DPDP Rules, 2025 and Children’s Data: A Turning Point for School Data Safety

Make Child Data Safety a Strength of Your School

The notification of the DPDP Rules, 2025 marks a significant moment for child data protection in India. While children’s data was already recognised as sensitive under the DPDP Act, the Rules now move this responsibility from principle to practice. They clarify expectations, define accountability, and make compliance measurable and enforceable.

For schools and playschools, this is a defining shift. Child data safety is no longer based on good intentions or informal assurances. It is now anchored in enforceable standards that expect institutions to actively design systems, processes, and behaviours around protection, not convenience.

Why Children’s Data Is Treated Differently Under DPDP

Children cannot understand how their data is collected, shared, or reused. They cannot assess risk, give informed consent, or protect themselves from long-term consequences. The DPDP Rules reinforce this reality by requiring institutions that handle children’s data to apply extra care, restraint, and accountability at every stage.

For schools, this means that decisions involving student data cannot be made casually or by habit. Whether it is sharing photos, selecting digital platforms, or storing records, every choice must be viewed through a child-first lens, prioritising safety over ease.

Consent Is No Longer a Formality

Under the DPDP Rules, parental consent becomes a living responsibility rather than a one-time formality. Consent must be verifiable, informed, purpose-specific, and revocable, especially when minors are involved.

Schools are now expected to ensure that parents clearly understand what they are agreeing to, why consent is needed, and how it can be withdrawn. Importantly, schools must also have systems that can honour consent changes in practice, not just on paper.

This has direct implications for media sharing, learning apps, communication tools, and any digital workflow involving student data.

Preventing Harm Before It Happens

One of the most important shifts introduced by the DPDP Rules is the emphasis on prevention rather than reaction. The focus is no longer on fixing issues after data exposure, but on ensuring exposure does not happen in the first place.

For schools, this means moving away from bulk photo sharing, reducing unnecessary access to student data, choosing privacy-first tools, and ensuring staff are trained to recognise and avoid risky practices. Child data safety under DPDP is about designing safer systems, not managing crises after trust has already been impacted.

Why Early Education Institutions Matter the Most

Playschools and early-age institutions are where a child’s digital footprint begins—often before the child can speak or understand what data even means. Daily photos, videos, and updates, while well-intentioned, can create long-term exposure if not handled carefully.

The DPDP Rules place an implicit responsibility on these institutions to minimise early digital exposure and treat children’s data with exceptional sensitivity. Schools that adopt privacy-first practices at this stage are not just complying with the law—they are protecting children’s dignity and future.

Consent Is No Longer a Formality

The Rules emphasise verifiable and meaningful parental consent, especially for minors.

Schools must now ensure that:

• Consent is purpose-specific
• Parents understand what they are agreeing to
• Withdrawal of consent is respected
• Systems can enforce consent changes

This directly affects media sharing, apps, and digital communication workflows.

Preventing Harm Before It Happens

One of the most important shifts in the DPDP Rules is the focus on prevention rather than reaction.

For schools, this means:

• Avoiding bulk photo sharing
• Limiting access to student data
• Choosing privacy-first tools
• Training staff on safe practices

Child data safety under DPDP is not about responding after exposure—it is about designing systems that prevent exposure altogether.

Why Early Education Institutions Matter the Most

Playschools and early-age institutions are where a child’s digital footprint begins. The DPDP Rules place implicit responsibility on these institutions to minimise early exposure.

Schools that adopt privacy-first practices at this stage protect children not just today but for years to come. The DPDP Rules, 2025 represent a clear national stance: children’s data must be protected with seriousness and foresight.

Schools that embrace this responsibility early will lead the future of safe, trusted education.