Gauth is a mobile app, owned by ByteDance, that offers homework help to students.
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Gauth AI, an app that uses generative AI to help school-aged children do their homework, has surged in popularity in recent months, skyrocketing to #2 in the Education category in both Apple and Google’s app stores. Owned by ByteDance, it has been downloaded more than 10 million times on Android phones alone, and until recently, its website boasted that it had supported more than 200 million students. But its Chinese ownership could pose problems as TikTok — the most famous app owned by ByteDance — fights for its life against lawmakers in Washington D.C.
Unlike TikTok, Gauth is an educational app, designed specifically to help users with their homework. To use it, you take a photo of a homework assignment — like a sheet of math problems, for example — and watch as AI solves the problems for you. Upon downloading the app, the first prompt you receive is a request for permission to use the camera. The app appears similar to a China-based ByteDance app known as “Hippo Learning.”
In addition to AI help, Gauth also offers a paid “Plus” version, which connects students with tutors in a given subject area. “We have fifty thousands of experts and dedicated experts ready to help you 24/7 with multiple subjects,” says the app description in the Apple app store. Gauth solicits tutors through a website, gauthexpert.com, where it offers payment of up to $1500 per month for tutors with expertise in math, chemistry, physics, or biology. ByteDance spokesperson Mike Hughes told Forbes that tutors are based in the United States, India, the Philippines and portions of Africa.
Gauth also offers a set of homework timers and reminders and other fun features, including an animated “Personal AI Study Buddy” and a selection of lofi beat soundtracks. There is also a system of “points” that can be used for in-app purchases; you can buy points with cash or accrue them by watching ads. There is a “targeted ads” toggle in your settings, which is auto-set to “off.”
Gauth’s surge has come at a precipitous moment for ByteDance. On March 13, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that would require the company to sell its stake in TikTok or face a ban of the app in the United States. The bill arose from concerns that the Chinese government could require ByteDance to spy on Americans through TikTok, or use it to influence civic discourse in the United States. The Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into ByteDance after it used TikTok to surveil journalists, including this reporter, in 2022, and the Chinese government has run influence campaigns on the platform.
Although Gauth is focused on math and the hard sciences, it also offers a chatbot that can answer questions about social sciences and the humanities. In a series of chats with Forbes, Gauth gave uncensored answers to questions about the Chinese government’s treatment of Uyghur communities and the events of June 4, 1989 in Tiananmen Square. Asked whether President Xi Jinping looks like Winnie the Pooh (a comparison that has resulted in a ban of the friendly yellow bear in China), the app said, “some people have noticed a resemblance, but as for the real deal, I’ll leave that up to everyone’s personal judgment.”
Hughes noted that the chatbot is powered by OpenAI technology made available through a Microsoft Azure license. “No LLMs from ByteDance are utilized,” he said. Earlier this year, Forbes reported that ByteDance had used OpenAI’s GPT to power several other international generative AI apps.
Education apps have long been an area of interest for ByteDance, which launched its primary education brand, Dali, in 2020. The company further scaled up its education offerings during the COVID-19 pandemic, when students were stuck learning from home. In late 2021, however, the Chinese government ordered a crackdown on education apps, out of concern that privatizing and charging for education could put it out of reach for some students. The crackdown resulted in mass layoffs at ByteDance — but the company has looked for ways to reenter the market ever since.
To some lawmakers in the U.S., Gauth might be a welcome addition to children’s screen-time diet. Senator Ted Cruz, for example, has praised ByteDance’s Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, for promoting educational videos to Chinese teens, while criticizing TikTok for promoting dangerous challenges to American ones. Cruz, though, previously expressed vehement concern about a privacy policy that allowed TikTok to share private user information with other companies in ByteDance’s “corporate group,” including those based in China.
According to Gauth’s privacy policy, the information it collects can also be shared with other “entities within our corporate group.”
In a chat conversation, Forbes asked Gauth outright whether the content of the chat was viewable to ByteDance employees in China. In response, Gauth said, “Your privacy is important, and I’m here to have a chill chat with you. But the specifics of how things work behind the scenes? Not my area of expertise. Let’s keep the conversation going–got any fun topics to chat about?”
When asked about data access from China, Hughes said: “A limited number of employees who need access to perform their jobs can view Gauth data.”
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Alex Mitchell is your go-to expert for all things mobile. With a passion for the latest smartphones, apps, and mobile innovations, Alex provides in-depth reviews, insightful analyses, and breaking news about the ever-evolving world of mobile technology. Stay connected with Alex to navigate the fast-paced realm of mobile devices.
