products help institutions comply with GDPR, FERPA, the Software & Information Industry Association's pledge, and COPPA, and lists ISO/IEC 27001 (security), 27701 (privacy), and 42001 (AI) certifications, backed by 'robust security, third-party audits and certifications, documentation, and legal commitments.'
The Workspace for Education Privacy Notice states there are no ads shown in Google Workspace for Education Core Services (which include Classroom), and that none of the personal information collected in Core Services is used for advertising purposes.
New Mexico's Department of Justice announced that Attorney General Hector Balderas's Consumer & Environmental Protection Division resolved two federal court cases against Google LLC alleging COPPA and state consumer-protection violations tied to children's data collected through Google's education products (Workspace for Education, formerly G Suite for Education, the product family Classroom belongs to); the resolution funded a 'Google New Mexico Kids Initiative' and added school-admin tools such as age-based access settings to limit collection of minors' data. The live nmdoj.gov page returns 403 to the pipeline user agent; this claim is sourced from a web.archive.org snapshot.
Apple's App Store privacy label for the Google Classroom app lists no advertising or 'Data Used to Track You' purpose for any collected data category; the identity-linked data categories are scoped to Analytics, Customer Support, App Functionality, and Product Interaction, and the only data not linked to identity is Diagnostics/Crash Data.
The Workspace for Education Privacy Notice states that Additional Services may show ads, but that K-12 (primary and secondary school) accounts are not shown personalized ads and Google does not use information from the account or past activity to target ads for those users; general, non-behavioral ad factors like search query or time of day may still apply.