Product Privacy Policy
Effective Date: June 12, 2026
Introduction
This Product Privacy Policy applies to all educational products and services owned and operated by BrainPOP and its affiliates (“BrainPOP,” “we,” “our,” or “us”), including BrainPOP (3-8), BrainPOP Jr., BrainPOP ELL, BrainPOP Science, BrainPOP Espanol/Francais, BrainPOP at Home products, related mobile applications, and professional learning services (collectively, the “Services”). By accessing or using our Services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.
This policy does not apply to BrainPOP’s general consumer website. For information about data practices on brainpop.com and related marketing pages, please refer to our Website Privacy Policy.
Our Privacy Commitments
BrainPOP is committed to protecting the privacy of our users, particularly students. The following principles guide our data practices:
We design and operate our technology and services with user protection and privacy
in mind and are committed to transparency in our data collection and use practices.We do not use student or children’s Personal Information for advertising purposes, including targeted advertising.
We do not rent or sell student records.
We treat children’s data as sensitive data, consistent with applicable state and federal law.
Our educational products include individual accounts that enable schools and parents to monitor student learning and maintain control over student records.
We use industry-standard encryption protocols for data in transit and at rest.
We limit the data collected from students or children to that which is reasonably necessary to provide the educational services.
Students cannot interact with other users outside their school, classroom, or family account. The Services do not permit direct messaging between students.
Districts, schools, and homeschools can delete student Personal Information at any time through the Administrator dashboard.
BrainPOP complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), including the updated COPPA Rule (effective June 23, 2025).
BrainPOP operates as a “school official” as that term is used in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and operates under the direct control of our school and district customers with respect to Student Records.
Privacy Questions? If you have questions regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at privacy@brainpop.com.
Definitions
For purposes of this policy:
Personal Information means information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, to an identifiable individual. This includes, but is not limited to, name, email address, username, school affiliation, student identification numbers, IP address, voice recordings, and biometric identifiers where applicable. When used in the context of COPPA, “Personal Information” has the meaning set forth in the COPPA Rule, 16 C.F.R. § 312.2.
De-identified Information means information from which personally identifiable components have been removed and for which we have implemented technical safeguards and business processes to prevent re-identification, and have made a reasonable determination that an individual is not identifiable.
Student Records means records that are directly related to a student and maintained by BrainPOP on behalf of a school or district subscriber, as the term “education records” is used in FERPA.
Administrator means the individual appointed by a school or district who is authorized to manage Student Records and user accounts within the Services.
What Information We Collect and Why
Education Product Subscribers
Subscription Registration
During registration for any paid subscription, we collect the subscriber’s name, email address, school or district affiliation (when applicable), phone number, and billing information. We may also collect username and password credentials. We use this information to create and service the account, fulfill the subscription, and send service-related communications (such as maintenance notices, feature updates, and product recommendations related to your subscription).
Free Trials
If you register for a free trial, we collect the same registration information and use it to create the trial account and to send service-related communications. We may also send promotional communications about BrainPOP products; you may opt out of these at any time (see Opt-Out section below).
Schools and Districts (BrainPOP at Schools)
Schools and districts using BrainPOP are required to appoint an Administrator who is authorized by the school or district to manage Student Records. Each Administrator has access to a dashboard that allows them to create, update, review, modify, and delete individual accounts and monitor logins.
Teacher Accounts
To create teacher accounts, we collect the teacher’s full name, email address, class name, and a password security question. We use teacher email addresses to send product updates, usage recommendations, password recovery information, effectiveness and efficacy data, invitations to participate in surveys and research, and promotional communications where permitted. An unsubscribe option is included in promotional messaging.
Student Accounts
Student accounts can be created by the school, district, or teacher, or teachers can invite students to create accounts using a class code. We collect the following student information:
Full name
Class and graduation year/grade
Username and password
School email address (for certain single sign-on integrations)
Student and teacher unique identifiers (for certain single sign-on integrations)
Students can store activities, quizzes, answers, movies, and other projects they create, as well as correspondence with their teachers, within their individual accounts.
