Frequently Asked Questions

Click Sign Up and create your account with email, or continue with Google, GitHub, or Discord. After registering, we send a verification email for account security, but you can start onboarding and exploring the product right away.

Social login with Google, GitHub, or Discord lets you sign in quickly without managing another password. It is the fastest way to start onboarding, and you can still use the same account across the rest of the platform afterward.

Email verification ensures your account is secure and helps us send important notifications about your learning progress. Check your inbox for a verification email after signing up. If you don't see it, check your spam folder or request a new verification link from your account settings.

Go to your Profile page from the user menu (click your avatar in the top right). You can update your name, bio, location, timezone, preferred learning languages, and profile visibility settings. Changes are saved automatically when you click Save Profile.

Visit your Profile page and click on your current avatar or the Change Avatar button. You can upload a new image (JPG, PNG, or WebP, max 2MB) or generate a colorful avatar from your initials. Your new avatar will appear across the platform immediately.

Navigate to Settings from the user menu, then go to the Security tab. Enter your current password, then type your new password twice to confirm. We recommend using a strong password with at least 8 characters, including letters, numbers, and symbols.

Yes, you can permanently delete your account from Settings → Account tab. Click Delete Account at the bottom of the page. This action is irreversible and will delete all your progress, vocabulary, and personal data. You'll receive a final confirmation email before deletion is complete.

Go to Settings → Security tab and click Enable Two-Factor Authentication. Scan the QR code with an authenticator app like Google Authenticator or Authy, then enter the 6-digit code to confirm. After enabling 2FA, you'll need to enter a code from your authenticator app each time you log in.

Click Forgot Password? on the login page, enter your email address, and we'll send you a password reset link. Check your email (including spam folder) and follow the link to create a new password. Reset links expire after 60 minutes for security reasons.

After signing up, onboarding walks you through the current setup flow: choose your Interface Language, pick your target language, choose a starting level, set a study goal, and choose a daily time target. After that, you land on your dashboard with recommendations and shortcuts into learning.

Choose your first learning language during onboarding. After that, manage the languages attached to your account from Your Languages, where you can review the languages you are studying and use Add Language to add another one with a starting level or quick quiz.

You set your learning goal and daily time during onboarding. The current flow asks what kind of study you want to do and how much time you want to spend each day, with options such as 5, 15, 30, or 60 minutes so your dashboard can start with a realistic routine.

Your Dashboard is your learning hub. The top shows your current streak, daily XP progress, and level. Below you'll find Continue Learning (resume where you left off), Recommended Videos, Daily Challenges, and Learning Path Progress. Use the sidebar to access Videos, Vocabulary, Exercises, and more.

SubLearn uses the CEFR scale (Common European Framework of Reference): A1-A2 (Beginner), B1-B2 (Intermediate), and C1-C2 (Advanced). Each level has specific skills and vocabulary. Content is tagged by difficulty so you can find videos and exercises that match your current level.

From your dashboard, click any Recommended Video or go to Videos in the sidebar. Use filters to find content at your level. Click a video thumbnail to open the player with interactive subtitles. Click any subtitle word to see translations, save to vocabulary, and get AI explanations.

After watching a video, you'll see Practice Exercises based on that content. Or go to Exercises in the sidebar and choose from Sentence Builder, Matching Pairs, Dictation, Conversation Practice, and more. Each exercise type helps develop different skills (grammar, listening, speaking).

The onboarding wizard personalizes your account by collecting your Interface Language, first target language, starting level, study goal, and daily time target. If a placement test is available for that language, you can also launch it from onboarding before continuing into the dashboard.

Start with the Beginner Foundations learning path, which includes A1-A2 level videos with basic vocabulary and grammar. Watch videos with subtitles, save new words to your vocabulary, complete exercises after each video, and review flashcards daily. Aim for 15-30 minutes per day to build consistency and maintain your streak.

Go to the Videos page and use the Difficulty filter to select your CEFR level (A1-C2). You can also filter by Category (culture, business, entertainment), Language, and Duration. Videos show difficulty tags (Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced) in their thumbnails.

