Skip to content
Join waitlist

Academic integrity

Help that leaves
the thinking to students.

The margin in BetterNotes is designed around one rule: it can point, ask and explain a method, but it never does the work for the student. Here is exactly how that works.

Our position

Tools that hand students finished answers make homework faster and learning slower. We built BetterNotes for the opposite: the student writes, and the margin responds the way a patient teacher would, with a question, a nudge, or a pointer back to the student's own notes.

These are product rules built into how the margin works. They are not settings a student can switch off to get answers.

How the margin responds

Help comes in small steps, and the student chooses whether to go further.

  • Nudge. The margin marks the line that needs another look. Nothing more.
  • Hint. If the student asks, it gives a question that points at the idea they need.
  • Explain. Only on request, it explains the method, using a different example or the student's own working. It never solves the new problem.
  1. 1Nudge

    Take another look at this line.

  2. 2Hint

    When you multiply out the bracket, does the 3 reach both terms?

  3. 3Explain, only if you ask

    Multiply each term inside the bracket: 3 · x and 3 · 2. Then try your next step again.

What it will and won’t do

The margin will

  • Point to the step that needs another look
  • Ask recall questions made from the student's notes
  • Answer questions using the student's own pages and recordings, with sources
  • Explain a method when the student asks
  • Help plan review before an exam

The margin won’t

  • Solve new homework or exam problems
  • Write essays, paragraphs or lab reports
  • Answer from outside sources as if they were the student's notes
  • Hide that it helped
  • Use student notes to train AI models

An example

A student writes in the margin of their homework, next to question 4:

Transparency

  • Margin notes are visible. They live in their own layer on the page, styled differently from the student's ink.
  • They stay in history. Margin notes are kept in the notebook's version history, like everything else on the page.
  • Shared notebooks show them. When a student shares a notebook with a teacher, the teacher sees the same margin notes the student saw.
  • Sources are shown. Answers to margin questions cite the page or recording they came from.

Student data

  • Student notes are never used to train AI models.
  • There is no advertising in BetterNotes, and student data is never sold.
  • Students can export all of their notes, or delete their account, at any time.
  • BetterNotes is designed for students aged 13 and older on their own. Younger students will be able to join through school accounts.

Our full privacy policy and student privacy notice will be published before launch.

For teachers and schools

You can recommend BetterNotes knowing what it will do for your students. A good starting point for class: encourage students to write their working by hand and use the margin's questions for revision, not for homework.

Classroom sharing and school accounts are planned after launch. Until then, students can share notebooks with you directly.

FAQ

Questions from teachers.

Can students use BetterNotes to get answers?

The margin is designed not to give them. It points to the step, asks a question, and only explains a method when the student asks, never by solving the new problem for them.

Can I see what help a student received?

Margin notes are part of the page. When a student shares a notebook with you, you see the same margin notes they saw.

Is student data used to train AI?

No. Student notes are never used to train AI models, and there is no advertising in BetterNotes.

Will there be tools for classrooms and schools?

Yes. Classroom sharing and school accounts are planned after launch. Until then, students can share notebooks with teachers directly.

Notes that teach
students back.

Join the waitlist

Coming to iPad, Android, Windows, Mac, iPhone and web · free to start