Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how the Japatan development team ("we", "us", or "our") handles information when you use the Japatan mobile application (the "App"). We designed Japatan so that your learning data stays on your device; we do not operate our own account system and we do not sell your personal information.

1. Summary

• No account required. You can use every learning feature without creating an account or giving us your name or email address.
• Learning data stays on your device. Your study history, progress, streaks, and settings are stored locally on your iPhone and included in your device backups.
• Ads (free version only). Banner ads are served by Google AdMob, which may process device identifiers as described below. Premium removes banner ads.
• Purchases. In-app purchases are processed by Apple; subscription status is managed through RevenueCat.
• Usage analytics and crash reports. Anonymous usage statistics and crash reports are processed by Firebase (Google). Anonymous install and purchase events are also processed by Layers for marketing measurement.
• Push notifications (optional). If you allow notifications, the daily News alert is delivered through OneSignal, which stores a push token and a few anonymous preference tags.

2. Information stored on your device

The following data is created and stored locally on your device and is not transmitted to our servers:

• study history, word mastery levels, and review schedules;
• learning streaks, study calendar, and companion growth state;
• estimated JLPT level and progress statistics;
• app settings (language, audio, reminders, and similar preferences).

Deleting the App deletes this data from your device (unless it is preserved in a device backup you control).

3. Information processed by third-party services

3.1 Advertising — Google AdMob

The free version of the App displays banner advertisements served by Google AdMob (Google LLC). To serve and measure ads, AdMob may collect and process:

• device identifiers, including the advertising identifier (IDFA) where you have permitted tracking;
• approximate device information (model, OS version, language, coarse location derived from IP address);
• ad interaction data (impressions, taps).

On first use, the App shows Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) prompt. If you choose "Ask App Not to Track", the advertising identifier is not made available to AdMob and you will receive non-personalized (contextual) ads instead. You can change this choice anytime in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.

For details on Google's processing, see Google's Privacy Policy and AdMob data usage documentation.

3.2 Purchases — Apple and RevenueCat

In-app purchases (Premium subscriptions and lifetime purchase) are processed entirely by Apple through your Apple Account. We never see your payment card details.

To validate purchases and manage subscription status, the App uses RevenueCat (RevenueCat, Inc.), which processes:

• an anonymous app-generated user identifier (not linked to your name or email);
• purchase history and subscription status for this App;
• basic device and app-version information.

In the free version, RevenueCat also receives anonymous ad-performance events from the App (which ad placement was loaded or shown, and the estimated revenue reported by AdMob). These events use the same anonymous identifier and are used only to measure how ads and subscriptions perform together.

See the RevenueCat Privacy Policy for details.

3.3 Usage analytics and crash reports — Firebase

To understand which features are used and to fix crashes, the App uses Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics (Google LLC). They process:

• an app-instance identifier generated by Firebase (not your name, email, or advertising identifier);
• anonymous usage events (for example which tab was opened, session length) and basic device information (model, OS version, language, country);
• crash reports, including the app state at the time of a crash.

See Firebase Privacy and Security for details.

3.4 Push notifications — OneSignal

If you allow notifications, the App registers your device with OneSignal (OneSignal, Inc.) so we can send the daily News alert and occasional reminders. OneSignal processes:

• the push token issued by Apple for this App on your device, and a OneSignal device identifier;
• the same anonymous app identifier used for purchases, so that reminders are not sent to Premium members where inappropriate;
• a few preference tags: app language, whether Premium is active, and whether you enabled the News alert;
• basic device information (model, OS version, time zone, country) and notification delivery/open events.

Turning off "News alert" in the App's settings stops the daily push; revoking notification permission in iOS Settings stops all push notifications. See the OneSignal Privacy Policy for details.

3.5 Marketing measurement — Layers

To understand which of our own posts and campaigns lead people to the App, the App uses the Layers SDK (Layers). It processes an anonymous identifier, install and purchase-completed events, and basic device information. It does not receive your name, email, or learning data. See the Layers Privacy Policy for details.

3.6 Apple services

Standard Apple frameworks used by the App (such as StoreKit for purchases and AVFoundation for text-to-speech) operate under Apple's Privacy Policy.

4. Data we collect, at a glance

5. Notifications

Study reminders are local notifications scheduled on your device; they are generated locally and do not involve any server. The daily News alert is a push notification sent through OneSignal (see 3.4) once a new article is ready each morning. You can turn either off anytime in the App's settings or in iOS Settings → Notifications.

6. Your choices and rights

• Tracking: deny or revoke ad tracking in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.
• Ads: remove banner ads entirely by purchasing Premium.
• Notifications: disable reminders or the News alert in the App, or revoke notification permission in iOS Settings.
• Deletion: delete the App to remove all locally stored learning data.
• Ad personalization: manage Google ad settings at adssettings.google.com.

Depending on where you live (for example the EU/EEA, UK, California, or Japan), you may have additional legal rights regarding personal data processed by third parties such as Google, RevenueCat, OneSignal, or Layers — including rights of access, correction, deletion, and objection. Because we do not hold personal data that identifies you, such requests are usually best directed to the relevant provider; we will help where we can if you contact us.

7. Children's privacy

The App is not directed to children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your jurisdiction), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information through the App, please contact us so we can address it.

8. Security

Learning data remains on your device under iOS's built-in protections. Communication with third-party services (ads, purchase validation, analytics, push notifications) is encrypted in transit using industry-standard TLS.

9. International data transfers

Third-party providers named in this policy (Google, Apple, RevenueCat, OneSignal, Layers) may process data on servers located outside your country, including in the United States. These providers maintain safeguards required by applicable data-protection law for such transfers.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example when we add features or when the law changes. Material changes will be announced in the App or on this website before they take effect. The date at the top of this page shows the latest revision.

11. Contact

Questions or requests about privacy? We're happy to help: