Privacy policy

Last updated November 12, 2026

Who we are

Braincloud Software makes Braincloud Classroom, a set of classroom engagement tools: Pulse Check, Hot Seat (including its practice mode, Hot Seat Solo) and Showdown. Questions about this policy go to hello@braincloud.software.

What we collect from instructors

• Your email address and password, to sign you in. Passwords are stored only in hashed form by our database provider.
• What you enter: class names, class lists of students, question sets, and your settings, such as light or dark mode. Student names on class lists are shortened as described below.
• If you request an account: your name, email, institution, what you teach, roughly how many students you have, which tools you're interested in, and anything you write in the form.

What we collect about students

• A first name and last initial only, such as "John S." Full names are never stored: they're shortened when an instructor adds a class list, and again by our database on every save. If two students in a class would end up with the same short name, more letters of the last name are added ("John Sm.", "John Sa.").
• Their answers in Pulse Check and Showdown, including check-in codes used for attendance and, in Showdown, how sure they said they were.
• Hot Seat Solo saves nothing about the student. Scores aren't stored anywhere.

Only students on the instructor's class list can join Pulse Check or Showdown. To find their name, a student types their first name and picks theirs from the list; only the first name they type is sent to us, and it isn't stored. Students never create accounts or give an email address. The tools are designed for college classrooms and are not directed at children under 13.

How we use it

Only to run the tools for the instructor who entered it: showing questions, collecting answers, and showing results and attendance to that instructor. Each instructor can see only their own classes and results. We don't sell or share personal information, and there are no ads.

For schools, we handle student information on the instructor's and institution's behalf, and use it only to provide the service they asked for.

Who processes it for us

• Supabase stores the database and handles sign-in.
• Cloudflare hosts the website and the tools' pages, and forwards email sent to our address.
• Google Fonts supplies the typefaces, and jsDelivr and cdnjs supply code libraries, so your browser contacts them when a page loads.

Cookies and browser storage

We don't use tracking or advertising cookies, and there's no analytics. An instructor's browser stores their sign-in session, a few preferences such as sound on or off, and a copy of their classes and question sets so Hot Seat works offline. A student's phone stores only their short name and the class or game code, so they can rejoin if the page reloads.

Keeping and deleting data

We keep data until the instructor deletes it. Instructors can delete classes, students, question sets, Pulse Check sessions and Showdown games at any time. Deleting a session or game removes its answers. Results an instructor downloads as a file are outside our control. To close your account and delete everything, or to remove an account request, email hello@braincloud.software.

Changes

If this policy changes in a way that matters, we'll email instructors before the change takes effect.