Speak English Privacy Policy
Speak English (Chinese name 开口喵, formerly 绘本闯关; the “App”) is an English picture-book read-along app for preschool and early primary school children. It is developed and operated by Douwantech (“we”, “us”) and is available for iOS.
We designed the App around collecting as little as possible: every feature works without an account or sign-in; a parent may optionally sign in with Apple to sync progress across devices; and a child’s reading voice is recognized on the device only and is never uploaded. The sections below explain exactly what information we come into contact with, why we need it, and how you can control it.
1. Information we handle
1.1 Microphone (core feature, permission required)
- Why: when a child reads an English sentence aloud, the App needs to hear it in order to tell whether it was read correctly.
- How: speech recognition runs entirely on the device using an offline model bundled with the App (sherpa-onnx). Recordings are never uploaded to any server and are never saved as files; the audio is discarded as soon as recognition finishes.
- Required? If you decline, the child can still listen to the books, look at the illustrations and hear words broken into beats, but the “read it yourself” scoring feature will not work.
- How to change it: you can turn it off at any time in Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone.
1.2 Network access
- Why: to download book text, illustrations and example audio from our content server, and to download the offline speech recognition model (about 72 MB, one time only) before the first use of the read-along feature.
- What this involves: these are ordinary file downloads. Like any website, the server produces access logs (request time, the file requested, the device IP address, OS version and similar technical information). They are used only to keep the service running and to diagnose faults, are kept briefly and then deleted automatically, and are not linked to any identity.
- Reading recordings and speech recognition text are not uploaded. The next section explains how device identifiers and usage events are sent.
1.3 Usage analytics (no sign-in required)
- Why: to understand how books and reading features are used, diagnose problems and improve the App.
- What we collect: even without sign-in, the App sends usage events to our server, such as app launches, books opened or completed, read-along score ranges, word breakdowns, level progress and membership actions. Events may include their time, book and session/level identifiers, a selected word from the book, membership product and action result, app version, device model and OS, language and region. Requests include a device identifier (identifierForVendor; if temporarily unavailable, a UUID generated and stored on the device). Reading recordings and speech recognition text are not uploaded.
- How events are linked: events sent without sign-in are attributed to a device identifier, have no account ID and contain no name or email address. Events sent while signed in are linked to the account. Events are also forwarded to our Matomo analytics service; for unsigned-in events, it uses a visitor ID derived from the device identifier.
1.4 Parent sign-in (optional)
- Why: a parent can sign in with Apple from Settings. After signing in, the books that have been completed and the scoring-strictness setting are saved to our server, so they can be restored by signing in with the same account on another device. Not signing in does not limit any feature.
- What we collect: the user identifier Apple gives us (a string of random characters), the email address and name you choose to share in Apple’s sign-in dialog (you may choose “Hide My Email”), and the progress and scoring setting described above. A device identifier (identifierForVendor) is used to tell apart several devices under the same account.
- What we do not collect: your Apple Account password (Apple never gives it to us), your child’s name, reading recordings or speech recognition text. Progress records contain book identifiers; usage events are described in section 1.3.
- How long we keep it: until you delete your account in the App or write to ask us to delete it. Deleting the account removes the account and its progress from the server immediately; progress on the device itself is kept.
1.5 Membership purchases
- Why: a membership unlocks all of the books. Purchases are completed through the Apple App Store.
- What we collect: through our subscription management provider RevenueCat we receive the purchase record Apple returns: the product purchased, the purchase and expiry time, a transaction identifier, and a randomly generated purchaser identifier. If you are signed in, that identifier is linked to your account so that membership status can be synced across your devices.
- What we do not collect: card numbers, payment passwords or any other payment information — those stay with Apple.
- How long we keep it: transaction records are kept after a membership expires so that we can handle restore-purchase requests and billing disputes; the link to your account is deleted when you delete your account.
1.6 Feature data and local settings
| Data | Why | Does it leave the device? |
|---|---|---|
| Books completed, current progress | To show progress on the map | Not signed in: progress state is not synced, but reading events are sent ｜ Signed in: synced to the server |
| Scoring strictness (Strict / Standard / Easy) | So a parent can tune how strictly reading is scored | Not signed in: the setting is not synced, but change events are sent ｜ Signed in: synced to the server |
| Background music, example voice, playback speed | To remember your choices | No |
| Downloaded recognition model and audio cache | Offline use and faster loading | No |
Uninstalling deletes the data stored on the device, but does not automatically delete uploaded usage events or cloud progress for signed-in users. Without sign-in there is no account profile or cloud progress, but our server still stores usage events attributed to a device identifier.
1.7 Things we do not do
- We do not require registration or sign-in, or collect phone numbers, dates of birth or photos. The email address and name you may share when signing in with Apple, and device usage events, are described above;
- We do not include any third-party analytics, advertising, push notification or social sharing SDK;
- We show no advertising, we do not carry out “tracking” as Apple defines it (App Tracking Transparency), and we do not read the advertising identifier (IDFA). Purchase records are used only to provide the membership service, never for advertising or profiling;
- We do not request location, contacts, photo library, camera or any other permission unrelated to the App’s features;
- We do not sell or share user information with any third party.
2. Protection of children’s personal information
This App is designed for children. In line with the Personal Information Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Provisions on the Cyber Protection of Children’s Personal Information, as well as the requirements that Apple places on apps for children, we do the following:
- We do not ask children to enter a name, email address or other personal details. Usage events are handled as described in section 1.3; sign-in is for parents and lives in Settings;
- Reading audio is processed on the device only; it is not uploaded and not retained;
- There is no advertising and no link out to external social or shopping pages. This policy, the terms of use and the feedback email link all live in the parent-facing settings area.
If you believe we have collected information from a child without a guardian’s consent, please contact us using the details at the end of this page. We will check and delete it as quickly as we can.
3. Processors and sharing
To deliver book content and store progress and usage events, we use Alibaba Cloud (object storage, CDN, function compute and database) as our infrastructure provider. Usage events are also processed by our Matomo analytics service. To handle membership purchase status, we use RevenueCat (privacy policy) to receive and manage the purchase records Apple returns. Service providers process data on our instructions. Apart from this, we do not share user information with any third party.
The one exception is information we are required to provide under laws and regulations, or by a binding request from a judicial or administrative authority.
4. Security
All network traffic uses HTTPS. Sign-in credentials are stored as a random token in the device keychain. On the server we store the Apple user identifier, the optional email address and name, book progress, device identifiers and usage events — no passwords of any kind. The security of data held on the device depends on your device’s own lock screen and system protections.
5. Your rights
- Access and deletion: uninstalling removes local data, but does not automatically delete uploaded usage events. Signed-in users can delete their account, progress and account-linked events from our application database via Settings → Delete Account. Earlier anonymous device events and analytics records already forwarded to Matomo are not automatically removed by account deletion. Contact us by email to request access to or deletion of device-linked events.
- Sign out: you can sign out from Settings at any time. Signing out only clears the sign-in state on that device; it does not delete server-side data.
- Withdraw permission: you can turn off the microphone permission in system settings at any time.
- Questions and complaints: contact us using the details below and we will reply within 15 working days.
6. Changes to this policy
When the App’s features change and we need to handle new information, we will update this policy and show the new effective date at the top of this page. For significant changes we will also give notice prominently inside the App. Continuing to use the App means you accept the updated policy.
7. Contact us
- Operator: Douwantech
- Address: Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Email: mark@douwantech.com
If you are not satisfied with our reply, you may also complain to the competent regulatory authorities.