Privacy Statement
1. Introduction
Welcome to our Privacy Center. This page summarizes how Pearson and its group of companies (“Pearson”, “we”, “us”, “our”) use personal data. This page is a summary, it is important you read the Pearson Privacy Center Notice and the privacy information we share whilst you use our services (just in time notices) so that you have a clear understanding about how we use information about you.
2. What do we do?
Pearson provides education, examination and publishing services around the world (our “Services”). We work directly with individuals such as students, parents, teachers, and other professionals, and provide our Services to institutions (such as schools, universities, employers).
3. What personal data do we collect and use?
The personal data we collect and use broadly falls into the following categories:
Registration, profile, proof of identity and purchase information
Information collected as part of Examinations and certifications and Educational Courses and Tutoring
Customer service and educational/enrolment support information
User generated data (e.g. your participation in forums)
Data generated by AI (e.g. as part of assessment scoring)
Video, image and audio recordings (e.g. collected during virtual classrooms or as part of exam proctoring)
Activity and usage information
Location, application and systems log data
Special category data (e.g. relating to health for access arrangements, biometric face and voice technology to prevent cheating, and other sensitive information for equality monitoring);
4. Why do we collect your personal data?
Subject to the Service you use, the main ways we use personal data are for the purpose of bringing you the best possible experience when using our Services helping you track your lifetime of learning – whether that be to facilitate account registration, communicate with you (including marketing), market research and service improvement, personalizing your experience, to prevent fraud, managing integrations with third party technologies and to comply with laws and regulations and defend and exercise our legal rights.
5. Children’s data
The nature of our Services means we often process information about users under the age of 18. We recognize our responsibility to keep children safe online and have put additional protections in place to ensure this. We do this by working closely with parents, and schools
6. Use of AI technologies
We use artificial intelligence technologies (for instance, when collecting your video and audio recordings during tests or as part of our scoring processes) in order to, amongst other purposes, drive consistency, eliminate bias and detect instances of cheating. Some of these activities would be carried out automatically and may require the use of your biometric data.
7. How long does Pearson keep my personal data for?
Only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was requested. Some types of information such as those relating to qualifications and virtual schools need to be retained for long periods of time.
8. Does Pearson share my personal data with anyone?
Yes. We share personal data with our group members who help us to deliver and improve our Services. Depending on the Service in question, we also share user personal data with their academic institutions, instructors, employers and/or parent or guardians as appropriate. Your personal data is shared with our suppliers who help us to provide the Services to you. We may also share your personal data with regulators, law enforcement, courts, with our professional advisors, or with other third parties for example in connection with the sale of or investment in our business.
9. Will your personal data stay in your country?
We are part of a global organisation and use global service providers. This means your personal data may be processed outside of the country in which you live. We will only do this in compliance with local laws. For example, for residents in the UK and EU, Pearson complies with legal requirements to enter into Standard Contractual Clauses (and the UK addendum) with data importers.
10. What rights do you have?
Depending on the country you are in, you may have different rights in relation to your personal data. These include rights to access data, to correct inaccurate data, to object to or request restriction of our processing, to request deletion of data, to request that we transfer your data to another, to opt-out of marketing or to withdraw consent. You also have the right to complain to a local supervisory authority.
11. Who is the controller of my personal data?
For Services in the United Kingdom and Europe, Pearson Education Limited is normally the Pearson controlling entity, and in the United States and Asia Pacific it is normally either Pearson Education Inc or NCS Pearson Inc. Please refer to the terms and conditions for your service for details. Please note, there may be occasions where the data controller is your employer, or academic institution (i.e. school or university) rather than Pearson, this will be explained to you during your use of the Services.
12. Third-party recipients
Pearson partners with third-party recipients or service providers to handle the personal data of test takers, ensuring strict compliance with applicable privacy and security standards.