Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

FrenchMate (“FrenchMate,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is an AI-powered French language-learning app for iOS (bundle identifier com.rockiestar.languagelearning) and Android. The app helps learners practice French through an open-ended “Ask Anything” AI chat, a Word Notebook with spaced-repetition review aimed at TCF / DELF B2 exam preparation, and a personal Collection of saved words and sentences.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you use FrenchMate, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. By using the app you agree to the practices described here.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Account information

FrenchMate signs you in with a one-time email verification code (email OTP). When you sign in we store your email address, a randomly generated user ID, your session and authentication tokens, and basic metadata such as the time you signed up and the platform you signed up from (iOS, Android, or web). We do not store any password — there is no password to store.

2.2 Content you create in the app

We store the content you produce while learning, including:

• Chat conversations with the AI tutor (the French questions and prompts you send, and the AI's responses).
• Words, sentences, and notes you save to your Word Notebook or Collection, including translations into your chosen native language.
• Your spaced-repetition review history for vocabulary items (review timestamps, success/failure outcomes used to schedule the next review).

This content is associated with your user account so it can sync across your devices and so the tutor can recall the context of an existing chat thread.

2.3 Voice input

The app requests Microphone and Speech Recognitionpermissions so you can speak French aloud and have your speech transcribed into text. Speech is transcribed on your device using the operating system's built-in speech-recognition service (Apple Speech Recognition on iOS, Google Speech Services on Android). The audio recording is handled locally by the OS; FrenchMate does not upload raw audio to our servers and does not retain audio recordings after transcription. Only the resulting text transcript is sent to the backend and to the AI provider, in the same way as text you typed with the keyboard. Apple and Google may process the audio according to their own privacy policies as part of providing the OS speech service.

2.4 Device and usage information

We collect limited technical information to operate the service and understand how the app is used, including:

• IP address and request timestamps, used short-term for rate limiting and abuse prevention.
• Device type, OS version, app version, locale, and crash/diagnostic events.
• Product analytics events (for example, which screens are opened and which features are used) collected via PostHog and Google Analytics for Firebase. When you are signed in, analytics may be associated with your user ID so we can understand usage across your sessions.
• An advertising identifier (Apple IDFA / Google Advertising ID) and related device identifiers, when you use the optional rewarded-ad path described in section 2.6.

2.5 Purchases

FrenchMate offers an optional paid Premium subscription (weekly and yearly). Purchases are processed entirely by the Apple App Store or Google Play; we never receive or store your payment-card details. We use RevenueCat to manage subscriptions and to tell the app whether your Premium entitlement is active. RevenueCat receives your app user ID and the purchase/subscription history (product, status, and renewal/expiration dates) associated with your account.

2.6 Advertising (free chat path)

FrenchMate is primarily ad-free. After a number of free uses, non-subscribers may choose to watch a rewarded advertisement to unlock additional free chat instead of subscribing. These ads are served by Google AdMob. When you take this optional path, AdMob accesses your device's advertising identifier (IDFA / Google Advertising ID) and related device and ad data to serve and measure ads, and this identifier is shared with Google for that purpose. On iOS, we ask for your permission through Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt first; if you decline, ads are non-personalized. If you subscribe to Premium, no ads are shown.

3. How We Use Information

We use the information described above to:

• Provide the core features of the app (chat, notebook, review).
• Sign you in and keep your account secure.
• Sync your saved content across the devices you sign in on.
• Send your prompts to an AI model and stream the response back to your device.
• Rate-limit abusive use, detect bugs, and improve product quality.
• Understand which features are used so we can prioritize what to build next.

We do not sell your personal information. The only advertising in FrenchMate is the optional rewarded-ad path described in section 2.6: if you choose to watch a rewarded ad to unlock more free chat, Google AdMob receives your advertising identifier to serve and measure that ad. We do not otherwise share your content or account data with advertisers, and Premium subscribers see no ads.

