You don't need us to tell you that misinformation campaigns run rampant online. One of the most frequent yet avoidable issues in the digital sphere is the spread of false information by individuals who do little to no research before reposting.

In this blog series, "Setting the Record Straight," we will debunk several of the more egregious myths about Proctorio that circulate online, in the news, and on social media. Read on for the truth about Proctorio's use of test-taker financial information.

A few weeks ago, several individuals posted screenshots showing Proctorio collects user financial information. Yikes! Who wants that? Definitely not you, and definitely not us.

The accusation that we use your financial information arose from a misunderstanding about our privacy policy because of the way the Google Web Store explains it.

The wording used by the store is confusing and states that we “collect and store financial information.” Not only is this untrue, but Proctorio only needs a test taker's payment information for one reason: if a university or institution does not cover the cost of our services for their test takers.

More often than not, institutions and universities buy a license for their test takers to use Proctorio. In the rare cases test takers must purchase our service independently, Proctorio uses a secure, third-party processor to handle payments.

In the same way Etsy requires payment information to charge you for a purchase, Proctorio needs that information to charge you for an exam. But while other companies might be careless with your payment information, Proctorio takes extra security precautions to protect it.

Proctorio never sees, collects, or stores your full payment information.

Why then, does Google say we collect our users' financial data? Here's the gist:

Google requires all apps and extensions listed in their store to include a summary of privacy practices. Apps must identify from a Google-provided "checklist" any personally identifiable information (PII) they may collect.

However helpful these pre-written options might be, they overgeneralize privacy practices. In the interest of transparency—and because it is the only option from Google's "checklist" that mentions financial information—Proctorio reported that we "collect and store financial information."

Proctorio values our users' private information, financial and otherwise. Read more about our limited and secure handling of financial information in our privacy policy.

Stay tuned for our next post, where we'll debunk another myth about Proctorio.