Most videos include subtitles in both the target language (for reading practice) and your native language (for translation). You can toggle between subtitle modes using the CC button in the player: target only, native only, both (dual subs), or off. AI-powered translations are available for 30+ languages.

Use the player controls to adjust playback speed (0.5x to 2x), toggle subtitles, and skip forward/back. Click any subtitle word to pause and see its translation. Use Loop Mode to repeat difficult sections. Keyboard shortcuts: Space (play/pause), Arrow keys (skip), S (toggle subs).

Videos are grouped into categories like Culture & Society, Business & Career, Entertainment & Media, Science & Technology, Travel & Geography, and more. AI automatically categorizes content based on topic, or you can browse by manually tagged categories. Filter by category on the Videos page.

The current product does not currently expose a separate My Library area or self-serve playlists. Instead, use the live browse, continue-watching, and recommendation surfaces to get back to relevant video content.

Content difficulty is determined by vocabulary complexity, speech rate, sentence structure, and topic abstraction. AI analyzes subtitles and assigns CEFR levels (A1-C2). You can also see average vocabulary difficulty and new words count in video details.

Yes! Click any word in the subtitles to see an instant translation popup with definition, pronunciation, and example sentences. The video pauses automatically so you don't miss anything. You can save the word to your vocabulary with one click or ask the AI for more context.

SubLearn tracks your watch progress for each video automatically. A progress bar appears on video thumbnails showing how much you've watched. Resume watching from where you left off by clicking Continue Watching on the dashboard. Completed videos are marked with a checkmark and award completion XP.

Currently, videos require an internet connection to stream. However, you can download subtitles and vocabulary lists for offline study. Plus/Pro subscribers can enable lower quality streaming for slower connections. We're working on offline video downloads for future updates.

Click any word in video subtitles and select Add to Vocabulary from the popup. Words are automatically added with context (the sentence they appeared in), translation, and pronunciation. You can also manually add words from the Vocabulary page by clicking Add Word.

SRS is a proven learning technique that shows you flashcards at increasing intervals based on how well you remember them. Words you struggle with appear more often, while mastered words appear less frequently. This optimizes long-term retention and makes studying efficient. SubLearn uses a modified SM-2 algorithm.

New words appear the next day, then after 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, 30 days, and so on if you rate them Easy. If you rate a word Hard or Forgot, the interval resets and it appears sooner. Your Due Reviews counter shows how many cards are ready to study today.

Choose from several study modes: Recognition (see target word, recall meaning), Recall (see native word, recall target), Listening (hear pronunciation, type word), Context (fill-in-the-blank sentences), and Speed Round (rapid-fire review). Mix modes for comprehensive practice.

After revealing a flashcard answer, rate how well you remembered: Forgot (show again today), Hard (short interval), Good (normal interval), or Easy (long interval). Be honest with ratings—this helps the SRS algorithm schedule reviews at the optimal time for retention.

Yes! Create custom Vocabulary Lists to organize words by topic, difficulty, or lesson. Go to Vocabulary → Lists and click Create List. Add words to lists from the vocabulary page or when saving words from videos. Lists can be shared with study groups.

Not as a full vocabulary-export feature. The current product focuses on in-app review and learning flows rather than a broad self-serve export center. If you need help with account data instead, contact support and describe what you need.

A word is considered Mastered after you rate it Easy multiple times with long intervals (typically 30+ days between reviews). Mastered words still appear occasionally to prevent forgetting, but much less frequently. You can see your mastered word count and mastery rate in your Vocabulary dashboard.

Not in the current simplified vocabulary flow. Words are primarily collected from the live learning surfaces instead of being entered through a separate custom-card builder.

Sentence Builder exercises help you practice grammar and word order. You're given a sentence in your native language and shuffled words in the target language. Drag and drop words to build the correct sentence. Great for learning sentence structure and reinforcing vocabulary in context.

Matching Pairs tests your vocabulary recognition. You'll see cards with target language words and native language translations mixed up. Click two cards to flip them—match all pairs to complete the exercise. Perfect for quick vocabulary review and visual memory training.

