What Prodigy learned from earning the Common Sense Privacy Seal — and what their work reveals about the standards required to earn it.

This article is part of a series spotlighting the initial recipients of the Common Sense Privacy Seal (CSP). These articles describe how companies are investing in privacy, the rigorous standards products must meet to earn the CSP Seal, and what earning it means for their customers.

“It’s vitally important that anyone who teaches or learns with Prodigy does so with peace of mind. EdTech companies should do everything in their power to be clear, transparent, and responsible when it comes to data privacy. The Common Sense Privacy Seal highlights our commitment to these best practices, demonstrating why Prodigy has earned trust in classrooms and homes worldwide.”

— Ben Johnson, Chief Technology Officer, Prodigy Education

Overview

Prodigy Education is a global leader in game-based learning. Their mission is “to help every student in the world love learning,” motivating more than 20 million students annually to practice standards-aligned math and English.

More than 800,000 teachers use Prodigy as a free instructional tool. Prodigy ensures free access to all of its in-game math and English educational content, with its entire suite of teacher features at zero cost for educators. The business model is supported by optional memberships sold to parents.  

Schools are especially careful about privacy when evaluating free tools — they want to ensure student data isn’t being shared or sold. That’s why Prodigy wanted to earn the seal with the Common Sense Privacy Seal. They knew it would create instant trust with educators and schools.

‍The Common Sense Privacy Seal Program

As part of the Privacy Seal program, Prodigy used the Common Sense platform to complete a 200+ point privacy rubric, assessing their practices around the data concerns most important to customers. In addition to being aligned to relevant regulations, the CSP rubric also sets a standard for best practices.  This rubric helps companies identify the privacy requirements most relevant to their business.

The Common Sense Dashboard identifies potential gaps to both compliance and privacy best practices, provides actionable feedback on how to close these gaps, and helps companies stay current as privacy laws evolve.

Prodigy has prioritized privacy from the beginning — designing its product to collect minimal student data, and generating revenue through parent subscriptions instead of third-party advertising. The company also maintains dedicated in-house privacy and security teams and retains both internal and external legal counsel for support.

Even with these investments, it’s difficult for schools to distinguish true privacy leaders from those that merely claim to be. That’s why Prodigy turned to Common Sense, a brand trusted by 150 million users and over 1.2 million educators worldwide.

Prodigy created separate user experiences for students, including an age gate that directs students to its child-focused learning platform. They then worked with Common Sense Privacy to support the creation of distinct privacy policies for students and adults — enabling more precise commitments to privacy-preserving practices for children.

“It’s our pleasure to award Prodigy the Common Sense Privacy Seal,” said Daphne Li, CEO of Common Sense Privacy. “Prodigy has demonstrated they are going the extra mile to protect students and their data.”

Looking Ahead: Maintaining Trust in an Evolving Regulatory Landscape

Beyond earning the seal, Prodigy continues to use the Common Sense Privacy platform to monitor legal developments, assess evolving requirements, and strengthen internal practices over time.

As part of the certification process, Prodigy completed an in-depth review of its business and privacy practices using a 200+ question rubric. This process gave the Common Sense Dashboard the insight needed to:

  • Provide actionable feedback for clearer, stronger privacy policies
  • Recommend privacy best practices
  • Deliver alerts when requirements change

Start Your Free Privacy Seal Evaluation: See How Close You Are

Curious how your privacy practices stack up?

Common Sense offers a free Privacy Seal Evaluation to help companies assess their data practices versus current regulations and consumer expectations.

It’s a structured, confidential way to understand where your policies align — and where improvements may be needed.

Start your free evaluation

Prodigy’s experience shows how a company can use the Common Sense Privacy platform to build trust by strengthening internal practices, clarifying commitments, and increasing transparency.

If you're responsible for privacy at your company, the free evaluation is a helpful starting point for understanding what it takes to meet the expectations behind the Common Sense Privacy Seal.