Voice Recordings
We collect student voice recordings when students use recording features, such as Make-a-Movie®. Voice recordings are stored within the student’s account and are used solely to enable the recording feature. Voice recordings are deleted in accordance with the retention schedule described in the Data Retention section below.
AI-Related Data
Student answers in certain assignments may be analyzed by AI-based features (described in the Artificial Intelligence section below). The collection and use of student records in connection with AI features is described in detail in that section.
Student Records Protections
Students cannot interact with other users outside their school or classroom subscription.
Student Personal Information is not posted publicly.
Student email addresses are used solely for login integration purposes. We do not send emails to students for any reason.
Single Sign-On (SSO)
If a school or district accesses individual accounts through a supported single sign-on service, we collect the information necessary for the individual accounts function from the third-party SSO provider.
BrainPOP at Home (Family or Homeschool Subscription)
To create a family or homeschool subscription, parents or legal guardians provide their full name, email address, and other minimally required information. For subscriptions that permit individual child accounts, we also collect:
Child’s name (first or full name, depending on product)
Graduation year/grade
Username, password, and security question(s)
Avatar image (when applicable)
Children can store activities, quizzes, movies, projects, and badges or goals they have achieved. The Homeschool subscription also allows children to correspond with the parent/guardian within the Services. Children cannot interact with other users outside their family or homeschool subscription, and children’s Personal Information is not posted publicly.
Parents and guardians receive occasional communications with product usage information, feature updates, and similar service-related information. An opt-out option is included in promotional messaging.
Children Under Age 13 (COPPA Compliance)
BrainPOP complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the updated COPPA Rule. The following provisions apply to the collection of Personal Information from children under 13.
Parental Consent
We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent or, where applicable, the authorization of a school acting as the parent’s agent under COPPA. Schools that use BrainPOP’s educational products may provide consent on behalf of parents for the collection of student Personal Information for educational purposes, consistent with FTC guidance.
Parental Rights
Parents and guardians of children under 13 have the following rights under COPPA:
Review the Personal Information we have collected from their child
Request that we make no further use of that information
Request that we delete their child’s Personal Information
Parents using a home product may exercise these rights by contacting us using the contact information below. Parents of children using BrainPOP through a school account should contact their school, and we will work with the parent and school together to facilitate the request.
Data Minimization
A child’s participation in or access to any activity on BrainPOP cannot be conditioned on the child providing more Personal Information than is reasonably necessary for that activity.
Categories of Personal Information Collected from Children
We collect the following categories of Personal Information from children under 13 through our Services:
Full name, username, and password
Class, graduation year/grade
School email address (for SSO integrations only)
Voice recordings (when using recording features such as Make-a-Movie)
Student responses to assignments and quizzes
IP address (collected automatically)
We do not collect biometric identifiers (beyond voice recordings as described above), government-issued identifiers, or health data from children.
Third-Party Disclosures
We do not disclose children’s Personal Information to third parties except to service providers who are contractually required to use the information solely to provide services to BrainPOP and to maintain appropriate security. We do not disclose children’s Personal Information for targeted advertising or any purpose not integral to the educational service. A list of service providers is available at brainpop.com/discover/third-party-service-providers.
Written Data Retention Policy (COPPA)
In accordance with the updated COPPA Rule, we maintain the following data retention policy for children’s Personal Information:
Purpose of Collection: Children’s Personal Information is collected to provide the educational services, including account creation, content delivery, assignment and quiz completion, teacher-student communication, and AI-assisted grading (where enabled).
Business Need for Retention: We retain children’s Personal Information for the duration of the subscription to provide continuity of the educational service, and for a limited period after account deletion or subscription expiration for backup and recovery purposes.
Deletion Timeframes: See the Data Retention section below for specific deletion schedules.
Children’s Personal Information may not be retained indefinitely.