Dictation exercises improve listening skills. Listen to a native speaker phrase or sentence and type exactly what you hear. You can replay audio multiple times and reveal hints (first letter, word count). This develops ear training and spelling accuracy simultaneously.

Conversation Practice uses AI to simulate real dialogues. Choose a scenario (ordering food, asking directions, job interview), then have a text or voice conversation with an AI partner. Get instant feedback on grammar, vocabulary, and naturalness. Pro plan includes unlimited AI conversations with our advanced AI model.

Boss Battle is a timed challenge where you fight enemies by answering rapid-fire questions (translations, fill-in-blanks, multiple choice). Each correct answer deals damage; wrong answers make you lose health. Defeat the boss to earn bonus XP and rare achievement badges. Higher difficulty = better rewards.

Shadowing improves pronunciation and fluency. Listen to a video clip with subtitles, then record yourself repeating it immediately after. The AI analyzes your pronunciation, intonation, and timing, giving feedback on accuracy. Practice shadowing daily to sound more natural and confident.

Exercise difficulty adapts to your level based on your recent performance, vocabulary knowledge, and content CEFR level. If you consistently score high, exercises become harder (faster timers, more complex sentences, less hints). Struggling learners get more support and simpler content.

Exercises are scored on accuracy (correct answers), speed (time taken), and hints used. Perfect runs (100% accuracy, no hints) earn bonus XP. Your score determines XP rewards and achievement progress. View detailed stats (accuracy rate, average time, improvement trends) in your Progress page.

Study consistently (daily practice beats long weekly sessions), mix exercise types (don't just do one type), review mistakes (incorrect answers are learning opportunities), use hints strategically (for learning, not just completion), and practice active recall (try to remember before revealing answers). Quality over speed!

Learning Paths are structured courses that guide you through curated videos, exercises, and milestones. Each path has a specific goal (e.g., "Business Spanish A2," "Travel Japanese," "French Grammar Foundations") and includes lessons in a recommended order. Paths ensure comprehensive skill development.

Go to Learning Paths in the sidebar, browse available paths filtered by language and level, then click Start Path. You can join multiple paths simultaneously. Your active paths appear on your dashboard with progress bars. You can pause or leave a path anytime without losing progress.

Progress is tracked by completed lessons (videos watched + exercises passed). Each lesson must be completed before unlocking the next. You'll see a progress bar showing percentage complete and estimated time remaining. Completing lessons earns path-specific XP bonuses and milestone achievements.

Each lesson includes a video and required exercises. Watch the video to 90%+, then complete all exercises with 70%+ accuracy to mark the lesson complete. Some lessons have quizzes or challenges that must be passed. Completed lessons are marked with a checkmark.

SubLearn analyzes your proficiency level, learning goals, interests, and progress history to recommend paths. Check your dashboard for Recommended Paths. You can also take a Placement Quiz from the Learning Paths page to get personalized suggestions based on your current skills.

Yes! While we provide curated paths, you can create a Custom Study Plan from Settings → Learning. Choose specific topics, skills (listening, speaking, reading), and content types. Set daily/weekly goals and schedule study sessions. Custom plans give you flexibility while maintaining structure.

Paths are tagged with CEFR levels: A1 (beginner), A2 (elementary), B1 (intermediate), B2 (upper intermediate), C1 (advanced), C2 (mastery). Each path focuses on skills appropriate for that level. Completing a path at your level prepares you for the next level's content.

Absolutely! You can pause, leave, or switch paths anytime from My Paths. Your progress is saved, so you can return later. Active paths appear on your dashboard; paused paths are in Paused Paths. We recommend focusing on 1-2 active paths at a time for consistent progress.

You earn XP for every learning activity: watching videos (+10-30 XP), completing exercises (+15-50 XP based on difficulty), reviewing flashcards (+5 XP per card), maintaining streaks (+bonus XP), and finishing learning paths (+100-500 XP). XP accumulates to increase your user level, unlocking perks and rewards.

Accumulate XP to reach level thresholds. Each level requires progressively more XP (Level 2 = 100 XP, Level 5 = 500 XP, Level 10 = 2,000 XP, etc.). Leveling up unlocks profile badges, new avatar customizations, exclusive content, and leaderboard prestige. Your current level and progress bar are always visible on the dashboard.

