Editing Brainly (section)

==Incidents==
This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].
===Concerning TOS===
According to the Terms of Service (TOS) of Brainly,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Brainly TOS |url=https://brainly.com/pages/terms_of_use |access-date=Apr 30, 2025 |website=Brainly}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> any content a user generates for the platform may be sub-licensed out to third parties, and all content generated for the platform has its license preserved even if the consumer's account is deleted, either through an unannounced removal, or the consumer requesting their account to be deleted. Additionally, users are bound under arbitration when it comes to legal disputes against Brainly.

Users within the EU are treated more fairly in their TOS,<ref name=":0" /> however it is inaccessible to users living outside of the EU for reference. <!-- Hint hint, nudge nudge for our editors living in the EU! -->

===Emphasis on AI generated content over user-generated content (''2023/24'')===
Editor's note: Needs fixes!

In early 2024, Brainly experienced a transition towards favoring AI generated content for the platform,<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Ravaglia |first=Ray |date=Jan 23, 2024 |title=Brainly Evolving From Questions And Answers To AI Learning Companion |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/rayravaglia/2024/01/23/brainly-evolving-from-questions-and-answers-to-ai-learning-companion/ |access-date=Apr 30, 2025 |work=Forbes}}</ref> however earlier in mid-to-late 2023, they integrated an excessive amount of generative AI tools within the site,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thejournal.com/articles/2023/09/14/brainly-adds-ai-powered-tools-to-its-platform.aspx?admgarea=pro.development|title=Brainly Adds AI-Powered Tools to Its Platform|first=Kate|last=Lucariello|date=2023-09-14|work=The Journal|access-date=2025-05-05}}</ref><!-- Temp a basic ref, not in the mood to grab all info from article to make it a proper source atm --> from AI-powered tutors, to encouraging answers to be generated on question pages by AI. A significant portion of the content originally published to the platform has also been used for the purposes of assisting these AI tools.<ref name=":1" />

===Concerning SEO measures<!-- I would like to note that their SEO measures have gone so far as to also hamper finding data both positive and negative about the company. Searching review platforms and the BBB has been far easier to find any info on the company, which concerns me.  -->===
Editor's note: may delete this section, please discuss in discuss tab!

Brainly has a problematically large amount of web domains that they own,<ref>{{Cite web |last=DomainIQ |title=DomainIQ WhoIs lookup |url=https://www.domainiq.com/domain?brainly.com#/domains |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250505081303/https://www.domainiq.com/domain?brainly.com#/domains |archive-date=May 5, 2025 |access-date=May 5, 2025 |website=DomainIQ}}</ref><!-- WhoIs gives us a lowball estimate for how many domains are owned by the platform for the record, and with the death of the standard, it is HELL --> and combined with searching online for assistance with homework questions showing a considerably higher quota of results pointing to the platform, it is difficult for consumers on any of the 3 most popular search engines ([[Google]], [[Bing]], [[Yahoo]]) to evade the platform in search results. This is statistically even higher when questions from online learning platforms such as Edgenuity or Odysseyware are inputted into web searches.{{Citation needed}}<!-- Will try to find reddit posts mentioning this problem, however as using Odysseyware within my Middle school years, and Edgenuity for High School, I can safely state that a large amount of the questions from these platforms will bring users to this site over ones that are significantly better for students to be reading.

If you need examples of questions to test, please check the questions tab under my old Brainly account 'J4mesTDG', as I have posted some questions from these platforms to Brainly.  -->

