Student privacy is at the core of everything we do.

safer phone management

We believe students deserve to feel empowered, not surveilled.

Other technologies that attempt to manage student phone use function like parental control apps. These apps grant schools invasive access to student devices, tracking detailed usage or browsing history which raise privacy concerns and shift away from the autonomy, trust, and behavioral growth we aim to support.

We do not store personal information, and comply with district policies and national student privacy laws — such as FERPA and COPPA.

The Commons takes a privacy-first approach, focused on blocking only what’s most distracting, without storing personal data or monitoring content.

A Safer Way to Manage Phone Use

  • No. The Commons is not a location tracker. We use an invisible geofence, which is simply a virtual boundary set around the school. When your child enters that school zone, their phone is automatically switched into School Mode — blocking distracting apps during the school day.

    The Commons does not collect personal data from users. The only information we gather is de-identified telemetry data that allows our application to work in order to create a successful distraction-free campus.

    When students arrive at school, The Commons the app is alerted to blocks distracting apps. When school is over or they leave campus, The Commons app is alerted to turn off.

  • Yes. We don’t collect any personal information from your child through our app. Everything is de-identified, which means we don’t know who the phone belongs to, and we can’t see where your child is or what they’re doing on their phone.

    The school manages who uses the app, and we follow strict rules to protect student data. We’re aligned with important student privacy laws like FERPA and COPPA, which are made to keep student information safe. We don’t collect any health or medical information either.

    Your child’s privacy is really important to us, and we’ve built The Commons to support safe and focused learning.

  • Only one thing: whether their phone is in the school zone during school hours.
    We do not collect names, messages, browsing history, or contact information

FAQs