Achievements are unlocked by completing challenges like "Watch 10 videos," "7-day streak," "Master 100 words," or "Perfect Boss Battle." Each achievement awards a badge with a rarity tier: Common, Rare, Epic, or Legendary. Badges appear on your profile and earn bonus XP. Check Achievements page for all available challenges.

Badge rarity indicates difficulty: Common (easy tasks like first video), Rare (moderate effort like 30-day streak), Epic (significant achievement like 1000 words mastered), Legendary (exceptional feats like 365-day streak). Higher rarity badges give more XP and appear with special visual effects on your profile.

The current product does not center progress around a dedicated public leaderboard surface. Motivation is shown more through XP, streaks, and achievements inside the main app experience than through a separate ranking destination.

Daily Goals are personalized XP targets (e.g., 50 XP = 15 minutes of study). Set your goal from Settings → Goals. Meeting your daily goal earns bonus XP and maintains your streak. A progress ring on the dashboard shows today's progress. Adjust goals anytime to match your schedule.

A streak counts consecutive days you meet your daily goal. Streaks motivate consistency and unlock streak-based achievements. Your streak is displayed on the dashboard with a flame icon. Miss a day and your streak resets to zero. Plus/Pro subscribers get one Streak Freeze per month to protect streaks on rest days.

Challenges are time-limited tasks like "Weekend Warrior" (study Saturday + Sunday), "Vocabulary Surge" (add 20 words in 24 hours), or "Marathon Monday" (earn 200 XP in one day). Completing challenges awards bonus XP and exclusive badges. Check Daily Challenges on your dashboard for active challenges.

Rewards include XP bonuses, achievement badges, avatar customizations (unlockable profile borders, icons), leaderboard prestige, and milestone certificates (downloadable for LinkedIn). Plus/Pro subscribers also earn bonus AI Credits and exclusive content access as level-up rewards.

Free ($0): 3 AI Credits/day (refills every 24h), Scene Explainer, Video Flashcards. Plus ($6.99/mo or $4.89/mo annually): 300 AI Credits/month, Voice AI Roleplay, Boss Battles, Smart Condensed Mode, powered by SubLearn Core AI. Pro ($12.99/mo or $8.99/mo annually): 1,500 AI Credits/month, 50 Advanced Deep-Reasoning AI prompts, Priority GPU Processing, Unlimited Basic Practice (fair use). See Pricing page for full comparison.

Open the billing page and choose the plan you want. If you already have a paid subscription, use Manage Billing to open the secure billing portal for plan changes and renewal details. New upgrades start through checkout and activate as soon as payment succeeds.

Yes. Open Manage Billing from the billing page to change plans or cancel renewal. Changes are handled in the secure billing portal, and your current paid access stays active until the end of the billed period unless the provider says otherwise.

If you have a billing problem or want to discuss a refund, contact [email protected]. Subscription management itself lives in Manage Billing, where you can review the active plan and prevent future renewals by cancelling in time.

We accept major payment methods supported by our checkout provider, including cards and wallet options when available. Payment details stay with the secure billing provider rather than being stored directly on our application servers. For questions about charges or payment methods, contact [email protected].

Yes! Annual plans save you 30%. Plus Annual: $58.68/year ($4.89/mo vs. $6.99/mo). Pro Annual: $107.88/year ($8.99/mo vs. $12.99/mo). Annual subscribers are billed once per year and can cancel anytime with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

New users can try Plus free for 14 days with full access to all Plus features — Voice AI Roleplay, Smart Condensed Mode, Boss Battles, and 300 AI Credits. No credit card required. If you love it, your subscription continues. If not, cancel before the trial ends and you won't be charged. Trial is available once per account.

AI Credits power AI features such as scene explanations, roleplay conversations, and condensed summaries. Free: 3 credits per day. Plus: 300 per month. Pro: 1,500 per month. Current usage is surfaced in the product where those features run and in your current plan summary.

