Study on Braineos a few days in a row and you'll notice a number on your profile: your streak. It's the count of consecutive days you've studied, and it's the simplest kind of motivation there is -- a number that only goes up if you show up.
But life doesn't run on a perfect daily schedule, and a single missed day resetting weeks of work feels needlessly harsh. That's what a streak freeze is for.
What counts as a streak day
Your streak is just the number of consecutive days, counting backward from today, where you studied at least something. Miss a day with no freeze available, and the streak resets to zero -- the count starts over from your next study session. It's visible right on your profile page, alongside your weekly score and your followers.
There's no minimum number of cards for a day to count, and no partial credit for "almost" studying. The streak is binary, day by day: did you show up, or didn't you.
What a freeze actually does
A streak freeze bridges exactly one missed day. If you have freeze balance available and you miss a day, a freeze is spent automatically to cover that gap -- your streak keeps counting instead of dropping back to zero, as if that day simply didn't break the chain.
A few things worth knowing about how this works:
- It's automatic. You don't have to remember to "use" a freeze before you miss a day, or request one after. If you have balance and you miss a day, the gap gets bridged on its own.
- It's a finite balance, not a safety net you can lean on indefinitely. Each freeze you have covers exactly one missed day, and your balance goes down by one each time it's spent. Miss more days than you have freezes for, and the streak resets like normal once the balance runs out.
- It's purchased, from your account, rather than something every account starts with an unlimited supply of.
Why bother with any of this
The honest answer is that a streak is only useful if it reflects something real about your habits -- showing up most days, even if not literally every single one. A system that resets to zero over one missed Sunday punishes exactly the kind of person who's otherwise studying consistently, and does nothing to help anyone actually learn more. A freeze just means one off day doesn't erase weeks of a habit that's clearly working.
It doesn't change anything about how your cards are scheduled, either -- that's still governed entirely by the Leitner boxes each card lives in. A freeze protects the number on your profile, not the cards waiting for you when you come back.
Try it
Keep an eye on your streak from your profile page, and if you're worried about an upcoming day you know you'll miss, that's exactly the gap a freeze is built to cover. Either way, the fastest way to grow the number is the same as always -- see what's due and clear it.