Privacy Policy

Last updated: 3 August 2026
Applies to the Lingato website, web app, and Android app (including any Google Play listing for Lingato).

1. Who we are

Lingato (“we”, “us”) is operated by the independent developer of lingato.org. This policy explains what information we process when you use Lingato.

2. Information we collect

Depending on how you use Lingato, we may process:

• Account information — if you register: email address, password (stored only as a secure one-way hash, not as plain text), and profile details you choose such as a display name.
• Google sign-in — if you choose “Sign in with Google” and that option is enabled, we receive basic account details from Google (typically your verified email and name) to create or link your Lingato account. We do not receive your Google password.
• Learning activity — study progress such as cards studied, points, streaks, league/leaderboard-related activity, and similar gameplay or practice events tied to your account (or kept only on your device if you use guest/local features).
• Session data — a signed-in session cookie so you stay logged in. Session tokens are stored on our servers only in hashed form.
• Device preferences — settings stored on your device (for example theme, language choices, reminders, or similar UI preferences) using browser storage. These stay on your device unless a feature explicitly syncs something to your account.
• Microphone access — used only when you opt in to spoken practice (for example pronunciation checks). Speech is handled through the device/browser speech-recognition features to turn audio into text for grading. We do not use the microphone to record or upload ordinary study audio to our servers as a condition of normal practice.
• Anonymous usage analytics — limited first-party page view stats (for example path viewed, approximate country derived at request time, coarse device class, and optional campaign tags). We design this not to store IP addresses or account identity in the analytics stream. A temporary in-tab visit id may be used only to understand a single browsing path and is not used as a long-term tracking cookie.
• Technical logs — standard server/security logs needed to run and protect the service (for example to diagnose errors or abuse). We keep these only as long as reasonably needed for those purposes.
• Payments (Google Play) — if you buy the paid Android app or a Play purchase, payment card and checkout details are processed by Google. We do not receive your full payment card number. Google may share limited purchase/entitlement information needed to fulfill the order.

3. How we use information

• Provide, maintain, and improve Lingato’s learning features
• Create and secure accounts, sessions, and optional Google sign-in
• Track study progress, streaks, leagues, and leaderboards
• Remember device preferences you set
• Understand aggregate traffic and product usage with privacy-minimal analytics
• Prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents
• Comply with law and enforce our terms and policies
• Process app purchases fulfilled through Google Play

We do not sell your personal information.

4. Legal bases (EEA/UK where applicable)

Where GDPR/UK GDPR applies, we rely on:

• Contract — to provide the service you request (account, study features)
• Legitimate interests — to secure, maintain, and understand the service in a privacy-conscious way
• Consent — where required (for example optional microphone access in the browser/app permission prompt)
• Legal obligation — when we must keep or disclose information to comply with law

5. Sharing

We share information only when needed to run Lingato, for example:

• Service infrastructure — hosting and related operators that process data on our instructions
• Google — if you use Google sign-in, or if you install/purchase via Google Play (Google’s own policies also apply)
• Leaderboards / social study features — display names and study-related scores may be visible to other users where those features are enabled
• Legal reasons — if required by law, regulation, or to protect rights, safety, and security

We do not share your data for third-party advertising networks.

6. Cookies and similar technologies

• Essential session cookie — keeps you signed in (HttpOnly where applicable)
• Local device storage — preferences and temporary client state for the app to work offline-friendly and remember settings

We do not use third-party advertising cookies. Analytics beacons are first-party and designed to avoid identifying you as a logged-in user.

7. Data retention

• Account and study records are kept while your account remains active and as needed to provide the service
• Sessions expire after a period of inactivity or when you sign out
• Anonymous traffic analytics are retained for a limited period (on the order of about a year) and then deleted
• Security logs are kept only as long as reasonably necessary

8. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures appropriate to a small language-learning service, including password hashing, hashed session tokens, HTTPS, and access controls for administrative tools. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.

9. Children

Lingato is a general audience language learning app and is not directed at children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your country). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information, contact us and we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

10. International users

Lingato may be hosted and operated from countries other than your own. If you use the service, your information may be processed in the country where our servers or operators are located, with safeguards appropriate to the service.

11. Your rights

Depending on your location, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or export personal information, or to object to or restrict certain processing. You may also withdraw consent where processing is based on consent (for example by disabling microphone permission in your device/browser settings).

To make a privacy request, contact us using the details below. You may also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.

To request deletion of your account and associated data, use: https://lingato.org/delete-account.html

12. Third-party services

If enabled or used, these parties process data under their own terms:

• Google Sign-In / Google accounts — Google Privacy Policy
• Google Play (install, payments, entitlements) — Google Privacy Policy

Browser or device speech recognition, if used, is provided by your platform/browser vendor and may be subject to that vendor’s terms.

13. Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top will change when we do. Continued use of Lingato after an update means you accept the revised policy, unless applicable law requires otherwise.

14. Contact

Privacy questions and requests: privacy@lingato.org

Website: https://lingato.org/
For Google Play purchase support, you can also use Google Play’s order and subscription support tools.