Some courses available on the edX Site are offered by our Members. This term refers to educational institutions or other leading global entities that create courses and/or programs using tools provided by edX and offer those courses directly to you through the edX Site.
Other courses and programs are viewable on the edX Site but are provided by educational institutions, corporate, and non-profit partners that are not Members and/or are offered in partnership with 2U. Signing up to receive more information about, enrolling in, or participating in these courses or programs may take place on third-party sites (or, in some cases, sites operated by 2U) that are not subject to this Privacy Policy. The privacy policies explaining how your Personal Information (as defined below) will be collected, used, and disclosed when you enroll and participate in those courses and programs, and your rights over your Personal Information, will be made available to you when you visit the relevant site, begin the enrollment process, or start the course or program, as applicable.
This Privacy Policy describes how edX collects, uses, and shares your Personal Information when you interact with the edX Site or when someone interacts with the site on your behalf (e.g., the Learning & Development administrator for the institution sponsoring your enrollment). The term “Personal Information” (as used throughout this Privacy Policy) is information that relates to an individual who can be directly or indirectly identified.
This Privacy Policy also describes how edX uses your Personal Information when you interact with edX on certain other sites (e.g., on social media sites). Finally, it describes how Members collect, use, and share your Personal Information when you enroll in courses offered by those Members on the edX Site.
If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not access, browse, or create an account on the edX Site, enroll in any courses, or complete any form requesting additional information about offerings on the edX Site. Any version of this Privacy Policy in a language other than English is provided for convenience, and the English language version is the authoritative version if there is any conflict.
edX collects information from you when you create an edX account and/or sign up to receive more information about courses offered on the edX Site. For example, we require your name, username, email address and country of residence when you create an account. (You can voluntarily choose to share additional information in your profile, but this is not required.) We also require your contact details when you sign up to receive more information about courses, otherwise we cannot send you this information, and we collect information from you when you send messages to us (whether on the edX Site or on other platforms, e.g., social media sites). You may unsubscribe from edX promotional emails at any time by clicking “unsubscribe” on the emails you receive from us.
edX also automatically collects information about your visit to the edX Site when you browse courses on the edX Site, as explained in our Cookie Policy.
Some courses or programs are viewable on the edX Site but are offered in partnership with other providers, including 2U. When you sign up to receive more information about these courses or programs, you supply your Personal Information directly to that provider or otherwise direct edX to share your information with that provider. In those cases, the privacy policies explaining the Personal Information that the provider collects, and how the provider uses it, will be made available to you when you sign up. If you later choose to unsubscribe from receiving promotional messages about these courses or programs, you must do so directly with the course provider by clicking “unsubscribe” on the email you receive from that provider. Providers of other courses or programs for which you have signed up to receive information will continue to send you communications unless and until you unsubscribe directly with that provider.
edX collects information from you when you enroll in courses on the edX Site. For example, if you enroll in any course on the edX Site that requires payment to access the course and/or be eligible for a Verified Certificate of Achievement, we require Personal Information to enable you to pay for that course, so that our third-party vendor can process payment. A Verified Certificate of Achievement (“Certificate”) is a virtual certificate that shows that you have successfully completed your edX course or program or other product or service. You can also provide additional information if you wish to apply for financial assistance to pay for a course.
Note that edX does not itself collect or store financial account numbers or identification issued by a governmental entity, employer, or other authority. Instead, if you choose to make a purchase on the edX Site, you will be directed to edX’s third-party payment processor. If you do not wish to submit the required payment information, then you will not be able to move forward with your purchase.
edX also automatically collects information about your visit to the edX Site when you enroll in courses on the edX Site, as explained in the Cookie Policy.
When you enroll in a course on the edX Site, the Member that offers the course will receive Personal Information from your edX account profile.