Information Security Program (COPPA)
We maintain a written information security program that contains safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of children’s Personal Information. This program includes administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect the confidentiality, security, and integrity of children’s data. See the Security section below for details.
How We Use Artificial Intelligence (AI)
BrainPOP Science® users have access to our Claims, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) AI-assisted grading tool (“AI Grading Tool”). This section describes how student records is used in connection with this tool.
How the AI Grading Tool Works
The AI Grading Tool uses a custom AI model to analyze student responses on CER assignments. It provides scoring suggestions and explanations to help teachers assess student work more efficiently. The AI Grading Tool provides suggested scores and feedback based on the CER rubric. Teachers retain full control and can modify or override all AI-generated results. Students see only teacher-approved final scores.
How Student Records Are Used
Production Use (Scoring): When the AI Grading Tool is active for a teacher’s classroom, student responses to CER assignments are submitted to our AI model for analysis and scoring. This processing necessarily involves student-authored content, which may be linked to the student’s identity within the teacher’s classroom. This use is limited to providing the scoring service.
Model Improvement: We may use de-identified and aggregated student response data to improve the accuracy and performance of the AI Grading Tool. Before data is used for this purpose, all personally identifiable elements (including student name, account identifiers, school, and class information) are removed, and we apply technical safeguards to prevent re-identification.
What We Do Not Do: We do not share students’ Personal Information with third-party AI providers. We do not use Student Records to train third-party AI models. We do not use student records for advertising, profiling, or any purpose unrelated to the educational service.
AI Technology
The AI Grading Tool operates using Google Vertex AI, a third party AI service, operating under a data processing agreement with BrainPOP. Google processes data solely on our behalf and is prohibited from using student records for any other purpose, including training its own models.
Opting Out of AI Features
Administrators may disable the AI Grading Tool at the school or district level by contacting support.
We encourage teachers and administrators to provide feedback on the AI Grading Tool. Feedback can be submitted through the product interface and will be used to guide future improvements.
For detailed information about our AI principles and ethical guidelines, please review AI in BrainPOP: Our Guiding Principles.
Data Retention
We retain student Personal Information only for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected. The following schedules apply:
Student Records
Active Accounts: Student Personal Information is retained for the duration of the active subscription.
Administrator-Initiated Deletion: Districts, schools, and homeschools can delete student Personal Information at any time using the Administrator dashboard. When deleted, data is removed from our production servers immediately and purged from backup servers within fourteen (14) days. After that point, the data cannot be restored.
Inactivity: Student classroom accounts and the Personal Information within them are automatically deleted after two (2) years of inactivity. Data is removed from production servers immediately and from backup servers within fourteen (14) days.
Student Removal: Students removed by an Administrator are deleted after seven (7) days.
Subscription Expiration: If student Personal Information is not deleted by the school or district before the subscription expires, we retain it for a maximum of six (6) months after expiration, after which it is deleted.
Jurisdictional Requirements: If your jurisdiction requires deletion within a shorter period, or upon immediate termination, you should delete student records using the Administrator dashboard or contact us at legal@brainpop.com for assistance.
Voice Recordings
Voice recordings collected through features such as Make-a-Movie are stored within the student’s account and are subject to the same retention and deletion schedules as other student records described above. When a student account is deleted, voice recordings are deleted on the same schedule.
Teacher Accounts
Teacher accounts are deleted after one (1) year of inactivity.
Home Subscription Accounts
Individual accounts created under a BrainPOP at Home subscription are automatically deleted three (3) months after the subscription expires.
De-identified and Aggregate Data
We may retain, use, and share anonymous, aggregate, or de-identified information for lawfully permissible purposes, including developing and improving educational products, conducting educational research, and evaluating and demonstrating the effectiveness of our Services. This data cannot be used to identify any individual.
Data Export
Districts and schools may request copies of their student Personal Information (including a CSV file of names, classes, and quiz scores). Export requests will be fulfilled within four (4) weeks of the written request.
