Privacy Policy

LingueLibrary ("we", "us", or "our") operates the LingueLibrary website at linguelibrary.com and the LingueLibrary mobile application (collectively, the "Service"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information when you use our Service. Please read this policy carefully. By using the Service, you consent to the data practices described in this policy.

1. Information We Collect

We collect several types of information to provide and improve our Service. The categories of information we collect are described below.

1.1 Account Information

When you create an account, we collect your email address and display name. If you sign in using Google Sign-In, we receive your name and email address from your Google account. You may also begin using the Service as an anonymous guest user without providing personal information; in that case, we assign a unique anonymous identifier to your session.

1.2 Learning and Usage Data

We collect information about how you interact with the Service in order to personalize your experience and track your learning progress. This includes:

• Words you click on while reading, including click frequency and the forms of each word (used to identify vocabulary you find challenging)
• Words you save to your personal vocabulary list
• Books and chapters you access, your reading position within each chapter, and your reading history
• Your selected target language (e.g., Italian, Norwegian) and CEFR proficiency level (e.g., A2, B1, B2)
• Your language and reading display preferences (such as grammar highlighting settings and font size)
• Translation requests you make while reading

1.3 Device and Technical Data

When you access the Service, we automatically collect certain technical information, including:

• Device type, operating system, and version (e.g., iOS 17, Chrome on macOS)
• IP address
• Browser type and version (for web users)
• App version (for mobile users)
• Crash reports and error logs (collected via Sentry), which may include device state and stack traces at the time of an error

1.4 Information We Do Not Collect

We do not collect payment or financial information. LingueLibrary is a free service with no in-app purchases or subscriptions. We do not collect precise geolocation data. We do not access your device's contacts, photos, camera, microphone, or other sensitive device permissions.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• Provide the Service: To operate the LingueLibrary platform, including delivering book content, word lookup, translations, grammar information, and vocabulary tracking
• Personalization: To adapt reading content to your selected language and proficiency level, and to remember your reading position and preferences across sessions
• Learning analytics: To track which words you click frequently ("weak words") and provide vocabulary review features based on your learning patterns
• Service improvement: To identify and fix bugs, analyze usage patterns in aggregate, and improve features and content quality
• Communication: To respond to your inquiries, provide support, and send essential service-related notices (such as changes to our terms or policies)
• Security: To detect, prevent, and address fraud, unauthorized access, or other harmful activity

We do not use your personal information for advertising. We do not sell your personal information. We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

3. Legal Basis for Processing (EEA/UK Users)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom, we process your personal data on the following legal bases under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

• Contract performance: Processing necessary to provide the Service you have requested (e.g., maintaining your account, saving your reading progress, providing word lookups)
• Legitimate interests: Processing necessary for our legitimate interests, such as improving the Service, fixing bugs, and analyzing aggregate usage patterns, provided these interests do not override your rights
• Consent: Where you have given consent for specific processing activities, such as receiving optional communications
• Legal obligation: Processing necessary to comply with applicable laws

4. Data Sharing and Third-Party Services

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We share data with third-party service providers only as necessary to operate the Service. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your data and may only use it to perform services on our behalf.

4.1 Service Providers

• Firebase (Google LLC) – Authentication and user account management. Firebase processes your email address and authentication credentials. Google's privacy policy applies to Firebase services: policies.google.com/privacy
• DeepL SE – Translation services. When you request a sentence translation, the text of that sentence is sent to DeepL for translation. DeepL's privacy policy: deepl.com/privacy
• Sentry (Functional Software, Inc.) – Error tracking and performance monitoring. Sentry receives crash reports and error data, which may include device information and technical state at the time of an error
• MongoDB, Inc. – Cloud database hosting for user accounts, reading progress, and word data
• Vercel Inc. – Website hosting and content delivery
• Cloudflare, Inc. – Content storage (Cloudflare R2) for book content and learning resources

4.2 Legal Disclosures

We may disclose your personal information if required to do so by law, or if we believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, protect and defend our rights or property, prevent fraud, or protect the personal safety of users or the public.

5. Data Storage, Security, and International Transfers

Your data is stored on servers located in the United States and the European Union, operated by our third-party service providers. If you access the Service from outside these regions, your data may be transferred to and processed in these locations.

For users in the EEA or UK, transfers of personal data to countries outside the EEA/UK are safeguarded by appropriate mechanisms such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission, or adequacy decisions.

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include encrypted data transmission (TLS/SSL), secure authentication via Firebase, access controls, and regular security reviews. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies strictly for essential purposes:

• Authentication cookies: To keep you signed in and maintain your session across page loads. These are essential for the Service to function.
• Preference cookies: To remember your language and display settings.

We do not use advertising cookies, social media tracking pixels, or analytics cookies from third-party advertising networks. We do not participate in cross-site tracking or retargeting.

Firebase Authentication may set cookies or use local storage as part of the sign-in process. These are necessary for the proper functioning of authentication.

7. Your Rights and Choices

7.1 All Users

All users of LingueLibrary have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you by contacting us
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
• Request deletion of your account and all associated personal data
• Export your learning data in a portable format
• Withdraw consent for any processing based on consent, at any time

7.2 EEA/UK Residents (GDPR)

If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you have additional rights under the GDPR, including:

• The right to restrict processing of your personal data in certain circumstances
• The right to object to processing based on legitimate interests
• The right to data portability (to receive your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format)
• The right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority

7.3 California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the following rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA):

• The right to know what personal information we collect, use, and disclose
• The right to request deletion of your personal information
• The right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. Note: We do not sell or share your personal information as defined by the CCPA/CPRA.
• The right to non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at the email address provided in Section 12 below. We will respond to verifiable requests within the timeframes required by applicable law (generally 30 days for GDPR, 45 days for CCPA).

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active and as needed to provide the Service to you. Specifically:

• Account data (email, display name): Retained until you delete your account
• Learning data (reading progress, word clicks, saved words): Retained until you delete your account
• Technical logs and error reports: Retained for up to 90 days for debugging purposes
• Translation cache: Translations are cached to improve performance and reduce API calls; cached translations do not contain personally identifiable information

If you request account deletion, we will delete or anonymize your personal data within 30 days of your request, except where we are required to retain certain data by law or for legitimate business purposes (such as resolving disputes or enforcing our agreements).

Anonymous guest users who have not created an account will have their data associated with a temporary anonymous identifier. This data may be retained but is not linked to any personally identifiable information.

9. Children's Privacy

LingueLibrary is not directed at children under the age of 13 (or the applicable age of digital consent in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under this age. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child under the applicable age without parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.

10. Apple App Store

If you access LingueLibrary through our iOS application downloaded from the Apple App Store, the following additional terms apply:

• Apple, Inc. is not responsible for the collection or use of your personal data by LingueLibrary
• The LingueLibrary app does not collect data for third-party advertising or data brokerage
• The app does not use Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework because we do not track users across other companies' apps or websites
• For information about Apple's privacy practices, please visit apple.com/privacy

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. If the changes are significant, we will provide a more prominent notice (such as an in-app notification or an email to account holders). We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your data.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

• Email: privacy@linguelibrary.com

We will make every effort to respond to your inquiry within a reasonable timeframe.