Blackboard takes the privacy and security of course information very seriously. The Blackboard Sync solution is primarily a notification solution, and does not replicate the entire course or organization in the external system or device.
Users receive notifications about each new or updated piece of information, complete with a direct link to the item in their Blackboard course. So for example, if there is a new grade posted, Blackboard Sync will notify the student via the Blackboard Learn for Facebook Platform, Blackboard Learn for iPhone app or Blackboard Learn Toolbar that there is a new grade posted, and provide a link to their View My Grades page in the institution's Blackboard Learn system. The student will still need to navigate to Blackboard Learn through their browser and authenticate into the system to see that grade. Similarly, assignments and other course materials, forum posts, etc. are not transmitted to the end-user apps; just notifications about them. Only for Announcements is the entire item provided through the end-user app.
The information that is transmitted over the Internet – the announcements, notification information, course content tree, etc. – is encrypted until delivery to Blackboard Sync.
Additionally, each student can only see the information they would already be able to see in his or her own courses. No student will ever be able to see information through the Facebook, iPhone app or Toolbar that they would not already have access to through their courses or organizations. There is no way for a user to access any other user's information through Blackboard Sync, and they can't share that information with Friends or Contacts.