As set out above, enrollment for some courses and programs viewable on the edX Site takes place on other sites, including those operated by 2U. In those cases, this Privacy Policy does not apply. The course or program provider’s privacy policy will be made available to you when you begin the enrollment or application process.
edX collects information from you when you participate in courses offered on the edX Site. For example, we collect the information that you submit as part of your participation in the course, that you include in messages to edX (including messages to learner support), that you provide in user surveys, or that you provide on public forums, webinars and other interactive experiences on the edX Site. We also require Personal Information when you participate in remote proctoring or other course facilitation processes, so that edX’s third-party vendor can monitor and assess the integrity of your course activity, or when you earn a Certificate (the certificate will have your name on it).
edX also collects usage information about your participation in courses, as explained in the Cookie Policy.
When you participate in a course, the Member that offers the course will receive Personal Information about your activity and performance in the course.
As set out above, participation for some courses and programs viewable on the edX Site takes place on other sites, including those operated by 2U. In those cases, this Privacy Policy does not apply. The course or program provider’s privacy policy will be made available to you when you begin your participation in the course or program.
Where permitted by law, we collect or receive information about you from Members, your employer or potential employer, third parties to which you indicate that you would like to learn more about a course or program offered on the edX Site, organizations that are our partners, companies to which you’ve provided your information for professional or continuing education opportunities, or 2U (collectively “Other Sources”) in order to update or supplement the information that you provide or that we collect automatically when you visit the edX Site. We use this information to help us maintain the accuracy of the information we collect, to target our communications so that we can inform you of products, services or other offers that may be of interest to you, and for internal business analysis or other business purposes. We collect Personal Information from Other Sources with your consent where such consent is required or, otherwise, for the purposes of our legitimate interests, as further described below in How edX uses your Personal Information.
We do not direct the edX Site to, nor do we knowingly collect any Personal Information via the edX Site from, children under the age of 13. If you learn that a child has provided us with Personal Information in violation of this Privacy Policy, you may notify us at [email protected].
edX uses information, including Personal Information, to carry out the following purposes:
edX may also seek your consent for additional uses of information, including Personal Information, and in such cases will use your Personal Information only for the purpose described to you. All use of Personal Information is subject to applicable law.
You can manage your Personal Information through learner features on the edX Site and requests to the edX learner support team. If your request involves information controlled by a Member, edX will, as applicable, notify the appropriate Member to address your request. edX will provide support to the extent required by applicable law (e.g., for learners in the European Union, United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, the People’s Republic of China, California, Virginia, and other locations) and more broadly when possible, as a courtesy in our sole discretion. edX will notify you in the event that edX is unable to meet a request that is not legally required. Similarly, Members will only be obligated to comply with requests to the extent legally required but may choose to comply with other requests in their sole discretion.
If you have requested information about and/or enrolled in courses or programs offered on third-party sites or by providers that are not Members, including courses or programs offered by 2U, the privacy policies relevant to those courses or programs describe how to exercise your rights over your Personal Information.
Much of your Personal Information is available in your edX account. Your name, email address, and other identifiable profile information is editable through your edX Account Settings except as noted below. Your account dashboard lists all current and archived courses in which you have enrolled and includes links to any Certificates you may have earned. You may download copies of your earned Certificates directly from your edX account. Please contact edX learner support to request any corrections to your Personal Information.
Please note that usernames cannot be changed. This is an edX system restriction. Because usernames identify you in courses and elsewhere on the edX Site, edX encourages you to use discretion in choosing your username. If you want to protect your identity, do not use your real name or a name identifiable to you as your username. Also, edX does not track or index every time or every place on the edX Site when or where a learner may volunteer Personal Information, so neither edX nor Members will be able to help you locate or manage all such instances. edX encourages you to use discretion before volunteering Personal Information on the edX Site.
If you want to manage emails and other communications edX sends to you, you may update your preferences in your edX account dashboard, follow the steps described in links at the bottom of email messages, or contact edX learner support. If you exercise your right to unsubscribe from promotional emails or other communications from edX, you will continue to receive promotional emails and other communications from providers that you have not yet exercised this right in relation to, unless and until you unsubscribe directly with that provider. To unsubscribe from marketing messages you receive after requesting information about a program or course offered by a non-Member provider, including 2U, please follow the links at the bottom of those email messages.
