SkieWhat is COPPA and does it matter for school devices?
COPPA is a United States law about collecting personal information from children under 13 through online services. It can matter if you serve US families. Skie collects a narrow set of data and no message content, but no software makes anyone COPPA compliant. This is general information, not legal advice.
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act applies to operators of online services that collect personal information from children under 13 in the United States. It generally asks for notice and verifiable consent from a parent. In education, US guidance has allowed schools to give consent on behalf of parents in some circumstances, limited to the school's educational purpose.
How that works in practice is a legal question and depends on who the operator is, what is collected and how it is used. It is a question for your adviser, not something a device management vendor can settle for you.
What Skie can do is keep the data small and clear. It collects device identity, installed apps, compliance status and, if used, location. It does not read messages, record audio or video, or read call logs. There is no hidden mode and no advertising use. Roles and page access limit who in the organisation sees anything.
If you plan to use Skie with children in the US, treat COPPA as one of several checks. Look at state student privacy laws, your district's own policies and the agreement you sign. Ask for written terms on what data is processed and for what purpose.
A practical tip: map your data first. A single page listing each data item, why you need it, who can see it and how long you keep it is the document every privacy review asks for. Build it once and reuse it for COPPA, FERPA, GDPR and the DPDP Act.