Editing Brilliant

{{Incomplete}}

{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Brilliant
| Type = Private
| Founded = 2012
| Industry = Online education
| Official Website = https://brilliant.org
| Logo = Brilliant logo.png
}}
'''[[wikipedia:Brilliant_(website)|Brilliant]]''' (also known as '''Brilliant.org''') is a website and app operated by '''Brilliant Worldwide, Inc.''' that provides online courses. Brilliant is a for-profit corporation supported by venture capitalists. Brilliant is most known for its sponsored segments in [[YouTube]] videos, where the service is often promoted by presenters who are renowned for their evidence-based points of view, for scrutinizing and refuting pseudoscience and scams.<!-- The last edit entirely misses the point of the following image. This entire point of adding this image was to provide evidence of the claim that Brilliant has a “content team” instead of actual teachers and professors. The last edit also removes this claim despite the evidence. I'm not able to create a talk page because the captcha doesn't work, which is why I'm writing a comment directly on the page. -->
<!-- I understand the point of the image but I also don't consider it to be bad for a "content team" member to be doing a science experiment, as this does not prove Brilliant doesn't use scientifically sourced information. The content in the picture is an extremely easy experiment anyone can do. If you have evidence that they don't source information through scientific sources, please post it on the wiki --><!-- What do you think about my updated claim? I think it states a plain and basic fact about Brilliant without overstating it and without saying anything that's opinionated or needs additional evidence. Feel free to move the discussion to the talk page if you're excempt from the captcha that doesn't work. -->

[[File:Brilliant_content_team.png|thumb|Courses on Brilliant are made by an anonymous “content team”.]]

Brilliant’s courses formatted similarly to a traditional textbook with the addition of various interactive elements, such as multiple choice quiz questions, videos, and interactive graphs and charts. These interactive elements are one of Brilliant's main selling points, as they set the service apart from traditional textbooks. 

[[File:Brilliant_slider.png|thumb|Example problem from one of Brilliant's mathematics courses. ]]

Brilliant does not promote itself as being suitable to a particular audience studying any particular concept. Courses on Brilliant introduce basic concepts of each subject, however, they lack independent validation or formal accreditation for their effectiveness.

==Terms of use==

The [[terms of service]] for Brilliant state:<ref>[https://brilliant.org/terms-of-use/ Terms of use]</ref><blockquote>Brilliant reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace any of the terms or conditions of this Agreement at any time. It is User's responsibility to check this Agreement periodically for changes. User's continued use of the Service following the posting of any changes to this Agreement constitutes acceptance of those changes.</blockquote>Even if the consumer has paid for a full year of service, Brilliant may change its terms and conditions [[Post-purchase EULA modification|after the sale]]. Continued use of the service automatically constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

===Access===
Brilliant may revoke a paid customer's access to the service at any time without refund:<blockquote>Brilliant may change, suspend or discontinue the Services, including the availability of any feature, database or content, at any time. Brilliant may also impose limits on certain features and services or restrict User's access to parts or all of the Services without notice or liability.</blockquote>If the law grants the consumer rights that are illegally denied by the terms of use, the consumer is not allowed to access the service:<blockquote>User also certifies that User is legally permitted to use the Service and takes full responsibility for the selection and use of the Service. This Agreement is void where prohibited by law, and the right to access the Service is revoked in such jurisdictions.</blockquote>

===Billing and payment===
The price advertised by Brilliant may not be the actual price a customer is required to pay. The final price includes undisclosed additional taxes:<blockquote>All fees are exclusive of applicable taxes (e.g. sales, use, or value-added tax), unless otherwise stated, and User is solely responsible for the payment of any such taxes that may be imposed on your use of the Service.</blockquote>If a customer cancels their payment card to prevent further charges, Brilliant may directly contact the card issuer to request confidential records for any new card issued to the consumer:<blockquote>User authorizes Brilliant to obtain updated or replacement expiration dates and card numbers for User's credit or debit card as provided by User's credit or debit card issuer.</blockquote>To reiterate, Brilliant may cancel a consumer's access to the service at any time without offering a refund:<blockquote>Except as expressly provided in the “Refunds” section below, all fees are final and nonrefundable (including in the event any features or functions of any service that User has subscribed to are changed, modified, diminished or removed), except as otherwise required by applicable law.</blockquote>

