Edna used to hate math. Every time she opened her book, the numbers felt like a wall she couldn’t climb. But then her school introduced a new learning app. Instead of endless equations, the app showed problems through science experiments, tapping into her love for visuals and chemistry. Suddenly, algebra began to make sense.
Her friend Caleb, who has dyslexia, found the app just as transformative. It adjusted text size and even read aloud, allowing him to follow lessons without asking for help. For the first time, he felt included. Even their teacher benefited, with a dashboard showing which topics the class struggled with, helping her adapt her lessons. When a storm shut down school for a week, Edna and her classmates didn’t fall behind: they kept learning from home. For Edna, technology wasn’t an add-on anymore. It was a bridge to access.
But the story didn’t end there. Over time, Edna began noticing unsettling patterns. The app tracked every move — how long she looked at a problem, how she typed — and soon her parents were seeing ads for math tutoring they’d never searched for. The app nudged her toward careers in science and tech, ignoring her passion for writing. Her friend Caleb was flagged for “behavioral monitoring” simply because he looked away from the screen to concentrate. What once felt like empowerment started raising questions about EdTech privacy, fairness, and bias.
Edna’s journey is fictional, but her challenges are real. In August 2025, the Datasphere Initiative and UNICEF Innocenti used her story as a starting point for the Global Youth Tech Consultations, three online sessions in which 41 young people from 22 countries gathered to discuss the future of the governance of data in education technology (EdTech). Their debates, sparked by Edna’s experience, revealed both the promise and the risks of data collection and sharing through digital learning platforms.
Youth Voices at the Center
Why ask young people about data collection and sharing through EdTech? Because they are not only the primary users of these tools but also the first generation to grow up entirely online. Their daily lives are shaped by apps that influence how they learn, connect, and prepare for the future. The way their data is gathered and used through these platforms affects not only their education but also broader decisions on policy and school administration. That is why this consultation centered on their experiences and views around data in EdTech.
The goal of the consultations was to give young people a platform to share their experiences, identify risks and opportunities, and co-design ideas for a more inclusive and trustworthy digital future.
To make this possible, the Datasphere Initiative applied its award-winning youth engagement methodology, designed to be safe, accessible, and empowering. Instead of technical jargon, the consultations began with relatable stories like Edna’s. Interactive tools such as polls, breakout discussions, and a futures design challenge encouraged participants to go beyond listing concerns: they worked together to map problems and propose concrete solutions for responsible EdTech data governance.
Learn more about the Youth4Data Lab Toolkit
The response was striking. Participants were engaged, articulate, and eager to contribute. They spoke with clarity about both the benefits and the risks of EdTech, often grounding their points in lived experiences. The design challenge was especially powerful, showing not only their concerns but also their creativity and vision for change.
What Youth Said About Data and Privacy in EdTech
The conversations revealed a nuanced view: young people see both opportunities and risks in digital learning technologies. They highlighted the potential of digital platforms to offer personalized learning experiences, support self-paced study, and enable access to education even when distance or other barriers prevent attending school. These opportunities, however, underscore the importance of their recommendations to ensure that digital learning is safe, fair, and inclusive:
1. Privacy and surveillance
Participants expressed discomfort with the way apps tracked eye movement, typing speed, or time spent on a task. Some were surprised to learn how much of this data could be sold or leaked to third parties. They asked for stronger data privacy in EdTech and better cybersecurity in schools.
2. Transparency and fairness
Youth stressed the need for clear, reader-friendly terms and conditions, noting that complicated policies undermine understanding and trust. They highlighted the value of simple, easy-to-use checklists that could help them navigate terms and conditions with a renewed sense of agency. They also raised concerns about fairness, insisting that students should be aware when they are being assessed, rather than having hidden judgments made by algorithms.
3. Inclusion and accessibility
Inclusion was a recurring theme raised by participants from across all regions. Young people called for EdTech platforms to work in local languages, adapt to cultural contexts, and better serve learners with disabilities. Representation of underrepresented communities, including indigenous youth, was seen as essential.
4. Human oversight in AI
While youth recognized the benefits of AI-powered personalization, they did not want machines making key decisions about their learning paths. Teachers, they argued, should remain central in guiding education and interpreting results.
5. Sustainability
Some participants highlighted the environmental impact of EdTech platforms. They encouraged companies to use clean energy, reduce water consumption, and adopt sustainable digital learning practices.
From Insights to Impact
These reflections are not just valuable anecdotes. They are part of a structured process to ensure youth perspectives inform global decision-making.The findings from the consultations contributed to UNICEF’s policy recommendations on data governance for EdTech, which were shared with governments and industry leaders. They were also presented at the Global Privacy Assembly (GPA) in Seoul, Korea, where privacy regulators and policymakers from around the world gathered to debate global data governance in the AI era.
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