How We Share Your Information
Service Providers
We share Personal Information with third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf, such as hosting, streaming, payment processing, customer support, and security auditing. These providers are contractually required to use Personal Information solely as necessary to provide their services and to maintain commercially reasonable security measures. They do not have the independent right to share or use your Personal Information for unrelated purposes. A current list of service providers is available at brainpop.com/discover/third-party-service-providers.
Legal Requirements
We may disclose Personal Information if required by law, or if we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, protect your safety or others’ safety, investigate fraud, or comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, subpoena, or legal process.
Corporate Transactions
We may transfer Personal Information in the event of a corporate restructuring (such as a merger, acquisition, or other disposition of our business), provided that the receiving entity agrees to handle your information in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy.
What We Do Not Share
We do not sell student records.
We do not share student Personal Information with third parties for advertising purposes.
We do not share student Personal Information for any purpose unrelated to providing the educational service, except as required by law.
Security
We maintain a written information security program with administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect Personal Information. Our security measures include:
Encryption of data in transit (SSL/TLS) and at rest
Servers located in secured, monitored data centers in the United States, with daily backups to a secure off-site facility
Governance policies and access controls to ensure subscriber data is separated and accessible only to authorized users
Limited personnel access to the database, on a need-to-know basis; personnel with access to Student Records undergo background checks and periodic privacy training
Standardized procedures for coding, configuration management, patch installation, and change management
Annual third-party security audits, including SOC 2 Type II certification
While we implement commercially reasonable security measures, no system is completely secure. In the event of unauthorized access to Personal Information, we will notify affected subscribers in accordance with applicable law and, as appropriate, coordinate with the subscriber to support notification of affected individuals, students, and families.
International Data Transfers
BrainPOP’s servers are located in the United States. In some instances, we may utilize third-party service providers that maintain servers outside of the United States.
Student and Teacher Data: All Personal Information collected from students and teachers through our educational products is stored and processed within the United States. We do not transfer student or teacher data to international servers.
General Customer Data: For non-educational data (such as administrative contact information), data may be processed by service providers outside the United States.
For information about our compliance with EU and UK data protection requirements, please refer to our standalone GDPR Privacy Notice.
Your Privacy Rights
BrainPOP provides the following privacy rights to all individuals, regardless of state of residence. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have additional rights under applicable law.
Rights for School Account Users
BrainPOP provides the Services to schools at the direction of our customers. We are also obligated under FERPA to remain under the direct control of our school and district customers with respect to Student Records. If you use BrainPOP through a school account and wish to exercise your rights regarding student Personal Information, please contact your educational institution. We will work with them to facilitate your request.
Rights for All Users
Right to Access: You may request to know what Personal Information we have collected about you or your child.
Right to Correction: You may request that we correct inaccurate Personal Information.
Right to Deletion: You may request that we delete Personal Information, subject to certain legal exceptions. For student records, Administrators can delete information in real time through the dashboard.
Right to Portability: You may request a copy of Personal Information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
Right to Opt Out of Profiling: Where applicable, you may opt out of automated profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.
How to Exercise Your Rights
All BrainPOP users and visitors may exercise these rights by:
Emailing us at legal@brainpop.com
Calling us toll-free at 866-54-BRAIN (866-542-7246)
Visiting our Help Center: help.brainpop.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
Writing to us at BrainPOP, Attn: Legal Department, 71 W 23rd Street, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10010
We will verify your identity before processing your request. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.
Authorized Agents
You may designate an authorized agent to exercise your privacy rights on your behalf. We may require the agent to demonstrate valid authorization (such as a power of attorney) and proof of identity.
Non-Discrimination
We will not discriminate against anyone for exercising their privacy rights.
Appeal Process
If we decline your request, you may appeal by contacting us at legal@brainpop.com with the subject line “Privacy Rights Appeal.” We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you may contact your state’s attorney general or applicable regulatory authority.
