Privacy Policy
This English translation is provided for convenience. If there is any discrepancy between this translation and the Japanese version, the Japanese version prevails.
The operator (the "Operator") of "Bilingual Journal," a foreign language learning application including its mobile app and web app (the "Service"), establishes this Privacy Policy (this "Policy") regarding the handling of users' information in the Service as follows.
1. Information We Collect
The Service collects the following information.
- Account information: Email address, display name, account identifiers provided by external authentication services, and account type (guest or registered). Firebase Authentication, provided by Google, is also used for authentication with an email address and password.
- Voice data: The user's speech captured from the microphone while using the foreign language conversation feature. With the user's consent, voice is sent in real time to third-party AI services for conversation processing. See "4. Transmission to Third-Party AI Services" for details.
- Conversations and generated content: Conversation transcripts, generated diary text and its audio files, extracted vocabulary and expressions, and learning progress.
- Usage and technical information: Learning statistics (such as the number of conversations and diaries), app version and platform information, connection logs, and error information.
- Subscription information: Purchased plan, product identifier, subscription and billing periods, place of purchase, and customer identifiers of payment services. Credit card numbers are not stored on the Service's servers.
- Advertising identifiers and device information (mobile app on the free plan only): To display and measure ads, advertising identifiers (IDFA on iOS, advertising ID on Android), IP address, device model, OS information, and similar data are sent to the ad network. See "5. Advertising" for details.
2. Purposes of Use
We use the collected information for the following purposes.
- Providing the Service (real-time conversation, transcription, diary generation, speech synthesis, vocabulary extraction, and management of learning progress)
- Responding to inquiries from users
- Improving the quality of the Service and investigating and fixing defects
- Preventing unauthorized use and managing usage limits
- Handling paid plan purchases, checking subscription status, applying usage allowances, and responding to billing inquiries
3. Transmission to and Outsourcing to External Services
To provide the Service, we use the following external services and send information to them to the extent necessary.
| Provider | Service | Information sent and purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Google LLC | Firebase Authentication | Email address and authentication information (user authentication) |
| Google LLC | Google Cloud Platform | Storage and processing of all Service data (servers, databases, audio file storage) |
| xAI Corp. | Grok API | Speech audio, conversation text, and diary text (real-time conversation, speech recognition, speech synthesis). See "4. Transmission to Third-Party AI Services" |
| Anthropic PBC | Claude API | Conversation transcripts and diary and vocabulary text (conversation replies and summaries, translation, generation of diaries and vocabulary). See "4. Transmission to Third-Party AI Services" |
| Stripe, Inc. | Stripe | Purchaser and payment information for payments and billing (web version) |
| Apple Inc. | App Store | Payment and subscription management for in-app purchases (iOS version). Payment information is managed by Apple, and the Service does not obtain it |
| RevenueCat, Inc. | RevenueCat | User identifiers, subscription and purchase history, and management of entitlements |
| Google LLC | Google AdMob / Firebase Analytics | Advertising identifiers, IP address, device information, and information about ad impressions and interactions (delivery, measurement, and fraud prevention of ads in the mobile app on the free plan) |
Please refer to each company's website for its privacy policy. Except as described above or as required by law, we do not provide users' personal information to third parties.
4. Transmission to Third-Party AI Services
To provide the foreign language conversation and diary features, the Service sends information to the following third-party AI services.
| Recipient | Information sent | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| xAI Corp. (Grok API) | Speech audio during conversations, conversation text, and diary text | Real-time voice conversation, speech recognition, and speech synthesis |
| Anthropic PBC (Claude API) | Conversation transcripts and diary and vocabulary text | Conversation replies and summaries, translation, and generation of diaries and vocabulary |
- Consent before sending: The Service shows in the app what information is sent and to whom, and sends it only after the user consents. If the user does not consent, features that use AI, such as conversations and diary creation, are unavailable, but other features, such as viewing past diaries and vocabulary, remain available.
- Information not sent: Account information such as name and email address is not sent to third-party AI services.
- Withdrawing consent: Users can withdraw consent at any time from "AIサービスへのデータ送信" (AI data sharing) in the Service's settings. After withdrawal, no new information is sent. Processing that started before withdrawal (such as diary generation right after a conversation) is completed.
- Record of consent: We record the date and time of consent and withdrawal, and the version of the content consented to. If the recipients or the information sent change, we will ask for consent again.
- Protection by recipients: The Operator has reviewed each recipient's terms of service and data processing terms and uses them after confirming that the information sent is processed for the purpose of providing the Service's features and is protected at a level equal to or higher than this Policy.
5. Advertising
In the mobile app on the free plan, ads are displayed using Google AdMob, an ad delivery service provided by Google LLC. No ads are displayed on paid plans.
- Information sent: Advertising identifiers (IDFA on iOS, advertising ID on Android), IP address, device model and OS version, app identifier, and information about ad impressions, taps, and completed views.
- Recipient: Google LLC (Google AdMob and related ad measurement services).
- Purposes: Delivering and displaying ads, measuring ad effectiveness, preventing fraud, and verifying the granting of rewards for watching ads.
- Consent management: In applicable regions such as the European Economic Area, we display a consent message as required by law and deliver ads according to the consent status. You can change your consent at any time from "広告のプライバシー設定" (Ad privacy settings) on the app's settings screen.
- Permission to track (iOS): We may ask for permission to track for personalized ads. If you do not allow it, ads are still displayed but may be less relevant. You can change this permission at any time in iOS Settings.
- Rewarded ads: Completion of an ad view is confirmed on the Operator's server through Google's signed notification (server-side verification), and the reward (such as additional usage) is then granted.
For how Google handles information, please see Google's policies and terms (advertising).
6. Retention and Deletion
- Diary audio files may be automatically deleted after a certain period (365 days) from generation. If playback is needed after deletion, the audio is regenerated from the saved text.
- On the free plan, viewing of the body text of diaries and conversation history older than 30 days is restricted, but it is not deleted immediately. It can be viewed again on a paid plan.
- When an account is deleted, we erase the profile, conversation transcripts and summaries, diary text, learning information, billing customer information, and similar data. We may retain records for aggregation that do not identify individuals and billing event identifiers needed to prevent duplicate processing.
- Original billing event data is, in principle, discarded after 90 days.
7. Security Measures
The Operator takes reasonable security measures, such as encrypted communication (TLS), access control, and secure management of credentials, to prevent leakage, loss, or damage of the collected information.
8. Users' Rights
Users may request disclosure, correction, suspension of use, or deletion of their personal information. Accounts can be deleted using the feature in the Service, and we also respond to requests sent to the contact below.
9. Use by Minors
Minors must obtain the consent of a parent or guardian before using the Service.
10. Changes to This Policy
The Operator may change this Policy as necessary. For important changes, we will notify users by appropriate means, such as a notice in the Service. The revised Policy takes effect when it is posted on this page.
11. Contact
For inquiries about this Policy and the handling of personal information, please contact us at the address below.
For how to obtain the Operator's name, address, and phone number, please see the Notation Based on the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions (in Japanese).
Disclosure requests and inquiries: support@bilingual-journal.app