Coursera works with advertising and analytics companies that may track your activity on Coursera and across other websites over time to show you targeted ads.
This analysis describes what Coursera's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
Cross-site behavioral tracking by third-party advertising partners is a significant privacy consideration, particularly for users who do not expect their educational platform activity to inform advertising profiles.
Interpretive note: The specific technical scope of cross-site tracking and the adequacy of the consent mechanism are not fully specified in the document text and may vary by implementation and jurisdiction.
This provision permits third-party advertising partners to collect behavioral data across websites, meaning your Coursera activity may contribute to advertising profiles maintained by companies beyond Coursera's direct control.
How other platforms handle this
We may share your information with third-party advertising partners to provide you with targeted advertising. We also work with third-party analytics providers who help us understand how users interact with our Services. These third parties may use cookies, web beacons, and similar tracking technolo...
We work with third-party advertising partners to market our Products, and we share personal data with advertising networks and social media companies to serve ads. We also use analytics providers to help us understand how users interact with our Products.
We may share your personal information with third-party vendors and service providers that perform services on our behalf, such as payment processing, data analysis, email delivery, hosting services, customer service, and marketing assistance. We may also share your personal information with busines...
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"We use advertising and analytics partners to help understand how our products and services are used and to market our products and services to you. These partners may collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites.— Excerpt from Coursera's Coursera Privacy Notice
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision engages GDPR and the EU ePrivacy Directive (requiring opt-in consent for non-essential cookies and tracking), CCPA/CPRA (which treats sale or sharing of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising as subject to opt-out rights), and FTC Act Section 5 for transparency and deception concerns. The relevant enforcement authorities include EU data protection supervisory authorities, the California Privacy Protection Agency, and the FTC. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The use of advertising partners that collect cross-site behavioral data is common across consumer platforms, but the educational context introduces additional sensitivity. Under CPRA, sharing personal information with advertising partners for cross-context behavioral advertising constitutes a right to opt out. Under GDPR, valid consent is required for non-essential tracking, and the mechanism must meet the standard of being freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous. JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU/EEA and UK users have the strongest protections, requiring affirmative opt-in consent for advertising cookies under ePrivacy rules. California residents have an explicit opt-out right under CPRA. Other U.S. users have more limited protections absent a comprehensive federal privacy law. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Compliance teams should verify that Coursera's data processing agreements with advertising partners meet applicable standards, and that the cookie consent mechanism deployed on the platform is jurisdiction-appropriate. Vendor assessments should confirm that advertising partners are contractually prohibited from using educational platform data for purposes beyond those disclosed. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Coursera's cookie consent tool should be audited for compliance with GDPR consent standards and CPRA opt-out requirements. Organizations deploying Coursera for Business should assess whether advertising tracking applies to their employees and whether this is consistent with their internal data governance policies.
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Cross-site behavioral tracking by third-party advertising partners is a significant privacy consideration, particularly for users who do not expect their educational platform activity to inform advertising profiles.
This provision permits third-party advertising partners to collect behavioral data across websites, meaning your Coursera activity may contribute to advertising profiles maintained by companies beyond Coursera's direct control.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 4 platforms. See the full comparison.
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