✦ Canvas alternative · May 2026
Canvas was breached. Here's what schools are switching to.
SetFlow is the free Canvas alternative built with BYODB — where your classroom data lives in your database, not ours. LTI 1.3 means you don't have to rip Canvas out to get started.
May 7, 2026
Canvas exposed 275 million student records at 9,000 institutions. SetFlow has zero student records on our servers — your school owns the database.
SetFlow vs Canvas, side by side
| Feature | SetFlow | Canvas |
|---|---|---|
| Student data storage | Your database (BYODB) | Instructure's servers |
| Breach risk | Zero student records on our servers | 275M records exposed May 2026 |
| AI tutoring | Tori — acts inside the product (reads notes, builds flashcards, tutors 1:1) | No meaningful AI |
| AI grading | Rubric scoring + suggestions, teacher reviews | |
| Price for students | Free forever | Institutional pricing only |
| Price for educators | Free forever | Institutional pricing only |
| LTI 1.3 | Full Advantage (AGS + NRPS + Deep Linking) | |
| Works alongside Canvas | LTI 1.3 — 30-minute setup | N/A |
✦ BYODB · The reason a breach of SetFlow cannot expose your classroom data
Your classroom data lives in your database.
Canvas, Blackboard, and every other centralised LMS store every student's assignments, grades, and personal info on their own servers. When those servers are breached — like Canvas' on May 7, 2026 — every school's data is exposed at the same time.
SetFlow uses BYODB — Bring Your Own Database. Schools connect their own database. SetFlow provides the application layer (AI features, gradebook, assignments, LTI). Under BYODB, classroom records — assignments, grades, submissions, materials, messages — stay in the school's infrastructure.
You don't have to replace Canvas. SetFlow is LTI 1.3-certified, so it embeds inside Canvas. Add it in 30 minutes, run a 90-day pilot, decide for yourself.
What SetFlow gives you that Canvas doesn't
Tori — the AI that actually does the work
Reads lecture notes, builds flashcards + study schedules, generates practice papers, drafts parent emails, gives teachers rubric-based suggested grades.
AI grading with full teacher review
Tori scores every essay against your rubric and suggests a grade. The teacher reviews + approves. 30 essays in the time it used to take 3.
Student data sovereignty
BYODB keeps every record inside your own database. A breach of SetFlow cannot expose your students.
Free for students and educators, forever
No paywalls on the core tutoring + assignment flow. Schools pay only when they need BYODB, SSO, and institution analytics.
Spaced repetition built in (SM-2)
Flashcards Tori builds from your notes flow into the same review queue every day. The science behind Anki, plugged into your real coursework.
Morning briefings for every role
Students see what to study today. Teachers see who needs intervention. Founders see what shipped. All before 9am.
Frequently asked
Is SetFlow a Canvas replacement?
Can SetFlow work alongside Canvas?
Is SetFlow free like Canvas?
How does SetFlow handle student data differently from Canvas?
Does SetFlow integrate with Canvas?
What happened in the Canvas breach?
Join schools building a more secure future for student data.
Free for every student. Free for every educator. Schools pilot BYODB at no charge for 90 days.