Securly

American internet filtering and edtech company

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (May 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Securly

Type of site

| Web filtering for schools
Owner| Golden Gate Capital
Founder(s)| Vinay Mahadik, Bharath Madhusudan, Nikita Chikate
Key people|

* Bharath Madhusudan (CEO)

URL| www.securly.com
Launched| January 2013

Securly, Inc. is an educational software company based in San Jose, California and incorporated in Delaware. It develops and sells internet filters and other technologies which primary and secondary schools use to monitor students' web browsing, web searches, video watching, social media posts, emails, online documents, and drives.[1] It was founded in January 2013.[2]

Securly presenting at the National Student Safety Conference held at Las Vegas, Nevada in November 2019.

## Reception

[edit]

Logo used from 2013 to 2020

Securly has been heavily criticized by people for a lot of reasons, such as providing tools that let schools block websites and the ability to invade students' privacy. As a result, videos have shown exploits to show how to get around or bypass its filtering and monitoring, but almost all of them have been patched. In 2017, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Arrowhead High School's implementation of Securly, which received large backlash from parents and students. The software monitors activity of school-owned equipment and students' own devices that are connected to their school's Wi-Fi. Points of contention included the risk of Securly being hacked, the potential sale of browsing and search history to insurance companies and advertisers, and general privacy concerns. Securly said that they "monitor students' internet searches and social media posts; flag them for references that suggest such things as drug use, cyberbullying or suicide; and share students' internet browsing histories with parents who want them."[3] Common Sense Media director Girard Kelly said events like the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the Equifax data breach show the need to protect students' data, arguing Securly does the opposite by normalizing a "surveillance state" where students have to give up their data without their consent.[4] In 2023, the parents of 2 California students filed a class action lawsuit against Securly, alleging that Securly collected students' private information without their permission and selling the information to third party vendors.[5]

Securly says that its service allows schools to almost achieve compliance with state and federal requirements such as the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA).[6] Securly has claimed its services help prevent school shootings by blocking violent content, but it has been largely criticized for not providing much data that supports that claim. It has also been largely criticized for the content that it deems violent.[7][8]

Securly also puts such blocked pages into categories, such as Games, Social Media, E-commerce/Shopping, and Gambling.[9]In addition, keywords can be blocked as well.

## Awards

[edit]

In 2020, Securly won the EdTech breakthrough award for use of Artificial Intelligence for Student Safety.[10]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Kolodny, Lora. "Securly raises $4 million to put guard rails on the internet for K-12 students". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
2. ^ "About Us - Securly". www.securly.com. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
3. ^ Johnson, Annysa. "Students, the website you've visited at high school will now be seen by your parents". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
4. ^ Stolzoff, Simone. "Schools are using AI to track what students write on their computers". Quartz. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
5. ^ "Class action lawsuit claims school security software company violated students' privacy". K-12 Dive. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
6. ^ Brewster, Thomas. "This AI Startup Constantly Monitors Kids To Stop The Next School Shooting—And It Just Scored $16 Million Funding". Forbes. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
7. ^ "Schools Spy on Kids to Prevent Shootings, But There's No Evidence It Works". Vice. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
8. ^ Beckett, Lois (October 22, 2019). "Under digital surveillance: how American schools spy on millions of kids". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
9. ^ "Securly Filter Category Examples". Support. May 29, 2025. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
10. ^ Breakthrough, EdTech. "Securly Wins 2020 EdTech Breakthrough Award for Innovative Use of Artificial Intelligence for Student Safety". www.prweb.com. Retrieved May 13, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Securly Homepage