Plus subscribers can buy AI Credit Packs: 50 Credits for $1.99 or 150 Credits for $3.99. Purchased credits expire in 30 days and are used after your monthly quota runs out. Buy from Billing → Credit Packs. Pro subscribers have generous monthly allowances and rarely need packs.

Invoices are emailed after each successful payment. If you need billing documents again or need help locating them, open Manage Billing or contact [email protected] for support.

AI Conversation lets you chat with an AI partner in your target language. Choose a scenario (restaurant, travel, interview) or free chat. The AI responds naturally, corrects mistakes, and suggests better phrases. All users benefit from our SubLearn Core AI for natural, context-aware conversations.

Scene Explainer uses AI to analyze video scenes and provide cultural context, idiom explanations, and grammar breakdowns. Hover over any subtitle and click Explain Scene to get insights. Great for understanding cultural nuances, slang, and complex phrases that literal translations miss.

Phrase Hunter helps you find videos containing specific phrases or grammar patterns. Search for a phrase (e.g., "how much does it cost"), and AI finds videos with that phrase or similar expressions. Perfect for learning phrase usage in real contexts. Pro users get priority search and unlimited queries.

AI features consume Credits from your quota. Free: 3/day (refills every 24h), Plus: 300/month, Pro: 1,500/month. Conversation messages, scene explanations, and roleplay sessions each use 1 Credit. Track usage on your dashboard. Plus/Pro users can also see AI usage analytics.

All users are powered by SubLearn Core AI, our proprietary language learning engine that provides natural conversations, excellent cultural context, and accurate grammar explanations. Pro subscribers also get access to Advanced Deep-Reasoning AI — 50 premium prompts per month with flawless native logic for the most complex language questions.

Smart Condensed mode uses AI to create shorter versions of videos by removing filler words, long pauses, and repetitive content while keeping key learning points. Watch full content in 60-70% of the time. Enable from video player settings. Uses 1 AI action per video. Great for review sessions.

Our AI provides context-aware translations and explanations with 95%+ accuracy for common phrases. However, AI can occasionally misinterpret idioms or cultural nuances. We recommend cross-referencing critical translations. You can rate AI responses (thumbs up/down) to help improve accuracy.

AI features support 30+ languages including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified/Traditional), Arabic, Hindi, and more. Conversation quality varies by language—major European and East Asian languages have the best AI models. Check Supported Languages page for full list.

After each AI response (conversation, explanation, etc.), use the thumbs up/down buttons to rate accuracy. For incorrect responses, click Report Issue to send detailed feedback. Your reports help train better AI models. Pro users get priority feedback review and direct access to AI improvement suggestions.

Click the theme toggle button (sun/moon icon) in the top right corner of any page. Choose Light, Dark, or System (matches your device preference). Dark mode uses a cyan-blue theme with deep blue-black backgrounds for comfortable night learning. Your choice is saved automatically.

Go to Settings → Notifications to control email and push notifications. Toggle options for study reminders, streak warnings, weekly progress reports, new content alerts, achievement unlocks, and social activity. You can also set quiet hours when notifications are silenced.

Yes. Use the language switcher in the header or footer to change the site interface language. This is separate from the languages you study in Your Languages, so you can keep the interface in one language while learning another.

Enable Study Reminders in Settings → Notifications. Choose your preferred study time (e.g., 6:00 PM daily) and days of the week. You'll receive a gentle reminder email and/or push notification when it's time to practice. Reminders respect quiet hours and pause automatically if you've already met your daily goal.

Quiet Hours silence non-urgent notifications during your chosen time period (e.g., 10 PM - 8 AM). Set quiet hours in Settings → Notifications → Quiet Hours. Critical notifications (security alerts, billing issues) still come through. Great for uninterrupted sleep or focus time.

Yes. If you need a copy of your account data, contact support and tell us what export you need. We can help with requests related to profile details, learning progress, vocabulary, and billing records.

Control email frequency in Settings → Notifications → Email. Choose between All emails, Important only (security, billing), or None (except critical account emails). You can also unsubscribe from specific email types like newsletters and tips while keeping progress reports.

SubLearn includes keyboard navigation, screen reader support, reduced motion, and subtitle presentation options where supported. We aim for practical accessibility across public pages, video playback, and learning tools, and support can help if a specific workflow is hard to use.

