About

The educ.io site is a hosted collection of web tools that integrate with Google Apps. Together, they form a platform for making complex tasks easier, faster and more intuitive. Using the Google APIs, these tools enhance the functionality of the G-Suite apps (Drive, Sheets, Docs etc.). They are able to do this by requesting programmatic access (using OAuth 2.0) for you to various parts of your Google data, and then interacting with this data in your browser. A full list of the permissions that each app requests, and why they request it, can be found on our scopes page.

Each of the educ.io apps work independently and provide a particular set of features. Perhaps their most valuable asset is that they act as a transparent layer over the existing Google Services. All your data remains on your device, and the Google platform, nothing is ever sent to, or stored by, us. Nothing is specific or accessible only through these tools; they help you, they don’t lock you in.

While principally designed for educators and the education sector, many of the tools are useful in all walks of life. It works on all your devices, requiring nothing more than a modern browser, so jump in and try them out.

Transparency

The best technology is open, and the best education thrives in the light. Closed systems do little but perpetuate closed minds. We passionately believe that everyone should have access to the best possible tools, everywhere.

All of our web-apps are subject to copyright (© 2015-2021 educ.io) but released under a permissive open-source license. These apps are free software, meaning you can redistribute them and/or modify them under the terms of the GNU General Public License (Version 3) as published by the Free Software Foundation.

Our branding, including our name, logo and distinctive visual design patterns (such as our use of blocks in our imagery) are not licensed under an open-source agreement. This exclusion means you cannot use them without our permission. We care about building our brand, and we want to make sure that our users recognise our sites, trusting the quality of what we do and the time and effort that goes into making them. As such, while we encourage you to make copies (branches or forks) of our code, you cannot pertain to represent us, nor use our name, domain names or logos. If you wish to use our logo to link back to us, that’s fine, but not in a way that implies affiliation or endorsement (without prior permission).

The source code is freely available online, and contributions, comments, and bug reports all welcome. Feel free to have a look!

Like all open-source systems, this site builds upon the work of others. Our tools wouldn’t be possible without these external libraries, but instead of hiding them away, we choose to celebrate them. You can find a list of all the external libraries we currently use on our credits page, including a brief description of how they are used and a link to their project website or documentation. Please take a look, and say thanks if you can.

Our site and our tools are continually evolving. New functionality and improvements are regularly added. To help with this, a change log is maintained for each release, making it easy to see what the latest features are and any reasons for changes & further information.

Privacy

As well as an unswerving commitment to transparency, we are determined to protect the privacy, security and confidentiality of your data.

We therefore do not store, process or analyse any of your Google user data. Your data stays in your Google account and on your device only, our servers and people never see it, and we never touch it. This data is yours, and that is the way it should always be!

When you use any of our apps in conjunction with your Google account, the app may request scoped access to part of your Google data, so that you can interact with that data (but just within your browser, it doesn’t go anywhere else!). This request generates a token (think of it like a temporary password) that is only valid for accessing the data that you granted access to. This token is saved on your device until you log out of Google services or our apps, and it is periodically refreshed. This means, if you remove the granted permission, the next refresh will fail and the token will no longer be valid (even if you have not signed out).

To most users, these scopes can sometimes appear quite complex, so we have a complete list of all the scopes that may be requested when using each of our apps. Each of these scopes is accompanied by an explanation of why it may be requested, and what functionality requires it. Any scopes that are not essential for the app (e.g. they may simply give some extra useful functionality) are marked as optional in this list.

All the web-apps run from this site are ‘client side’ apps, meaning that none of your data is transmitted back to our systems. Apps and their instructions are served up over HTTPS (industry standard encryption, please download or test our SSL Security Score). Your data, however, is loaded (and saved) directly from Google, again using HTTPS. Your data stays between you and Google, ensuring it remains secure and governed by your existing data protection agreements. We never see it, never could see it, and never would want to see it. We just provide the code, and our tools can even help you with securing your own data!

Analytics

The only data that we receive from this site is usage information. This data is handled by via Googe Analytics, which is a widely-used third party service that collects standard internet log information, and behaviour patterns. The reason we do this is to measure the usage of these apps (e.g. what is frequently used), and also how they are being used (e.g. which buttons or menu-items are clicked most often). This data helps to shape development decisions (e.g. updating and streamlining layout and processes). None of this data is linked to your account, name or email address in any way. Personally identifiable information is banned from the analytics platform and we would never seek to try to track any individual users. All data is held in a highly secure state by google, and only accessible by us using industry-standard 2-factor authentication.

