Privacy Policy - VocabPilot

Last updated: April 22, 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how VocabPilot (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, shares, and protects information when you use our mobile application. It also explains your choices and rights regarding your information.

Changelog

2026-04-22: Added a dedicated Google Analytics for Firebase disclosure, clarified analytics processing and controls, and introduced this versioned policy file.
2026-03-27: Initial privacy policy publication.

Short Summary

You can use the app in guest mode or with an account (Firebase Authentication).
We use Google Analytics for Firebase to understand feature usage and improve the app.
We temporarily process audio recordings for pronunciation analysis.
We do not sell personal data.

1. What data we collect

Account information: Email address, display name, and Firebase UID when you sign up or sign in (Google Sign-In).
Usage and analytics: App usage events, feature usage, practice progress, preferences, device/platform (OS, app version), notification events, and analytics identifiers (for example, Firebase App Instance ID) collected through Google Analytics for Firebase.
Pronunciation audio: Short audio recordings you create to receive pronunciation feedback. Recordings are uploaded to a signed storage URL for analysis and removed after analysis. Transcripts and analysis results (scores, feedback) may be stored if you save practice results.
TTS / generated audio requests: Text you request to be synthesized (words or short phrases) is submitted to our TTS pipeline and may be forwarded to third-party TTS/STT providers for processing.
Crash and diagnostics: Anonymous crash reports and diagnostic data (stack traces, device model, OS version) collected to help us improve stability.
Device permissions: The app requests microphone permission to record audio (android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO) and may request other platform permissions for features (for example, notifications).

2. Why we collect data and how we use it

To provide the core service: generate definitions, practice sentences, analyze pronunciation, and persist your practice history.
To personalize your experience: adapt difficulty, remember preferences, and surface saved words and collections.
To operate and improve the app: aggregate analytics, debug crashes, and measure feature usage.
To deliver notifications and reminders when you opt in.

3. How data is shared and third parties

To run the service we rely on a small set of third-party providers. Where applicable, we only share the minimum necessary data.

Convex: Backend database and storage (stores user content, practice results, and cached TTS audio). Audio uploads for analysis are uploaded to Convex Storage via signed URLs.
Firebase (Google): Authentication (user identities) and analytics infrastructure.
Google Analytics for Firebase: Analytics events and related metadata are processed by Google on Firebase infrastructure to provide aggregated reports, engagement metrics, and product insights.
TTS / STT providers: We use third-party providers configured in our backend to synthesize and transcribe short audio/text for pronunciation features. These providers may change over time. We send only the relevant text and/or audio required to produce the result. Transcription results and derived feedback may be stored in Convex as practice results.
OpenRouter / LLMs: Used only for generating feedback, examples, and brief explanatory text where enabled.
YouTube: Video examples are provided as YouTube links and embedded using YouTube player official components. Playing videos uses YouTube services and may be subject to their data collection.
Sentry: Crash reporting and error telemetry (may include anonymous device identifiers and Firebase UID when available for debugging).
Expo: Push notifications and other Expo platform services.

We do not sell personal information to third parties.

3.1 Firebase Analytics details

We use Google Analytics for Firebase to understand how users interact with VocabPilot and improve the product.

What may be collected: App events (for example, screen views, feature interactions, session data), app/device metadata (for example, app version, OS version, device model), and analytics identifiers such as Firebase App Instance ID.
How we use it: Measure adoption of features, identify usability issues, prioritize improvements, and monitor release quality.
Processing by Google: Analytics data is processed by Google as part of Firebase services. Learn more in the Google Privacy Policy and Firebase documentation.
Controls: Where available, you can disable analytics-related options in app settings. You may also contact us to request additional data controls.

YouTube and Embedded Video Services

VocabPilot uses YouTube services to provide real-world spoken English examples. When you view or play embedded YouTube videos in the app, you agree to YouTube Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy.

We do not transmit your VocabPilot account credentials or personal profile information to YouTube to display embedded videos.
If you open a full video in your browser or the YouTube app while signed into Google, YouTube may collect and associate viewing activity with your Google account per their policies.
Embedded YouTube players and related Google services may set cookies or use other tracking technologies controlled by Google; we do not control those practices.
Watching videos on YouTube may expose you to ads served by Google; VocabPilot does not use YouTube data to target ads on our behalf.

4. Audio handling details

Recordings: When you submit a pronunciation recording for analysis, the app uploads the raw audio bytes to a short-lived signed URL. The analysis is performed on the backend using configured STT/TTS providers. Temporary audio files are deleted after analysis finishes. Only processed results (transcript, scores, feedback) are stored when you save a practice result.
TTS caching: Generated audio from TTS providers may be cached in Storage to avoid repeated calls and to reduce costs; cached audio is retained only as needed and removed according to our retention policy.

5. Data retention

We retain account data, saved words, collections, and practice history for as long as your account exists or as required for legal obligations and dispute resolution.
Uploaded pronunciation audio is deleted immediately after analysis. Transcripts, scores, and saved practice history are retained until you delete them or delete your account.

6. Security

We use industry-standard security measures (TLS/HTTPS, signed upload URLs, access controls on backend storage) to protect your data in transit and at rest. We strive to follow best practices.

7. Your choices and rights

Delete account: You can permanently delete your account from the app (Settings -> Delete Account). This removes your saved words, collections, practice history, and associated personal data. Some backups or cached copies may persist for a short period as required by internal retention policies.
Opt out / preferences: You can disable notifications in your device settings or in the app (when available). To opt out of analytics or request additional data controls, contact us (see below).
Access / export: To request access to, correction of, or export of your data, contact us at the address below.

8. Children

The app is not intended for children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you believe a child under 16 has created an account, please contact us to delete that account.

9. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this policy occasionally. We will post the updated policy in the app and update the effective date. Material changes will be highlighted in the app or communicated by email when feasible.

10. Contact us

If you have questions, requests, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at vocabpilot@gmail.com.