15 ways we protect your content

The video is stored privately with no public link. When a student presses play, the server checks two things: that they are signed in to their own account, and that they paid for that exact lesson. Only then does it play — so the link posted in the group opens for nobody else.

That address is issued for one student and one lesson, with an encrypted signature and an expiry time. Minutes after it is copied it stops working, so whoever opens the posted link gets an error page instead of the video.

The video is no longer one file: it is cut into pieces a few seconds long, each encrypted with AES-128 (HLS). The server hands the key only to a signed-in, authorised session, so a download tool gets encrypted pieces that will not play. That stops the ordinary user; DRM, item 4, is for when you need more.

DRM — Widevine on Chrome and Android, FairPlay on Apple devices: the video key is handled inside a protected module on the device itself, not in the page’s code. Most download tools stop, and on many devices a screen recording comes out black. We test it on the devices your students actually use before relying on it, because behaviour differs from one device to the next.

The student’s name and phone number appear over the video, semi-transparent, moving to a new spot every few seconds so they cannot be cropped out. Any recording that leaks carries its owner’s number, so most students never try — and the one who does is found (see item 9).

Each account has a fixed number of devices, usually two: a phone and a laptop. The moment it tries to sign in on a third, it is refused. If a student really did change phones, the admin clears the old one with one click.

Only one active session. Every new sign-in ends the previous one immediately. If two people share an account, each keeps throwing the other out, and sharing becomes impossible in practice.

Every view is logged: who, which lesson, when and from where. If one account is open in two cities in the same hour, or watches far more than normal, an alert appears in your dashboard.

The watermark on the clip carries the student’s number. Search for it in the dashboard and the account turns up in seconds; one click locks it — signed out of every device at once, unable to sign back in. And you can call the parent with the proof in hand.

Every lesson is tied to payment. The student pays online inside the platform, and the lesson opens for their account alone, automatically. There is no shared code or password to pass around, and payment and access happen without anyone on your side lifting a finger.

Content opens gradually: each week’s lessons only, or each lesson once the one before it is finished. Any leak is a small part rather than the whole term, and students keep pace with you week by week.

A large question bank, from which every student gets a different set of questions, in a different order, with the choices themselves shuffled. An answer sent to the group is no use to the person next to them.

The exam opens at a set time for a set length, and the timer closes it automatically. Attempts are limited. If a student leaves the exam page or opens another tab, it is logged and you see it when you review the results.

The whole platform runs on HTTPS, so everything in transit is encrypted. Passwords are stored encrypted — nobody can read them, us included. Admin accounts use two-step sign-in. And card details are never stored with us at all: the payment gateway handles them.

Automatic backups kept away from the server, so whatever happens the platform comes back from the latest copy. And security updates that close holes as soon as they appear, before anyone can use them.