You may object to, or request that edX or a Member cease, use of your Personal Information for other purposes by contacting the edX learner support team. Please note that if you choose to restrict edX’s or a Member’s ability to process Personal Information, and the processing is otherwise required to provide you with various services and products offered on the edX Site, you may not be able to establish an edX user account or enroll in a course, and edX or a Member may not be able to provide you with those services or products.
To request deletion of your edX account and Personal Information, you should click the button labeled “Delete my account” in your edX account settings. Because this is a permanent action and cannot be reversed, edX may ask you to complete an authentication process that aims to confirm your authority to manage the edX account affected by your request.
With respect to your edX account, edX will permanently:
With respect to your Personal Information, edX will permanently remove your edX account profile Personal Information from the edX Site.
As noted above, to the extent that edX associates the information that edX collects directly or indirectly with an individual (for example, you), the association is based on Personal Information in your edX account profile. By erasing the Personal Information in your edX account profile, the remaining information about your activity on the edX Site will no longer be associated with you. These changes will be applied to data stores that are used for operation of the edX Site including course administration by Members. If you enrolled in any courses or programs on the edX Site, edX will share your request for deletion with the Member(s) that offered those courses or programs.
We retain some data for a further period for the purposes described in Section VI.D below. We also do not track or index every time or every place on the edX Site when or where a learner may volunteer Personal Information, so neither edX nor Members will be able to help you locate or manage all such instances. edX encourages you to think carefully before voluntarily sharing Personal Information on the edX Site.
edX will retain your Personal Information for as long as your account is active or as needed to: provide you with services you have requested; maintain a record of your transactions for financial reporting, audit, and compliance purposes; or comply with edX’s legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce our agreements, and as otherwise permitted by applicable law. If you enroll in a Member’s course, such Member will also retain your Personal Information for as long as needed to provide you with services you have requested; to maintain a record of your transactions for financial reporting, audit, and compliance purposes; and to comply with its legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce its agreements, and as otherwise permitted by applicable law. Upon your request that edX deactivate your account and delete your information, edX will, within 30 days of your request, follow the process described in Section VI.C above, including, without limitation, archiving your course data (in a manner and to the extent permitted under applicable law) to serve its mission to enable scientific research on cognitive science and education. These archives will be used to produce encrypted research data packages for Members, and each such Member may also keep and use course data for scientific research.
Categories of Personal Information that We Collect and Disclose
As required by the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), below are the categories of personal information about California consumers that edX collects and discloses for a business purpose.
We collect and disclose for a business purpose the following categories of Personal Information:
Categories of Sources of Personal Information
The categories of sources of Personal Information we collect are described in the Information that edX collects from and about you above.
Purposes for Collecting and Disclosing Personal Information
We collect and disclose the Personal Information identified above to:
edX may also seek your consent for additional uses of information, including Personal Information.
Categories of Third Parties to Which edX Personal Information is Disclosed
We disclose the categories of Personal Information identified above to the following categories of third parties:
In some cases, we disclose Identifiers and Usage Data to business partners in order to deliver ads that are more relevant to you and to measure and report on the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns. Under the CCPA, some of these data disclosures may be broadly considered a “sale” of information, even though these activities do not fit what most people would understand “sale” to mean. Except for these types of disclosures, we do not sell your information. To opt out of the sale of your Personal Information, please visit the “Do Not Sell My Information” link at the bottom of each page on the edX Site.
Data Retention Periods
edX will retain your Personal Information for as long as your account is active or as needed to: provide you with services you have requested; maintain a record of your transactions for financial reporting, audit, and compliance purposes; or comply with edX’s legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce our agreements, and as otherwise permitted by applicable law. Upon your request that edX deactivate your account and delete your information, edX will, within 30 days of your request, follow the process described in Section IV.C above, including, without limitation, archiving your course data (in a manner and to the extent permitted under applicable law) to serve its mission to enable scientific research on cognitive science and education. These archives will be used to produce encrypted research data packages for Members, and each such Member may also keep and use course data for scientific research.
