This Privacy Policy explains how the independent developer behind Compass Chinese ("we," "us") collects, uses, and protects information when you use the Compass Chinese iOS app (the "App").
Account information. When you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive a unique identifier for your account and, if you choose to share it, your name and email address. If you use the App without signing in, we assign your device an anonymous device identifier so your progress can still be saved.
Learning activity. To make the App work, we store the data your studying actually generates: which words and characters you've studied and how well you know them (spaced-repetition scheduling data), lesson and pinyin-unit completion, placement test results, streaks, and achievement/badge progress.
Speaking and writing practice. When you use pronunciation practice or shadowing, your voice recording is sent to our speech-processing provider (see §4) to generate a pronunciation score, and the score (not a permanent copy of the recording) is saved to your account. Handwriting practice records which strokes you completed correctly — not an image or video of your handwriting.
AI conversation content. If you use AI conversation practice or the camera-scan explanation feature, the text of your conversation and the text recognized from a scanned image are sent to our AI provider (see §4) to generate a response, and saved to your account so you can review past conversations.
Camera and photos. The camera is used only to recognize Chinese text pointed at it (via on-device text recognition) so it can be explained. We do not access your photo library, and we do not store photos or images — only the recognized text and the AI's explanation of it are saved.
Purchase information. Subscription purchases are handled entirely by Apple through StoreKit. We receive confirmation that you have an active subscription so the App can unlock paid features; we do not receive or store your payment card details, which Apple never shares with us.
Usage and diagnostic information. Standard technical information (app version, device type, error logs) may be collected to keep the App working correctly.
What we do not collect. We do not access your contacts, location, photo library, or other apps. We do not use advertising trackers, and the App does not show third-party ads.
We use the information above only to:
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use your learning content or conversations to serve you ads.
Certain features work by sending the minimum necessary data to specialized providers, who process it only to deliver that feature and are not permitted to use it for their own purposes:
| Provider | What it's used for | What's sent |
|---|---|---|
| Apple (Sign in with Apple, StoreKit) | Account sign-in, subscription billing | Identity token; purchase receipt |
| Google (Google Sign-In) | Account sign-in | Identity token |
| iFLYTEK (讯飞) | Speech recognition, speech synthesis, pronunciation assessment | Audio of your speech practice; text to be read aloud |
| DeepSeek (via OpenRouter) | AI conversation practice, camera-scan explanations | Conversation text; text recognized from scans |
Our backend runs on Alibaba Cloud infrastructure. If you are located outside of the region where our servers operate, your information will be transferred to and processed in that region.
We keep your account data for as long as your account is active. You can permanently delete your account and all associated data — learning history, practice records, and saved conversations — at any time from Profile → Settings → Delete Account inside the App. This is irreversible: once submitted, the deletion cannot be undone.
Deleting the App from your device does not delete your account or data — use the in-app deletion flow, or contact us (§9), to remove your data from our servers.
An active subscription is billed and managed by Apple and is not cancelled by deleting your account — cancel it separately in Settings → Apple Account → Subscriptions on your device.
Compass Chinese is not directed at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us (§9) and we will delete it.
We use industry-standard measures to protect your information, including encrypted network connections for authentication and payment-related traffic. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export, or delete your personal information, or to object to or restrict certain processing. You can exercise most of these rights directly in the App (Profile → Settings); for anything else, contact us using the details below.
Questions about this policy or your data: hello@compasschinese.com
We may update this policy as the App changes. If we make a material change, we'll update the "Last updated" date above and, where required, notify you in the App.