Nurturing Student Safety: Address safety and privacy concerns behind the Saturn App
As the back-to-school buzz fills the air, students are gearing up for a new academic year by stocking up on new school supplies, back-to-school outfits, and even apps that they can use to enhance their education this school year. One app at the top of students’ back-to-school lists is Saturn. The new platform is making waves with promises of aiding students with time management and allowing them to connect with classmates. However, some school communities and family members are citing concerns about the app and its ability (or lack thereof) to protect student privacy.
Dive in to find out more about this popular platform and how your students may be navigating it.
What is the Saturn app and the safety concerns associated with it?
Saturn is a calendar app that’s great for high school students created to “support the complexities of the high school day.” Helping them know where they should be at all times, students can also use it to share important things with their school community such as events and updates. Just by taking a picture of your schedule, Saturn can set up a student’s whole calendar, so it’s like having your own personal assistant to keep you on track with your school day.
The safety concerns that families and educators have with the new app stem from its ability to allow members, including high school students from different schools, to share photos and personal information openly. This could inadvertently expose students to risks, as predators could exploit the app’s features to access sensitive data, potentially leading to dangerous situations like stalking or unwarranted contact.
On top of the ability to connect with students from other schools that they don’t know, in a now-viral post, a parent, Chris Collum, showed how easy it was for him to fib his way into the app and verify his account through his phone number, instead of a school email address. Additionally, after choosing a high school and picking a few teachers that the app provided, he could create a fake schedule and see the students who were in his class. It’s no surprise that this easy access an adult had to students’ schedules raised some red flags.
Saturn’s response to the safety concerns
In response to these safety concerns, Saturn recently updated its safety features. Students now need to have more connections in their contact lists with other students from their school to get verified. Also, their system will find and block suspicious phone numbers from signing up. If someone can’t verify using the new process, they won’t be able to take part in school activities and will eventually be removed. Plus, if you are not a verified student at a school, you can’t see class details, other students’ profiles, or use the community bulletin for posting.
Empowering students to protect their privacy, no matter the app
The allure of convenience and connection that apps provide to students can sometimes overshadow the importance of privacy and safety. The Saturn app case serves as a compelling reminder to students of the need to always be aware of how apps use and share their personal information. As students embrace technology for social interactions and time management, they should do so with a solid understanding of how to set boundaries with their apps to protect themselves from potential risks.
To foster a safe online environment, educators can empower their students to protect their privacy like they are famous with these three strategies:
- Tailor your setting to fit your privacy preferences: Encourage students to review their settings regularly (even the ones buried in your device) and make sure they match up with what they want others to know about them.
- Use critical thinking when sharing information: Encourage students to critically evaluate the necessity of sharing specific details on public platforms and ask questions if they are unsure.
- Involve the family community: Encourage family members to familiarize themselves with the apps students are using and to have open conversations about online safety.
As students head back to school, the Saturn app situation offers educators an opportunity to reinforce the significance of protecting privacy and making informed choices online. By integrating discussions about online safety, privacy, and the potential risks of certain apps into the curriculum, educators can empower students with the tools they need to navigate their social worlds responsibly.
In the #WinAtSocial Protect Your Privacy Like You’re Famous lesson, Examining how free apps and websites use our personal data, students are empowered to:
- Understand why apps like Saturn are free
- Examine how these apps collect and use their personal data
- Implement strategies for updating their privacy settings for devices and apps.
Interested in running this lesson and others that empower students to protect their privacy? Request a demo today of our peer-to-peer technology that helps students build modern life skills for navigating social media and technology in positive and safe ways.
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The Social Institute (TSI) is the leader in empowering students by understanding students. Through #WinAtSocial, our gamified, peer-to-peer learning platform, we equip students, educators, and families to navigate their social world – in the classroom and beyond, online and offline – in healthy, high-character ways. Our unique, student-respected approach empowers and equips, rather than scares and restricts. We incorporate timely topics about social media, tech use, and current events that are impacting student well-being and learning. #WinAtSocial Lessons teach life skills for the modern day, capture student voice, and provide school leaders with actionable insights. Through these insights, students play an essential role in school efforts to support their own health, happiness, and future success as we enable high-impact teaching, meaningful family conversations, and a healthy school culture.