The short version
- brb. is a digital sign-out sheet. It replaces the paper clipboard that sits by the classroom door — the one every student touches when they leave for the bathroom.
- Your child's photo and name stay on the teacher's device. They never get uploaded to a server. We (the company) can't see them.
- Photos auto-delete after 30 days. The teacher can export them if they need longer records, but the app itself doesn't keep them.
- Your child's photo is used to identify them when they come back. That's it. No facial recognition database, no third-party sharing, no advertising use.
What is brb., exactly?
brb. is a touchless sign-out kiosk for classrooms. When a student needs to leave the room — for the bathroom, the nurse, to get water — they wave at the iPad (or tap it), pick a reason, and the kiosk takes a quick photo with the time stamped on it. When they come back, they tap their photo to sign back in. That's the whole thing.
The goal is to replace the shared paper-and-pen sign-out sheets most classrooms use, which are unsanitary, get lost, and give the teacher no real record of who left when.
Common questions
Where is my child's photo stored?
On the teacher's iPad or Chromebook, in the app's private storage. It is not uploaded to the internet, not sent to us (the company that makes brb.), and not shared with any third party. If the teacher's iPad is the only device running brb., the photo exists in exactly one place: that iPad.
Can anyone else see the photos?
No. The teacher's gallery is password-protected. Students don't have access to the gallery. The photos never leave the device. If another teacher, substitute, or administrator wanted to see them, they'd need the teacher's password.
Does brb. use facial recognition to identify my child?
No. brb. uses a camera to take a still photo when a student signs out, just like a security camera would snap a picture. There is no facial-recognition system running on the photos, no face database being built, and no identity-matching technology involved. The photo exists so the teacher can verify who came back matches who left — a human check, not a machine one.
How long are the photos kept?
30 days. After that, they automatically delete. This keeps the app running smoothly and means old photos don't pile up. The teacher can choose to export a copy before the 30 days are up if they need long-term records — for instance, as part of a disciplinary file — but the app itself forgets them.
What happens to the photos when they're exported?
If the teacher exports the photos (by tapping a button in the app), they become a ZIP file the teacher can save or share like any other file. At that point, the photos are in the teacher's control — they're saved wherever the teacher chose to save them. We (the company) still never see them. If you're concerned about what happens after export, the right person to ask is your child's teacher, because they're the one who decides whether to export and where the file goes.
What if the iPad gets lost or stolen?
Photos are stored in encrypted form inside the app's private storage — a thief with the physical device would need the teacher's password to view them. Teachers are also instructed to enable their school's device-level protections (passcode, remote wipe via Apple Business Manager or Google Admin, etc.) as the first line of defense, which is the same protection that would apply to any other sensitive app on the device. Because brb.'s data lives only on the physical device, wiping the device removes the data.
Can I see the photos of my own child?
Yes. Just ask the teacher. They can show you the photos that involve your child, or export and email them to you. Under U.S. education privacy law (FERPA), you have the right to see records that concern your child, and brb. makes that easy — the teacher has full access to everything at any time.
Can I ask that my child's photos be deleted?
Yes. Email your child's teacher. They can delete individual photos from the gallery, or exclude your child from photo capture entirely (brb. has a mode that still tracks sign-outs for specific students but uses a silhouette icon instead of a photo). brb. also has an optional "Privacy Pass" feature — a separate sign-out card that logs anonymously without a photo — which some teachers choose to offer their class.
Does brb. know my child's name?
The teacher adds student first names (or first name + last initial) to the app's roster so the kiosk can display a name when your child signs out. We (the company) don't receive the roster. We don't know your child's name, grade, birthday, or any other personal detail. We only know the teacher's information (email and subscription).
Does brb. comply with student privacy laws?
Yes — and because of how brb. is designed, compliance is unusually straightforward. brb. doesn't transmit student data to a server, doesn't maintain a central database, and doesn't share information with third parties. This aligns with FERPA, COPPA, and state-level student data privacy laws (like NY Education Law §2-d). For the full policy, see our Privacy Policy.
My child's teacher said they're using brb. — what should I do?
Honestly? Probably nothing. brb. is designed to require less effort and consent from parents than a typical EdTech tool, because it keeps everything local and minimal. But if you have questions or concerns, the teacher is the right person to talk to — they have full control of the data and can address anything specific to your child.
Who made brb.?
brb. is made by Big Brain Labs LLC, a small company run by a teacher. We build brb. because we (the owners) have taught in real classrooms and knew exactly what paper sign-out sheets lacked — hygiene, accountability, and a real record. We are not a large venture-backed company; we have no investors to answer to, no incentive to monetize student data (and we have no student data to monetize even if we wanted to).
Getting in touch
If you have a question we haven't answered here, email us at hello@brbkiosk.us. We read and respond to every parent email personally. If the question is about your own child's records specifically, the fastest answer will come from your child's teacher — they have access to everything. But we're happy to answer policy and practice questions anytime.
A note on trust. We understand that any tool involving classroom photos raises real questions, and you deserve clear answers. The design of brb. is specifically intended to minimize the amount of data that exists in the first place — because the best way to protect your child's information is to not collect it in the first place.