Legal
Last updated: April 28, 2026
ThinkingEngine is an AI-powered Socratic dialogue platform designed for use in K-12 educational settings. The service enables teachers to create discussion topics and engage students in structured critical thinking conversations. ThinkingEngine also provides reasoning assessments, fallacy detection, and score reporting for educational purposes.
ThinkingEngine is available to teachers, school administrators, and students in K-12 educational institutions. Teachers and administrators must create an account and agree to these Terms before using the service. Students access the service through session codes provided by their teacher — no individual student account is required.
You must be at least 13 years old to create a teacher account. If you are under 18, you represent that you have obtained parental or guardian consent.
When you create a ThinkingEngine account, you agree to provide accurate and complete information. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account.
If you become aware of any unauthorized use of your account, you must notify support@thinkingengine.org immediately. ThinkingEngine is not liable for losses arising from unauthorized account access where you have failed to keep your credentials secure.
Students access ThinkingEngine using a session code generated by their teacher. Students do not create individual accounts and are not required to provide an email address, phone number, or other personal identifying information beyond a first name or nickname chosen by the teacher.
Teachers are responsible for ensuring that student participation in ThinkingEngine complies with applicable school district policies, including FERPA and any applicable state student privacy laws. Teachers represent that they have the authority to authorize student data collection and processing as described in the Privacy Policy.
You agree to use ThinkingEngine only for lawful educational purposes. You may not:
ThinkingEngine reserves the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate this section without prior notice.
Teachers retain all ownership rights to the topics, scenarios, and custom content they create within ThinkingEngine. By creating content, you grant ThinkingEngine a limited, non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, and display that content solely for the purpose of operating the service and displaying it to students in the context of a session.
ThinkingEngine retains ownership of all platform-developed content, including default topics, scoring algorithms, and UI elements. Students retain no ownership rights to their dialogue transcripts beyond the teacher's right to access those transcripts as described in the Privacy Policy.
You may not copy, reproduce, or redistribute ThinkingEngine content outside the platform without written permission.
ThinkingEngine offers a free tier with limited usage. Paid subscriptions are billed monthly through Stripe. Subscription fees are non-refundable for partial months, though we will address billing errors and service issues on a case-by-case basis. You may cancel your subscription at any time; cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period.
All fees are listed on our Pricing page. We reserve the right to change pricing with 30 days' advance notice. Price changes take effect at the start of your next billing cycle after notice has been provided.
Teachers are responsible for ensuring that their use of ThinkingEngine is consistent with applicable student privacy laws, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and applicable state laws such as the Ohio Student Data Privacy Act.
ThinkingEngine's data practices are described in our Privacy Policy and Data Privacy page. Teachers should review these documents and consult with their school or district if they have questions about compliance obligations.
ThinkingEngine uses commercially reasonable efforts to keep the service available and operational. We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free service. Planned maintenance will be announced in advance when feasible. We are not liable for losses arising from service downtime, including but not limited to lost classroom time or instructional disruption.
ThinkingEngine is provided "as is" and "as available." We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, regarding the reliability, accuracy, or completeness of the service. We specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
ThinkingEngine does not guarantee that the AI dialogue responses will be error-free, complete, or suitable for every educational context. Teachers are responsible for reviewing session content and scores before using them for grading or assessment purposes.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, ThinkingEngine and its operators shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising out of or related to your use of the service, including but not limited to loss of data, loss of business, or interruption of instruction — even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
ThinkingEngine's total liability for any claim shall not exceed the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless ThinkingEngine, its operators, and affiliated parties from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of your violation of these Terms or your misuse of the service.
You may terminate your account at any time by emailing support@thinkingengine.org. Upon termination, ThinkingEngine will delete your account data as described in the Privacy Policy, subject to legal retention requirements.
ThinkingEngine may suspend or terminate your account without notice if you violate these Terms or applicable law. Upon termination by ThinkingEngine for cause, you will not be entitled to a refund of any fees paid.
ThinkingEngine may update these Terms from time to time. If a change is material, we will notify you by sending an email to the address associated with your account at least 30 days before the change takes effect. Material changes include modifications to payment terms, data practices, or your legal obligations.
Your continued use of ThinkingEngine after a modification takes effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Data Privacy page, constitute the entire agreement between you and ThinkingEngine regarding your use of the service. These Terms supersede any prior agreements or understandings, whether written or oral.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Ohio.
For questions about these Terms, contact support@thinkingengine.org.
For student privacy or district data requests, contact privacy@thinkingengine.org.