Nicolas E.
Used to be great, then got sketchy - now they record everything you say
First, I’ll say that I have been using Baselang for several years and think that this model of virtual immersion is an extremely effective means of learning a language; unfortunately, the company itself has gotten progressively less transparent over the years and has acted in ways that are certainly not in the best interest of students. Most recently, they introduced a policy of recording every class you take, and did not formally notify students of this policy - instead, it’s buried within their terms and conditions. It’s mandatory. For a service that encourages students to hold “conversation classes” with its teachers (during which any topic could conceivably arise), it’s really concerning that they would record without first truly obtaining students’ informed consent. They say the recording is to ensure quality, but that seems unlikely - there is no reason to record every single class, for every single student, with every single teacher - they could just have periodic observations if quality was the motive. When conversation is a key part of language learning, who wants to have to worry that whatever they say will be recorded (it could be an embarrassing slip up in Spanish, or your thoughts on the conversation topic)? Who knows who will have access to the videos? I’ve recommended Baselang many times over the years, but will no longer. I’m canceling my subscription (there are good alternatives out there).
Response from BaseLangAug 22, 2025
Hi there - today (Aug 25) we announced that we reversed this decision and will NOT be recording classes. Below is a message sent out from our CEO to the students. -- Last week we announced that starting September 1st we’d begin recording all classes. The intention was good - making sure we could better train teachers, while keeping things safe and respectful for everyone. The reality is that only a tiny percentage of recordings would ever be watched, since thousands of classes happen each day (we’d need an army of people to watch them all). But many of you told us it didn’t feel right. And looking back, I should have asked for more of your input before trying to push this through. That’s on me. So let me personally apologize for getting this wrong. The last thing we want is to make anyone feel uncomfortable, or lose the freedom and trust that makes BaseLang special. Our intention was 100% to improve the quality of classes - something we’ve been constantly working on for ten years - not snoop on your conversations. So, we’re not going ahead with recording all classes. Instead, we’ll explore other ways to help teachers improve and keep quality high without recording everything. Thank you for being honest with us. Your input helps us keep BaseLang the best place to learn Spanish, and we’ll always put the student experience first. Un abrazo, Connor