While this data is important, and useful to us, your preferences are even more so. If you would prefer to block these sorts of analytics tools while you are browsing the web, you can enable do not track in your browser. This setting will be read by us and we will not attempt to load the analytics code if it is set. Compliance with this setting is dependent on the website/tool and is not universally honoured across the web. Alternatively, to forcefully block these analytics scripts from loading, you can install a privacy enhancing tool, such as the excellent Ghostery chrome extension.

Browser Storage

To provide functionality to you, we need to store a small amount of information in your browser. This stored information takes three forms:

Cookies

Cookies are small pieces of text stored, sent and received by your browser from a website that you are visiting. Google Analytics uses these cookies (first-party cookies, so they are not shared across sites) to store ‘non-personally identifiable information’. These cookies are prefixed with ‘_ga’ or ‘_gid’. Our apps also load third-party scripts from a global content delivery network (CDN) for speed and reliability. These CDNs may also use first-party cookies to help deliver their services (e.g. Cloudflare).

Cache Storage

In order to deliver the best possible service, even in challenging connectivity situations (poor wifi stability for example), we make use of Progressive Web Apps technology on compatible platforms. This technology means we can proactively cache various parts of the site and code in your browser, allowing it to be fetched, even when moving between different pages, without having to communicate over the Internet. These pages are stored securely in the browser cache, and are periodically updated when updates are released.

Local Storage

Finally, we use browser storage functions (such as IndexedDB and Local Storage) to store:

Access Tokens: These are the cryptographic tokens which grant access to API Services. They are stored only in your browser, work only on our site, and are invalidated/cleared when you sign out of the services (e.g. out of one of our apps or the Google platform as a whole).
Recent Items: To save you clicks, and time, we store the most recent commands that you have used on our site (e.g. open a particular file with one of our tools). These recent items become a ‘shortcut’ list for you on each app. They are also only stored in your browser, can be removed individually and are cleared when you sign out of the app.

Reliability

All of our web-apps are ‘offline-first’ on compatible browsers, meaning that the code and structure of the apps are saved locally on your device. Where possible, data is cached briefly to speed things up (but always removed when you sign out). This means the web-apps will continue to function when you are offline, or when wifi isn’t working so well!

Performance

To produce simple, reliable and easy to use tools, we believe that the best route is to ensure our code is as lightweight as possible. We loath long load times, bulky pages and painful waiting. Instead, we work hard to ensure our apps are efficient and lightweight, delivering excellent features with as small a footprint as possible.

Terms of Service

Firstly, thank you for using the apps provided by educ.io, we hope that you find them useful, productive and time-saving! By accessing or using our apps, you agree to the terms set out below, so please read them carefully. These terms refer to, and govern, your use of these apps, and of this website in general. The code used on this site (and your rights to view and modify it) is subject to copyright and governed by a separate license agreement. Under these terms, we may refer to educ.io as we, our, or us.

We use a small number of cookies and store some local data in your browser cache. In using this site, and apps, you, therefore, consent to our use of cookies under the terms set out in our privacy and cookie policies.

No Warranties

This website is, and the apps containing within are, provided as is without any representations or warranties, expressly stated or implied. We make absolutely no representations or warranties concerning this website or the information and materials provided within. While every reasonable effort will be made to ensure the reliability and continued operation of this site, we depend entirely on the availability of other APIs, over which we have no control. As such, we cannot warrant that these apps will be continuously available, or that they will be fully functional at all times.

Limitations of Liability

We will not be liable to you (whether under the law of contact, the law of torts or otherwise) concerning the contents of, or use of, or otherwise in connection with, this website or these apps. This includes, but shall not be strictly limited to, any indirect, special or consequential loss; or any business losses, loss of revenue, income, profits or anticipated savings, loss of contracts or business relationships, loss of reputation or goodwill, or loss or corruption of information or data.

By using this website, and apps contained within, you agree that the limitations of liability set out above, and the absences of any warranty, are reasonable. If you do not think they are reasonable, then you must not use this website or these apps.

Enforceability, Assignment & Agreement

Should any provision of these terms of service be, or be found to be, unenforceable under applicable law (or deemed unlawful), by any court or duly designation competent legal authority, then that will not impact the enforceability of any other provisions contained herewithin. From time to time, we may need to revise or alter these terms of service, or other policies related to them. These revisions will apply from their date of publication on this website, so please do check this document regularly to ensure you are aware of any changes.

We may transfer, sub-contract, or deal with our rights and our obligations under these terms or service without needing to inform you or obtain your consent. These terms of service, taken in conjunction with the license and other related policies accessible from this page constitute the entire agreement between you and us in governing your use of this website. The current version published here should be considered to supersede all previous agreements in respect of your use of this site and the apps.