Privacy Policy for Herald

1. Information the app handles

Things stored on your device

• Your settings always stay on your phone.
• If you don't sign in, your books (titles and text), your per-book practice scores, and your book cover images also stay only on your phone. Everything on your phone is removed if you delete the app or clear its data.

Things sent to our servers only when you use a feature

• Your account and practice history (only if you sign in). Signing in with Google is optional. If you choose to, we receive your Google account's name, email address, and a user ID, and your practice history (which days you practised, which pages, and your scores) is stored in your account in the cloud so your progress (streak, accuracy, and practice calendar) can follow you to a new device. You can sign out at any time, and you can ask us to delete this data (see Contact).
• Your books (only if you sign in). While you are signed in, your books are backed up to your account: each book's title and text, your scores for its pages, the page you were last on, and a reference to its cover. This lets your library come back when you sign in on a new device. Only you can access your backed-up books. A book you upload contains whatever text you chose, so only add documents you are comfortable keeping in your account. Each account has a limited amount of backup space; a book that doesn't fit stays on your device and is simply not backed up.
• Book cover images. When the app makes a cover for a book, the book's title is sent to our server to create the artwork, and our server keeps a copy of the image so the same cover can be restored on a new device. Covers are illustrations with no text and no personal information, and they are not linked to your name or account on our servers. The title is not stored after the cover is made.
• Your voice recording. When you tap Record to be scored, the app records a short audio clip and sends it to our server to be turned into text so your pronunciation can be scored. The clip is processed to produce the text and is not stored by us afterward. (When you are offline, your device's own built-in speech recognition may be used instead, in which case the audio is handled on your device.)
• Daily Twisters (the tongue-twister game). During a run, the microphone stays on so you can play hands-free. Each time you say a twister, the clip is sent to our server and turned into text to check if you said it right. Because the microphone is on for the whole run, other voices or sounds near you may be included in a clip. Clips are deleted after they are checked and are not stored by us. The microphone turns off when the run ends or you leave the game. After each attempt, the app also tells our server which twister it was and whether it was said right. We keep only two totals per twister (how often it was played and how often it was passed) to learn which twisters are too hard or too easy. These totals are not linked to you, your device, or your account.
• Topics you type. When you use "Generate a book", the topic you type is sent to our server, which uses it (including an automated web search for current topics) to write the book. The topic is not stored by us after the book is created.
• Words you tap. When you tap a word to hear it or see its meaning, that word is sent to our server to return the audio and a short definition. It is not stored by us afterward.
• An anonymous device identifier. The app creates a random code on first launch and sends it with cloud requests so we can enforce the free daily limits (for example, how many books you can generate per day). This code is not your name, email, or account, and is not used to identify you personally. It is held briefly on our server to count daily usage and automatically expires after a couple of days. Reinstalling the app creates a new code.

What we do NOT collect

• Signing in is optional. If you do not sign in, we do not collect your name, email address, or login. If you do sign in with Google, we receive your name, email, and a user ID (see above), and nothing more.
• We do not use third-party advertising.
• We do not use third-party analytics or tracking.

2. How we use the information

We use the information only to provide the app's features: turning your speech into text for scoring, generating a book from your topic, making book covers, giving you a word's audio and meaning, producing the natural reading voice, backing up and restoring your books and progress if you sign in, and enforcing the free daily limits. That's it. We do not sell your information, and we do not use it for advertising or profiling.

3. Service providers we use

To provide these features, your requests pass through trusted service providers that process the data on our behalf to perform the specific task, then return the result:

• Cloudflare: hosts our server, stores the anonymous daily-usage counter, and creates book cover images and keeps copies of them. (Cloudflare Privacy Policy)
• Google (Firebase): provides the optional Google sign-in and securely stores your account's practice history and backed-up books so they can sync across your devices. Only used if you sign in. (Google Privacy Policy)
• Groq: turns your voice recording into text, writes books from your topic, returns word meanings, and describes the artwork for covers. (Groq Privacy Policy)
• DeepInfra: produces the natural reading voice (text-to-speech), writes books from your topic when Groq is busy, and checks your Daily Twisters clips when Groq is busy. (DeepInfra Privacy Policy)
• Tavily: runs the web search for "Generate a book", so books about current topics are accurate. It receives the topic you typed. (Tavily Privacy Policy)

These providers process the data only to perform the requested task. Your voice recordings and typed topics are not stored by us. Each provider handles data under its own privacy terms, linked above. If we change a provider in the future, we will update this list.

4. Where data is processed

Our servers and service providers may process your requests on computers located in other countries (for example, the United States). By using the app you understand that the data needed for a feature may be processed outside your country. If you sign in, your backed-up books and practice history are stored with Google Cloud in Singapore.

5. Data retention

• On your device: your books, scores, and settings stay until you delete them, clear the app's data, or uninstall the app.
• On our servers: we do not keep your voice recordings or typed topics after a request is processed. The anonymous daily-usage counter automatically expires after about two days.
• In your account (only if you sign in): your practice history and backed-up books are kept so they can sync to your devices, until you delete them or ask us to remove them. Deleting a book in the app removes its text from your backup; a small record with no content remains so your other devices know to remove it too.
• Cover images: copies are kept so covers can be restored. They contain no personal information and are not linked to your name or account on our servers.

6. Security

All communication between the app and our servers is encrypted in transit using HTTPS.

7. Permissions the app asks for

• Microphone: needed to record your reading so it can be scored. The app only records while you are actively using the Record feature, or during a Daily Twisters run, when it stays on until the run ends. You can turn this permission off in your device settings (scoring and Daily Twisters will not work without it).
• Internet: needed for the cloud features above (scoring, book generation, covers, word meanings, the natural voice, and backing up your books and progress if you sign in).

8. Children's privacy

Herald is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information, please contact us and we will address it.

9. Your choices

• You can stop the microphone by denying or revoking the permission in your device settings.
• You can remove all locally stored data by clearing the app's data or uninstalling the app.
• You can delete a book in the app to remove it from your backup.
• You can sign out at any time (your books then stay on that device only), and you can ask us to delete your account's backed-up books and practice history using the contact details below.
• You can contact us with any privacy question using the details below.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the app changes (for example, when we add new features). When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date above. Significant changes will be reflected in the app or its store listing.

11. Contact

If you have any questions about this policy, contact us at: [email protected]