Privacy Policy
1. Who we are
LingoMate: AI Tutor ("the App", "we", "us") is an iOS language-learning app published by EXO Studio, Hanoi, Vietnam. This Policy explains what information the App and the services built into it process, why, and the choices you have.
2. Information we collect
The App does not require an account, and we do not ask for your name, email, phone number or contacts.
| Category | Examples | Purposes |
|---|---|---|
| Learning content | Text you type or that is transcribed from your speech during practice, plus context such as your target language, interface language and level. | App functionality (AI tutoring feedback). Not used for advertising. |
| Voice input | Microphone audio during speaking practice, used only to transcribe what you say. | App functionality. Handled by Apple's speech recognition; we never upload your audio. |
| Device and advertising identifiers | IDFA (only if you allow tracking), IDFV, Firebase app instance ID, Adjust and SDK-generated install IDs. | Advertising, ad and install attribution, analytics, fraud prevention. |
| Usage data | App opens, screens viewed, onboarding steps, ad impressions and clicks, ad revenue events. | Analytics, advertising, attribution. |
| Diagnostics | Crash reports, stack traces, device model, iOS version, performance data. | App stability and bug fixing. |
| Approximate location | Country or city-level location derived from your IP address (never GPS). | Advertising, analytics, fraud prevention. |
| Settings and progress | Chosen languages, survey answers, learning plan, completed lessons, reminder preference. | Stored locally on your device only. |
We do not collect precise location, photos, contacts, health or financial data.
3. How and where information is processed
- On your device: your settings, progress and learning plan, daily study reminders (scheduled as local notifications), and spoken playback (text-to-speech via Apple's system voices).
- Speech-to-text: speaking practice uses Apple's speech recognition. Depending on your device and language, Apple may send the audio to its servers to transcribe it, under Apple's privacy terms.
- AI tutoring feedback: your practice text and learning context are sent over HTTPS to our AI proxy (hosted on Google Cloud), which forwards them to an AI model provider (OpenRouter and the model providers it routes to) to generate a response. No advertising identifiers or audio are sent with these requests.
- Ads, analytics, attribution and crash reporting: handled by the third-party SDKs in section 4, which send data directly to their providers.
4. Third-party services
Each service processes data under its own privacy policy:
| Service | Purpose | Data involved |
|---|---|---|
| Google AdMob and User Messaging Platform (UMP) | Serving ads; collecting consent where required. | Device/advertising IDs, ad interactions, approximate location, consent choices. How Google uses data from apps. |
| Google Firebase (Analytics, Crashlytics, Remote Config) | Usage analytics, crash reporting, remote feature and ad settings. | App instance ID, usage events, crash diagnostics. Firebase privacy. |
| Meta (Facebook SDK) | Install and app-event measurement for our ad campaigns. | Device IDs (IDFA only with your permission), app events. Meta Privacy Policy. |
| TikTok Business SDK | Install and app-event measurement for our ad campaigns. | Device IDs (IDFA only with your permission), app events. TikTok Privacy Policy. |
| Adjust | Install attribution, ad revenue measurement, fraud prevention. | Device IDs (IDFA only with your permission), IP address, app and ad revenue events. Adjust Privacy Policy. |
| AI proxy (Google Cloud) and OpenRouter | Generating AI tutoring responses. | Practice text and learning context only. OpenRouter Privacy Policy. |
| Apple | Speech recognition, text-to-speech, notifications, App Store distribution. | Microphone audio for transcription; text spoken aloud. |
5. Advertising, tracking and your choices
- Consent (UMP): where required by law (for example in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland), the App shows Google's consent form before any ad is loaded, so you can accept or reject personalized ads. You can change your choice at any time from Profile → Legal → Privacy choices (shown where the consent form applies).
- App Tracking Transparency (ATT): after the consent step, iOS asks whether LingoMate may track you across other companies' apps and websites. Only if you tap Allow can the App and the SDKs above read your device's advertising identifier (IDFA). If you decline, the IDFA is not accessed, and ads and measurement continue in a non-tracking form (for example contextual ads and Apple's SKAdNetwork / AdAttributionKit). You can change this at any time in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.
- You can also turn off personalized ads from Apple in Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Advertising, turn off notifications in Settings, or delete the App to stop all collection.
6. Purposes and legal bases
We use information to provide the language-tutoring features you request, to keep the App free with ads, to measure which ad campaigns bring new users, to understand usage and fix crashes, and to adjust features and ad settings remotely. Where the EU GDPR applies, we rely on the performance of our agreement to provide the App (Art. 6(1)(b)) for tutoring features; your consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) for personalized advertising and tracking; and our legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) for analytics, crash reporting, fraud prevention and non-personalized ads.
7. Sharing and sale of data
We never sell your practice text or voice. The identifiers and usage data in section 2 are shared with the services in section 4 for advertising, attribution, analytics and crash reporting. Under some laws (such as California's), using data for targeted advertising may count as "sharing"; you can opt out through the consent and tracking choices in section 5.
8. Retention and deletion
Settings and progress remain on your device until you delete the App. Practice text is processed transiently to generate a response and is not kept by us. Data collected by third-party services is kept according to their policies (for example, Firebase Analytics keeps event data for up to 14 months by default). To request deletion of data linked to your device, email exostudio.feedback@gmail.com with the subject "LingoMate data deletion"; we will ask the relevant providers to delete data associated with your identifiers.
9. Security
Data sent off your device travels over encrypted HTTPS connections. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we use standard safeguards appropriate to the data the App handles.
10. Device permissions
The App asks for these permissions only through iOS, and you can change them at any time in the iOS Settings app:
| Permission | Why it is used |
|---|---|
| Microphone | To evaluate your pronunciation during speaking practice. |
| Speech Recognition | To transcribe your speech so the App can give speaking feedback. |
| Notifications | To send an optional daily study reminder (a local notification). |
| Tracking (ATT) | To let the App and the SDKs in section 4 use your advertising identifier for personalized ads and campaign measurement, only if you allow it. |
11. Children's privacy
The App is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age in your country), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will help delete it.
12. Your rights (GDPR / CCPA)
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete or restrict processing of your personal information, to object to processing, to data portability, and to withdraw consent. Use the in-app and device choices in section 5, or email us to make a request; we may need to verify it. California residents will not receive discriminatory treatment for exercising their privacy rights.
13. International transfers
Our AI proxy and the service providers in section 4 may process data on servers outside your country, including outside the EEA. Where required, such transfers rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses provided by those providers.
14. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Policy when the App's practices or legal requirements change. Material changes will be reflected by the "last updated" date above and in the App's App Store privacy details.
15. Contact
For privacy questions or data requests, contact EXO Studio at exostudio.feedback@gmail.com.