SubLearn works best on modern browsers: Chrome 90+, Firefox 88+, Safari 14+, and Edge 90+. We recommend using the latest browser version for best performance, security, and feature support. Internet Explorer is not supported. Mobile browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox) are fully supported on iOS 14+ and Android 8+.

Absolutely! SubLearn is fully responsive and optimized for phones and tablets. All features work on mobile: video playback, interactive subtitles, exercises, flashcards, and AI conversations. We recommend screen sizes 320px+ (iPhone SE and up). For the best mobile experience, add SubLearn to your home screen for app-like experience (PWA support).

Video loading issues are usually caused by slow internet, browser cache, or firewall restrictions. Try: refreshing the page, clearing browser cache (Ctrl+Shift+Delete), checking your internet speed (need 5+ Mbps for HD), disabling VPN/proxy, or trying a different browser. If issues persist, contact support with video ID and error message.

For audio issues: check volume settings (browser + system), ensure audio isn't muted in video player, try different headphones/speakers, update audio drivers, disable browser extensions (especially ad blockers), and test in incognito mode. If audio works elsewhere but not on SubLearn, check browser's site permissions for audio.

Progress syncs automatically every 30 seconds when online. Sync issues occur if you're offline, have unstable connection, or browser blocking cookies. Try: refreshing the page, checking internet connection, enabling cookies for sublearn.com, logging out and back in. Your progress is saved locally and will sync when connection is restored.

Chrome/Edge: Ctrl+Shift+Delete → Time Range: All time → Check "Cached images and files" → Clear data. Firefox: Ctrl+Shift+Delete → Time Range: Everything → Check "Cache" → OK. Safari: Safari menu → Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data → Remove All. After clearing cache, refresh SubLearn and log back in.

Performance issues can be caused by: too many browser tabs (close unused ones), outdated browser (update to latest), low device RAM (close other apps), slow internet (check speed), or browser extensions (disable ad blockers). Enable Performance Mode in Settings to reduce animations and optimize loading. Restart your browser after applying changes.

401 Unauthorized: Log in again. 403 Forbidden: Access restricted (subscription required). 404 Not Found: Content deleted or URL wrong. 500 Server Error: Our servers are down (retry in a few minutes). 503 Service Unavailable: Maintenance in progress. Check status.sublearn.com for live server status and scheduled maintenance.

We collect: account info (name, email, password hash), learning data (videos watched, exercises completed, vocabulary, progress), usage analytics (features used, time spent), and device info (browser, OS, IP address). We never sell your data. See our Privacy Policy for full details on data collection, storage, and usage.

Yes. SubLearn is designed to honor privacy rights such as access, correction, export, and deletion requests. If you need help with a privacy-related request, contact support and describe the data action you want us to take.

If you need account or data deletion, contact support so we can confirm the request and explain the impact on progress, vocabulary, and account access before removal is processed.

We use essential cookies for authentication and security, plus optional cookies for preferences and analytics. You can review Cookie settings from the consent banner or footer controls. Essential cookies cannot be disabled because the core product depends on them.

We share data with service providers only (AWS, Stripe, SendGrid) to operate SubLearn. These partners are contractually obligated to protect your data and can't use it for other purposes. We never sell your data to advertisers or third parties. AI conversations are processed under data processing agreements with strict privacy protections.

Security measures include: encrypted passwords (bcrypt hashing), HTTPS encryption for all traffic, two-factor authentication (optional), session expiration (auto logout after inactivity), login history tracking, and anomaly detection (unusual login alerts). We recommend enabling 2FA and using a strong, unique password.

Passwords must be at least 8 characters and include a mix of letters (upper/lower), numbers, and symbols. We recommend using a password manager to generate and store strong passwords. Avoid common words, personal info, or reusing passwords from other sites. Change passwords regularly from Settings → Security.

Yes. Go to Settings → Security → Login History to see recent logins with date/time, device, browser, location, and IP address. If you see unfamiliar activity, immediately change your password, enable 2FA, and log out all devices from the same page. Contact support if you suspect unauthorized access.