Oklahoma Parents, School Districts Concerned About App That Shares Students' Schedules

A new phone app for students is raising concerns over school safety.

Saturn is a schedule tracking app that allows students to connect with classmates, but it also allows strangers to see everything.

Parents said the app has a good concept behind it, but the lack of security is concerning.

Saturn promises support for the complexities of the high school day. It allows students to take a photo of their class schedule and it automatically tracks the times, locations, and who teaches it.

News On 6's Lex Rodriguez explained to a parent, Stacy Goudeau, that he could find out what days a student was in a particular class.

Goudeau initially loved the idea of being able to track her student throughout the school day.

“I think it would be super helpful so we know exactly where they are and we know what’s going on as a parent,” Goudeau said.

Then she found out the app doesn’t require any verification, school identification, or any other way to prove any affiliation with the school.

“Oh my. Okay so that’s a problem. That’s a little bit of a problem,” Goudeau said.

The app provides convenience at the expense of security.

When News On 6 reached out to Union Public Schools, which is one of several Green Country Districts listed on the app, the district wasn’t aware it existed or that students were using it.

The app also allows students to also connect all social media accounts and anyone is able to sign up and find them.

“Wow, this is kind of a privacy nightmare from a school perspective,” Union Public School’s Chris Payne said.

He said the app is disturbing and worries it could assist with bullying, stalking, or something worse.

"I've got a road map that's readily available especially if I wanted to hit multiple students,” Payne said.

We tried contacting Saturn, but haven’t heard back.

Its website states the app prohibits bullying, hate speech, harassment, and nudity on its platform. But it also says it “has no obligation to review or monitor, and does not approve, endorse or make any representations or warranties with respect to user content.”