According to one mom, Chromebooks may allow teachers to snoop on their students.
In a viral video that has amassed over 467,000 views, TikToker Britt (@._britt_._) voiced serious concerns over what she believes to be intrusions on her daughter’s privacy.
“Let me fill you guys in on a little something that my daughter just told me,” the mom began the clip.
She then launched into a story about a conversation she had with her daughter about her school-issued laptop. The daughter alleged her teacher snooped on students through their computer’s cameras.
“Her teacher was able to look through their cameras on their Chromebooks and see what was going on in the classroom,” she continued.
Britt said her daughter’s teacher had been absent for around a week when a substitute dropped a bombshell on the students.
“He said, ‘Hey, you know, you guys don’t be doing this or that. Don’t be on certain things, etc because said teacher can see what you are doing,'” the mom reported. “She can look through your camera and see what you are doing.”
The privacy concerns do not end at what happens in the school because the mom explained the students bring the computers home. Though parents signed permission slips to allow their students to bring them home, the mom was enraged by the possibility that the devices could be used to eavesdrop.
“But nowhere on those papers does it say that the teachers have access to the camera and the mic inside of your home,” she continued.
The mother then offered up an example of the teacher allegedly snooping on her child while she was at home.
Britt said that after her daughter used her Chromebook to “play sleep sounds and stuff as she slept,” the teacher took it away the next day because she used it all night.
“If they’re able to see this at school, you know they’re also able to see this at home,” the mom continued.
The concerned parent concluded the video with shocking and disturbing thoughts on what the possible privacy breach could mean for students.
“They’re able to look through your child’s camera?” the mom said. “Do you know how many times my daughter has changed in front of her laptop? Do you know how many times I’ve changed my other kids in front of that Chromebook?”
@._britt_._ #schoolkids #perspective #viralvideo #fyp #youtube #chromebooks #privacy #hiddencamera #spy #wtf #childsafety ##peds #excuseme ♬ original sound – ＢᖇＩ丅Ｔ💜💙🩵
In the comments section, viewers did not buy into the mom’s shock and outrage.
“You do understand that there is a difference between someone being able see what someone else is seeing on their screen & seeing into the room though the camera?” user David Reid asked.
Another commenter offered an explanation for how the teacher could’ve known what students do on their computers.
“As a teacher I can [say I] had a program that I could see what they have on their screen,” another viewer added. “I had the ability to close screens. We can’t see through the camera.”
However, the mom continued to argue that she believes the teacher is doing more than simply monitoring her child’s screen.
“Guys go watch the other videos,” the TikToker wrote in the comments section of her own video. “I forgot to add that the teacher seen student and called the sub telling them to sit down and get on task.”
“There are cameras in the hallways in the classrooms, that’s how the teacher saw the students,” one commenter shot back. “Not through the cameras on the laptops.”
Many commenters offered a simple hack to ensure no one can play peeping tom with webcams on any device in the home.
“Tape is an amazing invention,” one viewer wrote. “One tiny piece of tape solves that problem.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Britt via TikTok comment for more information.