Guideline sets rules for apps used in schools

The filing of records related to internet applications used at schools should be completed by the end of this year to regulate their development, the Ministry of Education said on Thursday.

A guideline, jointly issued by the ministry and seven other departments, requires app providers to establish a mechanism covering procedures including the collection, storage, transmission and use of data, and ensuring the data's security.

The apps' collection of personal information should be made known in an explicit way and approved by the app users or their guardians, it said.

Lei Chaozi, director of the ministry's Department of Science and Technology, said the rapid development of education apps in recent years has caused some problems such as the spread of hazardous information and excessive advertising, which troubled teachers, students and parents.

According to the guideline, education authorities and schools should ask the opinions of students, parents and teachers before introducing applications to students.

Schools should not charge any fees for apps for teaching and student management, and the apps should not contain any commercial advertisements or games, it said.