===Auto-renewal deceptive billing===
Reported by consumers on several platforms, including the Better Business Bureau (BBB),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbb.org/us/ny/brooklyn/profile/educational-technology/brainlycom-0121-87151719/complaints|title=Brainly.com - BBB Complaints|work=Better Business Bureau|access-date=2025-05-05}}</ref> Trustpilot,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.trustpilot.com/review/brainly.com?stars=1|title=Brainly Reviews|work=Trustpilot|access-date=2025-05-05}}</ref> and Complaints Board,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.complaintsboard.com/brainly-b136175#filter|title=Brainly Reviews and Complaints|work=Complaints Board|access-date=2025-05-05}}</ref> Brainly has repeatedly charged users for premium content after they cancelled their subscription.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Emma |date=Mar 8, 2024 |title=A Brief Overview Of Brainly Academic Service |url=https://nocramming.com/tutoring/brainly |access-date=May 5, 2025 |work=NoCramming}}</ref> Notably seen on the BBB, a user had an account charged by Brainly, notably with no refunds despite the account being fraudulently being created with their credentials.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anonymous |date=Jun 14, 2024 |title=BBB Complaint |url=https://www.bbb.org/us/ny/brooklyn/profile/educational-technology/brainlycom-0121-87151719/complaints#0121_87151719_21848927 |access-date=May 4, 2025 |website=Better Business Bureau}}</ref> Another user cited difficulties to stop charges to their account as well.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=K. |title=Brainly Review: Poor Customer Service & Technical Difficulties Result in Bad Experience |url=https://www.complaintsboard.com/brainly-b136175#c1531768 |access-date=May 5, 2025 |website=Complaints Board}}</ref>

Users attempting to use customer service have also reported being locked into speaking with an AI assistant to handle their billing problems.<ref name=":3" />

===Difficulty to delete one's own published content===
On the platform, content published by users is impossible to delete, regardless of whether it was a question or an answer, and this content cannot be modified once published either. Additionally, attempting to remove one's account does not effectively delete this content, as-is mentioned in the TOS.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

Some reviews have also mentioned difficulties with the platform allowing users to delete their accounts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Frostism |date=Apr 4, 2025 |title=Unable to delete account |url=https://www.trustpilot.com/reviews/67f03f86bb961ab810bb2139 |access-date=May 5, 2025 |website=Trustpilot}}</ref> This problem is additionally inflated due to the only accessible way to contact site staff being the AI assistant.<ref name=":3" />

===Access limits===
Content that was initially offered to users for free, especially user-generated content, has had its accessibility become questionable. Some content initially published for free has seen it transitioned into content only accessible to premium or "legacy" <!-- Lack of a better term, no official name given by the platform --> accounts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=U. |first=Anonymous |date=Oct 16, 2020 |title=Paying for Education |url=https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/brainly.com#72 |access-date=May 5, 2020 |website=Sitejabber}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=One |date=Jan 14, 2025 |title=Don't pay for this, it is useless and unhelpful. |url=https://www.trustpilot.com/reviews/678526449ae2412eec41a3d9 |access-date=May 5, 2025 |website=Trustpilot}}</ref> Additionally, there are harsh limits imposed on "free" users who wish to look up answers, as the platform currently limits accessing content to 1 question per day.<ref>{{Cite web |last=H. |first=James |date=Apr 26, 2023 |title=One answer a day |url=https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/brainly.com#373 |access-date=May 5, 2025 |website=Sitejabber}}</ref>

===Advertising Overload<!-- I own a legacy account, which does not experience the overload as much, which can be used to compare the perspective of a page between a user who has either no account, a recent account, or a legacy account. Please contact JamesTDG on the Wiki discord if you wish to access this account for the purposes of research.  -->===
{{Main|Advertising overload}}
[[File:Brainly Advertising Overload Example.png|thumb|237x237px|A screenshot of the notification tab, where Brainly is advertising its extension, and Adobe Creative Cloud]]
Since the start of the 2020s, Brainly has introduced progressively more pervasive advertisements on their platform, from some simple static advertisements initially, to massively obstructive ads that have made using the platform nearly impossible.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schiller |first=W. |title=The most horrible and desperate site I've ever been on |url=https://www.complaintsboard.com/brainly-b136175#c1941947 |access-date=May 5, 2025 |website=Complaints Board}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=L. |first=Jennifer |date=Dec 22, 2020 |title=Terrible! |url=https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/brainly.com#111 |access-date=May 5, 2025 |website=sitejabber.com}}</ref> Some ads are even visible in the notification tab, which forces advertisement notifications to be focused at the top, meaning users are forced to be advertised just to check their notifications.

Below are some general examples of the platform's advertising overload problems.<gallery>
File:Brainly UI.webp|A screenshot of a question page as of May 5, 2025
File:Thumbnail 239098 normal.1608673988.jpg|A screenshot showing an obstructive advertisement
File:Premium Ad.jpg|A screenshot showing content blocked behind a premium ad for 'Brainly Plus'
</gallery>