Additional Information for California Residents
Under CCPA/CPRA, California residents have additional rights, including the right to limit use of Sensitive Personal Information. We do not sell the Personal Information of students or children. We do not share student Personal Information for cross-context behavioral advertising.
The following table summarizes the categories of Personal Information we collect through the Services:
Category | Examples | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
Identifiers | Name, email, username, IP address, student ID | Account creation, authentication, service delivery |
Education Information | Class, grade, quiz scores, assignments, student responses | Educational service delivery, AI grading (where enabled) |
Audio Data | Voice recordings (Make-a-Movie) | Enable recording features within the product |
Internet Activity | Pages visited, feature usage, access times | Service improvement, performance monitoring |
Geolocation | Country-level location from IP address | Session management, content delivery |
Applicable State Laws
In addition to federal requirements (COPPA, FERPA), BrainPOP monitors and complies with applicable state privacy and student records protection laws, including but not limited to:
Region | Applicable Legislation |
|---|---|
Midwest | Indiana (ICDPA), Iowa (ICDPA), Minnesota (MCDPA), Nebraska (NDPA) |
South | Florida (FDBR), Texas (TDPSA), Virginia (VCDPA), Tennessee (TIPA), Maryland (MODPA) |
West | California (CCPA/CPRA), Colorado (CPA), Montana (MTCDPA), Oregon (OCPA), Utah (UCPA), Washington (MHMDA) |
Northeast | Connecticut (CTDPA), Delaware (DPDPA), New Hampshire (SB 255), New Jersey (SB 332), New York (Education Law §2-d) |
Note for New York Educators: Where BrainPOP processes student records on behalf of New York educational institutions, we adhere to the requirements of New York Education Law §2-d.
Using BrainPOP Outside the United States
If you are using the Services outside the United States, your information will be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States. By using the Services, you acknowledge this transfer. If your jurisdiction has laws governing internet use, data collection, or personal data different from those of the United States, you may only use the Services in a manner that is lawful in your jurisdiction.
For information about our compliance with EU and UK data protection requirements, please refer to our standalone GDPR Privacy Notice.
Australia
We encourage schools in Australia to use our privacy notice at brainpop.com/discover/privacy-policy/australia-notice to inform parents/guardians of our products and practices. This notice conforms to the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). If you have questions or complaints about our data practices under Australian law, contact us at accessrequests@brainpop.com. If you are not satisfied, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Sanctions Compliance
BrainPOP complies with U.S. sanctions and export control restrictions. You agree not to use our Services in any country or jurisdiction subject to U.S. comprehensive sanctions, including but not limited to Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, and the Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea regions of Ukraine, without written approval from BrainPOP.
Opt-Out
If you receive marketing communications from us that you no longer wish to receive, you may opt out by clicking the unsubscribe link in any marketing email or by emailing legal@brainpop.com with “Opt out” in the subject line. We will process your request within a reasonable time. You will continue to receive transactional or service-related communications related to your subscription.
Information We Collect When You Contact Us
When you send us messages through our system, by email, or through other platforms, we collect the information you provide, including your message and contact information. We use and retain this information to respond to your request and improve our support services.
We will respond once to messages from children under age 13 and then delete those messages and any Personal Information contained in them.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Product Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes affecting the collection, use, or disclosure of student records, we will provide advance notice to school and district Administrators and, where required by applicable law, seek renewed consent before the changes take effect. We will provide notice by email to the Administrator on record and by posting the updated policy on our website.
For non-material changes, we will post the updated policy with a new “Last Updated” date. We will not make retroactive material changes to how we handle previously collected student records without first providing notice and obtaining appropriate consent.
Contact Information
If you have questions or concerns about this Product Privacy Policy, please contact us:
Email: privacy@brainpop.com
Mail: BrainPOP, Attn: Legal Department, 71 W 23rd Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10010
Phone: 866-54-BRAIN (866-542-7246)
Help Center: help.brainpop.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
To report a security concern: security@brainpop.com
This Product Privacy Policy is also available in Spanish and French. In the event of any conflict, the English version shall prevail.