Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Lingo House is a language-learning app and website run by Lukas Works Ltd., 222 Main St E, North Bay, ON P1B 1B1, Canada. We are the data controller for the personal data described here. Questions go through our contact page.

2. What we collect

Without an account. You can browse and study the free content in the app and on the website without signing in. Your study language, level and progress then stay on your device. Our servers see the usual technical data needed to serve you (IP address, requests made), and the app sends crash reports and an app-integrity check to Google Firebase.

Account. When you sign in with Apple, Google or an email address and password we store your email address, a user identifier, the sign-in method, your display name if the provider gives us one, sign-in times, and the version of the Terms you accepted. Passwords are handled by Firebase Authentication; we never see them.

While you use the app signed in. We record one event per app launch (app version and device model), your app language, the decks you save, how far you have scrolled in the feed, and your remaining weekly allowance of card questions. Study progress and statistics are kept on your device, and also on our servers if you use a feature that saves or syncs them across devices.

Subscription. If you subscribe, the App Store or Google Play takes the payment and tells us what you bought, the purchase and renewal dates, whether the subscription is active, and transaction identifiers, which we link to your account. We never receive your card or bank details.

What you send us. Questions you ask about a card, error reports on cards, reports about answers, and anything you write through the contact form.

Diagnostics. Crash reports with device and app details, collected through Firebase Crashlytics. We do not use advertising identifiers or third-party analytics.

3. What we use it for

• running your account, your subscription and the features you use;
• answering the questions you ask about a card;
• fixing bugs, correcting content you report, and understanding how much the app is used;
• answering you when you contact us;
• keeping the service secure and meeting legal obligations.

Where the GDPR or UK GDPR applies, our legal bases are performance of our contract with you (the account and the features), our legitimate interest in keeping the service working and secure, and legal obligations. We do not make automated decisions with legal effects about you.

4. Who we share it with

We do not sell your data, and we do not share it for advertising. We use these providers to run the service, each under its own privacy terms:

• Google Cloud and Firebase host our servers, database and content, and provide sign-in, crash reporting and app-integrity checks. Firebase privacy
• An AI provider generates the answer when you use “Ask a question” on a card. At that moment we send it your question and the text of that card and the cards around it. This is the only time anything you write is sent to an AI provider. We use the provider's business API under terms that do not allow it to use your data to train its models.
• Apple and Google sell subscriptions through the App Store and Google Play and process the payment under their own privacy policies. Apple privacy, Google privacy
• Postmark delivers our email, and Google reCAPTCHA protects the contact form from spam. Postmark privacy, Google privacy

We may also disclose data when the law requires it, to protect our or our users' rights and safety, or to a successor if our business is transferred (you would be notified).

5. Where it is stored

Our servers and database run on Google Cloud in the United States, and the providers above process data there too. For transfers from the EEA, the UK and Switzerland we rely on the providers' Standard Contractual Clauses.

6. How long we keep it

• Account data, saved progress and what you sent us: until you delete your account.
• Subscription and purchase records: seven years, as tax and accounting law requires.
• Crash reports: 90 days.
• Contact-form messages: as long as needed to deal with them.
• Anonymous usage statistics, which cannot identify you: without limit.

We may keep records longer where the law requires it or a dispute is open.

7. Your rights and deleting your account

You can delete your account at any time in the app's settings, or by following the steps on our account deletion page. This removes your sign-in and the personal data linked to your account, except records we are required to keep. Deleting your account does not cancel a subscription: cancel it first in your App Store or Google Play settings.

You can also ask us for a copy of your data, to correct it, to restrict or object to how we use it, or to receive it in a portable format. Write to us through the contact page from your account email; we may ask you to confirm your identity and will reply within 30 days. If you are in the EEA or the UK you can also complain to your data-protection authority. California residents have equivalent rights to know, delete and not be discriminated against; since we do not sell personal information there is nothing to opt out of.

8. Children

Anyone may use Lingo House. Users under 18 need a parent's or guardian's permission, and a parent or guardian agrees to our Terms on their behalf. We collect the same minimal data from everyone and do not knowingly collect more from children. If you believe a child has given us personal data without a parent's permission, contact us and we will delete it.

9. Cookies and local storage

The website sets one session cookie when you sign in, valid for five days, and remembers your theme and language in your browser's local storage. reCAPTCHA may set its own cookies on the contact form. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies, so there is no cookie banner.

10. Security

All traffic between your device and our servers is encrypted, access to personal data is limited to the people who need it, and sign-in is handled by Firebase Authentication. If a breach puts your rights at high risk we will tell you and, where required, the relevant authority without undue delay.

11. Changes

We will update the date at the top when this policy changes. For changes that significantly affect you we will give notice in the app or by email at least 30 days before they take effect. Earlier versions are available on request.