EduBirdie is an online tutoring website and mobile app that connects students with tutors for various subjects like math, science, engineering, business, and humanities. While the service offers tutoring help, it has faced significant controversy regarding its practices. Let’s take a deeper look at EduBirdie’s app offerings on both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
EduBirdie Android App on Google Play Store
EduBirdie has an Android app available for download on the Google Play Store. At the time of writing, the app has an average rating of 3.7 stars out of 5 with over 50,000 total installs. It has also received over 1,500 1-star reviews complaining about poor service, unqualified tutors, plagiarized work and delayed/missing deliverables.
The app provides similar functionality to the website, allowing users to post assignments or tasks that need help, specify deadlines and subjects. Tutors can then bid on the tasks and students can accept the best bid based on price, qualifications, reviews etc. Once a bid is accepted, the assigned tutor gains access to further instructions from the student to complete the requested work.
Students can track the progress, provide feedback and finally receive and review the completed work. Payment is processed through the app once both parties rate each other after the assignment is finished. Most negative user reviews accuse EduBirdie of failing to deliver promised work on time or passing off works from paper mills as original.
Some other issues reported are tutors dropping assignments mid-way or providing very low quality content that cannot be submitted “as is” to colleges. The app interface is also criticized for being buggy and unstable. Google Play store policies strictly prohibit any services that help students cheat or breach academic integrity. While EduBirdie claims to simply offer tutoring help, its practices of completing entire assignments have led to allegations of academic dishonesty.
As a result, the app listing contains a detailed warning from Google reminding users that EduBirdie may violate school policies. Google also requires EduBirdie to display their pricing transparency to avoid any ambiguity regarding “custom writing” services. Despite this, EduBirdie continues to host a presence on the Play Store, though negative reviews keep pouring in on a regular basis.
EduBirdie iOS App on Apple App Store
Compared to Android, EduBirdie’s app presence is more limited on the Apple App Store currently. At the time of writing, no EduBirdie app could be found through a search. Reaching out to EduBirdie’s customer support also confirms that they do not have a native iOS app available.
This could be due to stricter App Store guidelines regarding academic integrity. Apple explicitly prohibits any apps focused on cheating services, contract cheating, written assignments for money and other breaches of educational ethics. While tutoring is allowed, completing assignments fully would go against Apple’s policies.
This leaves iOS users reliant on using EduBirdie’s mobile website through the Safari browser instead of a dedicated app. The experience may not be as seamless or optimized compared to an Android counterpart. It’s possible EduBirdie refrained from launching an iOS app anticipating rejection due to non-compliance issues. Workarounds using progressive web appsmay help bring similar functionality to iPhones/iPads in future if policies are adapted.
Controversies and Criticisms Faced
Beyond app store issues, EduBirdie has faced intensive criticism from universities, writing forums and academics globally regarding questionable practices. Contract cheating or hiring someone else to complete academic work violates honor codes of most educational institutions. EduBirdie argues they only offer tutoring help, but many accuse them of running a “tutoring” facáde to engage in full contract cheating.
One big controversy was EduBirdie’s promotion promising a “Money Back Guarantee if you get caught cheating”. While they later retracted this advertising, it confirms suspicions of enabling academic dishonesty. Several students have also been expelled from colleges after their papers submitted to Edubirdie were caught for plagiarism or suspected contract cheating during analytics.
Industry bodies like the International Center for Academic Integrity are opposed to websites like EduBirdie that commercialize and systematically undermine academic standards. They argue it promotes lack of integrity, erodes the value of qualifications and is ultimately harmful for students relying on such services rather than learning independently.
EduBirdie has implemented some token measures like plagiarism checks and claiming users retain ownership. Critics maintain the very concept and bulk operations enable cheating on a for-profit basis. With over $11 million in funding, EduBirdie also dwarfs legitimate tutoring alternatives, making unethical help more easily accessible. While still freely available, doubts over its credibility and practices will likely continue following the service.