===Automatic renewal===
Brilliant automatically renews user subscriptions without explicit permission from the user. As a result, customers who have lost interest in the service and may have forgotten about it may be unexpectedly billed at the start of a new subscription cycle. The annual subscription cycle also implicitly assumes that users want to use the service continuously for a full year, which ignores use-cases where customers may want only to study at specific times of the year.<!-- It may be worth noting that Brilliant now (7-14-25) has a foot note below the subscribe button that clarifies the terms of automatic renewal and states that auto-renew can be disabled from your settings -->

When Brilliant lowers its prices, existing customers are still billed at the original, higher prices on renewal, despite being protected from price increases by the same policy:<blockquote>User's subscription to the Service will continue indefinitely until cancelled by User (via the cancellation mechanisms provided on the Site). After User's initial subscription period, and again after any subsequent subscription period, User's subscription will automatically continue for an additional equivalent period, at the price User agreed to when subscribing.</blockquote>By using the service, the user is automatically opted in for automatic renewal, and there is no option to opt out:<blockquote>User agrees that User's account will be subject to this automatic renewal feature.</blockquote>Since the creation of this article, Brilliant has since updated this section of the Terms and Conditions: <blockquote>User's subscription to the Service will continue indefinitely until cancelled by User (via the cancellation mechanisms provided on the Site). After User's initial subscription period, and again after any subsequent subscription period, User's subscription will automatically continue for an additional equivalent period, at the price User agreed to when subscribing. User agrees that User's account will be subject to this automatic renewal feature. If User does not wish User's account to renew automatically, or if User wants to change or terminate User's subscription, please sign in and go to the Change / Cancel Membership page. If User cancels a subscription, User may use such subscription until the end of then-current subscription term and the subscription will not be renewed thereafter.</blockquote>This section continues to explain methods for canceling the automatic renewal as well as specifying that cancellation requests must be submitted at least one business day before the end of the subscription period <ref name=":0" />. The subscription itself authorizes Brilliant to periodically charge customers' credit cards for automatic renewal, again including undisclosed additional taxes:<blockquote>By subscribing, User authorizes Brilliant to charge User's credit card, debit card or other payment method at such time and again at the beginning of any subsequent subscription period, including any sales or similar taxes imposed on User's subscription payments.</blockquote>Since this article was started, Brilliant has added a foot note below the "Subscribe Now" button that clarifies that auto-renew is on by default<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Brilliant |date=2025-07-14 |title=Unlock the full Brilliant experience |url=https://brilliant.org/subscribe/ |url-status=live}}</ref>, stating: "*Billed as one payment. Renews annually, cancel anytime. You can turn off auto-renew from your settings".

===Refunds===
Brilliant may grant refunds to customers at its sole discretion:<blockquote>All payments To Brilliant for the Services are nonrefundable. There are no refunds or credits for partially used subscription periods. However, Brilliant may grant refunds or credits on a case-by-case basis at Brilliant’s sole discretion. Brilliant’s grant of a refund or credit in one instance does not obligate Brilliant to provide a refund or credit in the future, under any circumstances.</blockquote>

===Promotions===
The seven-day free trial is a [[Click-to-cancel#Free-to-pay|free-to-pay]] scheme: a one-year paid subscription with a seven-day cancellation period:<blockquote>Brilliant may offer promotions, such as free trials, discounts, or other special offers, to users from time to time (collectively, “Promotions”). Promotions may be subject to specific terms, including a defined period during which the Promotion must be redeemed and utilized (each, a “Promotion Period”). Unless otherwise stated, any use of a Promotion will automatically convert into a paid subscription for the Services upon the expiration of the Promotional Period. Users are responsible for canceling their subscription before the end of the Promotional Period to avoid incurring any charges (or, in the case of a discount Promotion, to avoid additional charges). Failure to cancel within the Promotional Period will result in the applicable subscription fee being charged to the payment method provided at the time of sign-up or as updated by User.</blockquote>According to a [[wikipedia:CNET|CNET]] survey concerning the utilization of subscription services, “A total of 48% of respondents said they had signed up for a free trial of a paid subscription and then forgot to cancel it.”<ref>[https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/subscription-creep-is-real-consumers-are-paying-over-1000-each-year-cnet-survey-finds/ 'Subscription Creep' Is Real. Consumers Are Paying Over $1,000 Each Year, CNET Survey Finds]</ref>

