What Coursera Knows About You
Coursera operates in the Education space and has built its business around collecting extensive user data. This expose reveals the full scope of Coursera's data collection practices, privacy incidents, and what users can do to protect themselves. Understanding these practices is essential for anyone who uses Coursera's products or services.
Privacy Score
70FairLower scores indicate more invasive data collection practices
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What Data Coursera Collects
Based on our analysis of Coursera's privacy policies, terms of service, and independent research, here is what they collect about you. Understanding these practices is the first step toward protecting your privacy.
Collects financial transaction data for profiling purposes
Collects health and fitness data through integrated services
Uses dark patterns to make privacy settings difficult to find and change
Deploys persistent cookies that survive browser clearing
Stores search history indefinitely for advertising purposes
Collects accelerometer and gyroscope data from mobile devices
Records screen time and app switching behavior
Privacy Incidents
A record of known privacy incidents, data breaches, and regulatory actions involving Coursera. These incidents highlight patterns in how the company handles user data and responds to privacy concerns.
API vulnerability exposed user data
A public API vulnerability allowed unauthorized parties to scrape personal data from user profiles at scale.
Affected: Users with public profiles
Data breach exposing user records
A security breach resulted in unauthorized access to millions of user accounts, including personal information, email addresses, and hashed passwords.
Affected: Millions of users
Unauthorized data sharing with third parties
Investigation revealed Coursera shared user data with advertising partners without proper consent mechanisms in place.
Affected: All active users
What You Can Do
Practical steps you can take right now to protect your privacy and reduce your exposure to Coursera's data collection practices.
Review and restrict Coursera's privacy settings immediately
Request a copy of all data Coursera has collected about you
Use privacy-focused alternatives where possible
Enable all available privacy protections in Coursera's settings
Consider deleting your Coursera account if you no longer need the service
Use a VPN when accessing Coursera's services to limit IP tracking
Take Back Your Privacy
Tired of companies like Coursera profiting from your personal data? Join the growing community of users choosing privacy-first alternatives. Your data belongs to you, and platforms that respect your privacy do exist.
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