California Consumer Rights
California law gives California consumers the right to make the following requests:
You can submit a copy, deletion, correction or right-to-know request online by following the steps outlined in How to manage your Personal Information above or by calling us at (1) 888-278-0813. To opt out of the sale of your Personal Information, please visit the “Do Not Sell My Information” link at the bottom of each page on the edX Site.
You have the right not to receive discriminatory treatment for the exercise of your CCPA privacy rights, subject to certain limitations. We do not discriminate if you exercise your rights under the CCPA. edX does not use or disclose your sensitive Personal Information for purposes other than those set forth in the CCPA.
California’s Shine the Light Law. If you are a California resident and do not want edX to disclose your information to third parties (including to 2U, Inc. or its affiliates) for their direct marketing purposes, you may opt out by contacting edX learner support.
edX stores information, including Personal Information, on its own servers and on servers of companies that edX hires to provide services. Each Member also stores information, including Personal Information, on its own servers and/or on servers of companies that the Member hires to provide services. In each case, information may be stored in the United States and in other countries where edX or a Member operates, and in countries where edX and each Member’s respective service providers operate. If you are in the European Union, Switzerland, or other regions with laws governing data collection and use, you acknowledge that edX and each Member may transfer, process and store your Personal Information in the United States and other countries, the privacy laws of which may be considered less strict than those of your region.
edX controls its own copy of information collected through the edX Site and has an information security program designed to protect information in its possession or control. This is done through a variety of privacy and security policies, processes, and procedures. edX uses administrative, physical, and technical safeguards that reasonably and appropriately protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the information that it collects, receives, stores, or transmits. Nonetheless, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure; and therefore, edX cannot guarantee its absolute security. While edX works hard to ensure the integrity and security of its network and systems, edX cannot guarantee that its security measures will prevent unauthorized persons from illegally accessing or obtaining information.
If edX learns of a security breach involving its copy of your Personal Information, edX may attempt to notify you electronically so that you may take appropriate protective steps. By using the edX Site or providing Personal Information to edX, you agree that edX can communicate with you electronically regarding security, privacy, and administrative issues relating to your use of the edX Site. If a security systems breach occurs, edX may post a notice on the edX homepage (www.edx.org) or elsewhere on the edX Site and may send an email to you at the email address associated with your edX account. Depending on where you are located, you may have a legal right to receive notice of a security breach, involving your Personal Information, in writing.
If a Member learns of a security breach involving that Member’s copy of your Personal Information, the Member may attempt to notify you electronically so that you may take appropriate protective steps. By enrolling in a Member’s course on the edX Site or providing Personal Information to the Member, you agree that the Member can communicate with you electronically regarding security, privacy, and administrative issues relating to your course enrollment and participation. If a security systems breach occurs, the affected Member may post a notice on the edX site and/or send an email to you at the email address associated with your enrollment in the Member’s course on the edX Site. Depending on where you are located, you may have a legal right to receive notice of a security breach, involving your Personal Information, in writing.
This Privacy Policy will be reviewed and updated from time to time. When we do make material changes, we will give notice via the edX Site or by otherwise notifying you. The Privacy Policy will include a “Last Updated” date indicating that you should review the new terms, which will be effective immediately upon posting on this page. By accessing the edX Site after any changes have been made, you accept the modified Privacy Policy and any changes contained therein. In case you miss the notification referenced above, be sure to return to this page periodically to ensure familiarity with the most current version of this Privacy Policy.
If you have privacy concerns, have disclosed data you would prefer to keep private, or would like to access, delete or correct the Personal Information that edX maintains about you, please contact us at [email protected]. You may also write to us at: ATTN: PRIVACY, edX LLC, 7900 Harkins Road, Lanham, MD 20709 USA. If your request involves a Member, edX will, as appropriate, notify the appropriate Member of your request.
If you reside in the EU, you can contact our EU representative at DataRep, The Cube, Monahan Road, Cork, T12 H1XY, Republic of Ireland, [email protected]. If you reside in the UK, you can contact our UK representative at 2U Group (UK) Ltd, c/o Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP, 40 Bank Street Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom, E14 5DS, +44 20 3457 5774.
Depending on your location, you may also have the right to file a complaint with the data protection regulatory authority in the country where you reside.