===Site content===
Under the Site Content section, Brilliant lays out what is considered "fair use" of their content. This has the potential for abuse as their definition of "Content" includes anything that Brilliant has on their website or sends to you directly. This could include lessons or other media they provide to you, but also includes logos, their name, or virtually anything known publicly about the company that they provide on their website, and in the terms specifically state that "public display" and "publicly perform" are included as copy written material. This could be potentially leveraged as a way to use copyright to suppress sharing information and user reviews, as the only way to use their "content" is with express written permission<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brilliant |date=2025-07-14 |title=Terms of Use |url=https://brilliant.org/terms-of-use/ |url-status=live}}</ref>. <blockquote>User agrees that all content and materials (collectively, "Content") delivered via the Service or otherwise made available by Brilliant at the Site are protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents, trade secrets or other proprietary rights and laws. Except as expressly authorized by Brilliant in writing, User agrees not to sell, license, rent, modify, distribute, copy, reproduce, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, publish, adapt, edit or create derivative works from such materials or content. Reproducing, copying or distributing any content, materials or design elements on the Site for any purpose is strictly prohibited without the express prior written permission of Brilliant.</blockquote>When searching for dissenting opinions about Brilliant on YouTube reviews do come up, however finding sources with no incentives to lean one way or another was difficult. Many videos by various creators come up, but most made it clear in the descriptions of the videos that they were sponsored by Brilliant or gave softball criticisms that were walked back. One video by Wiggle was the only truly negative review that was found, but as of writing this he has 787 subscribers, so it is unclear if this video would have garnished enough attention to be noticed by Brilliant's legal team. Wiggle goes on to say that "the idea is not to teach anything, but make you feel like you're learning a lot"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wiggle |date=2024-08-09 |title=Is Brilliant.org A Scam? |url=https://youtu.be/mzNYsPuEsRI?si=FF0mr0kTsuC0qAQ- |access-date=2025-07-14 |website=YouTube}}</ref>, a far more critical statement than any other videos reviewed. It is also worth noting that most videos reviewed for this were not written by experts or people very familiar with the topics covered, and these videos praised Brilliant for it's easy to learn topics. The lack of expert or negative reviews could be seen as suspicious, however no evidence was found of Brilliant actively removing dissenting opinions. <!-- While the lack of evidence is not evidence, it is certainly suspicious. I could not find any direct evidence of a video being taken down by Brilliant, but I admit I am not sure how you would find a video that was taken down.  -->

===Termination===
Brilliant may revoke access to the service that a customer has paid for at any time, without explanation:<blockquote>Brilliant may terminate User's access to all or any part of the Service at any time, with or without cause, effective upon notice thereof to User (provided that, if Brilliant determines there may be an immediate threat to Brilliant, it may terminate such access without notice).</blockquote>

===Mixed-jurisdiction forced arbitration===
Local consumer rights may not apply to this agreement. According to the terms of service, with respect to their agreement with Brilliant, customers are governed by the laws of Pennsylvania, but not to its ''courts'', instead agreeing to submit to the jurisdiction of the courts in California.<blockquote>This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of Pennsylvania, as if made within Pennsylvania between two residents thereof, and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and Federal courts located in San Francisco, California.</blockquote>Customers forfeit their right to pursue legal action, instead being subject to [[forced arbitration]] by a private company:<blockquote>Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, (but without limiting either party's right to seek injunctive or other equitable relief immediately, at any time, in any court of competent jurisdiction), any disputes arising with respect to this Agreement shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the rules and procedures of the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Service, Inc. ("JAMS"). The arbitrator shall be selected by joint agreement of the parties. In the event the parties cannot agree on an arbitrator within thirty (30) days of the initiating party providing the other party with written notice that it plans to seek arbitration, the parties shall each select an arbitrator affiliated with JAMS, which arbitrators shall jointly select a third such arbitrator to resolve the dispute. The written decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on the parties and enforceable in any court. The arbitration proceeding shall take place in San Francisco, California, using the English language.</blockquote>

==References==
<references />
[[Category:Brilliant]]