Decode looked at the permissions and SDK list of three of the most-installed school apps in Indian metros. The results are not what the consent screen suggested.
When a child opens the homework app each evening, a series of background checks happen in milliseconds: a microphone permission test, a location ping, a device-identifier read, a request to read installed apps. None of it is necessary to display the day's questions.
What the apps actually request
We pulled the permission manifest off three of the most-installed school apps in Indian metros. All three ask for the same set: location, microphone, contacts, installed app list, and a long list of analytics SDKs. Two of them request the camera roll.
What the consent screen says
The consent screen, by contrast, mentions only "improving the learning experience". The data shared with the third-party analytics SDKs reaches at least four jurisdictions. None of that is disclosed in the parent-facing copy.
What can be done
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 requires verifiable parental consent for processing children's data. None of the three apps we tested have a verification step beyond a checkbox. We've reached out to the publishers; this story will be updated when they respond.
Edited by Kabir Singh