4. Microphone & Speech Data

Voice input is opt-in: the app only records audio when you tap the microphone button. Audio is captured and transcribed on-device by the operating system's speech-recognition service. FrenchMate does not store raw audio files on its servers. Once your speech is converted to text, the text transcript is treated exactly like a typed message: it is sent to our backend (Cloudflare Workers) and to our AI provider (Google Generative AI via Cloudflare AI Gateway) so the tutor can respond.

You can revoke the microphone or speech-recognition permission at any time in your device's system settings; voice input will stop working but the rest of the app will continue to function.

5. Sub-processors and Third Parties

We rely on the following third-party services to operate FrenchMate. Each service processes only the data necessary to perform its function, and each is bound by its own privacy policy.

• Google Generative AI (Gemini)— generates the AI tutor's responses. Receives the chat messages and transcripts you send, plus a system prompt. Accessed through Cloudflare AI Gateway for observability. Google Privacy Policy.
• Cloudflare, Inc. — hosts our backend (Workers), database (D1), object storage (R2), key-value store (KV), and AI Gateway. Cloudflare processes user content in transit and at rest in the United States. Cloudflare Privacy Policy.
• PostHog — product analytics. Hosted at us.i.posthog.com. PostHog Privacy Policy.
• Google Analytics for Firebase — product analytics (app and screen usage, events). Receives analytics events and identifiers from the app. Firebase Privacy & Security.
• Google AdMob — serves the optional rewarded ads described in section 2.6 and receives your advertising identifier and ad/device data to deliver and measure those ads. Google Ads & Privacy.
• RevenueCat — manages subscriptions and Premium entitlements. Receives your app user ID and purchase/subscription history. RevenueCat Privacy Policy.
• Apple Speech Recognition / Google Speech Services — on-device speech-to-text when you use voice input. Governed by Apple's and Google's privacy policies respectively.
• Apple App Store / Google Play — distribute the app and process any in-app purchases or subscriptions.

All authentication is handled by our own backend using one-time email codes; FrenchMate does not currently use third-party social sign-in (no Sign in with Apple, no Sign in with Google).

6. Data Retention and Account Deletion

We retain your account, chat history, and saved vocabulary for as long as your account is active. Rate-limit records and short-term IP logs are retained for a brief period (typically a few days) and then expire automatically.

You can permanently delete your account and all associated data (chats, messages, wordbooks, sentences, sessions, and OAuth tokens) directly from the app, which calls the authenticated endpoint POST /api/account/delete. Deletion is irreversible. After deletion, backup copies will be purged from our systems within 30 days. Anonymous, aggregated analytics events that cannot be re-associated with you may be retained.

If you cannot access the in-app deletion flow, email us at rockiestar.com@gmail.com from the address on your account and we will delete the account for you.

7. Security

All network traffic between the app and our backend is encrypted in transit using TLS. Authentication tokens are stored on-device in the platform's secure storage (iOS Keychain / Android Keystore via Expo SecureStore). We follow industry-standard practices to protect data at rest on Cloudflare's infrastructure, but no system is perfectly secure; please use a strong, unique email account.

8. Children's Privacy

FrenchMate is rated 4+ and is suitable for general audiences, including children, with parental guidance. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your jurisdiction) without verifiable parental consent. We do not build our own advertising profiles of users. The only ads are the optional rewarded ads in section 2.6, which a user actively chooses to watch; where required for younger or non-consenting users, those ads are served as non-personalized. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, please contact us at rockiestar.com@gmail.com and we will delete it.

9. International Users

FrenchMate is operated from the United States and our backend infrastructure is hosted by Cloudflare in the United States. If you use the app from outside the United States, you understand and consent to your information being transferred to and processed in the United States, which may have data-protection laws different from those in your country.

10. Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export, or delete the personal information we hold about you, and to object to or restrict certain processing. You can exercise most of these rights directly in the app (your account and saved content are visible to you, and you can delete your account at any time). For other requests, email us at rockiestar.com@gmail.com.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes we will update the “Last updated” date above and, where appropriate, surface a notice in the app. Continued use of FrenchMate after a change means you accept the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

Questions, concerns, or requests about this policy or your data? Email us at rockiestar.com@gmail.com.