No data sales
We don’t sell your data.
Never to data brokers, never to advertisers. We share only what we need to run the service, honor your choices, or comply with law.
Privacy
Your data should help you learn — nothing else.
This Privacy Policy explains what we collect, why, how we share it, how long we keep it, and what rights you have under laws like the GDPR.
Your choice
Most profile fields are optional.
Photos, bios, interests, and many app permissions are up to you. Only the essentials — like a working sign-in — are required.
No recording
We don’t record live cafes or track your location.
Voice in live cafes is delivered in real time, not stored. We don't collect precise GPS location either.
Overview
Scope and summary
This Privacy Policy covers the Language Cafe website, mobile app, public reading pages, communities, messaging, live cafes, and support. It also covers data processed on our behalf by the providers we rely on to run those services.
We use trusted providers for authentication, storage, notifications, analytics, crash reporting, and live voice — including Google Firebase, Agora, and platform services from Apple and Google. They process data on our behalf, under contract.
Collection
What we collect
We collect the information reasonably needed to create accounts, match learners, operate communities and cafes, keep the service secure, and answer support requests.
Account and identity data
- Name, username, and account identifiers
- Email address, phone number, sign-in provider, and authentication state
- Age-related information and other signup fields required by the app
Profile and learning data
- Country, languages known, and languages being learned
- Bio, profile photo, cover photo, and other optional profile fields
- Saved words, reading progress, study activity, and quiz-related activity
Community and communication data
- Community memberships, requests, posts, comments, polls, and announcements
- Direct messages, conversation state, and message-request status
- Cafe participation, scheduling details, moderator actions, and room settings
Device, diagnostics, and permissions
- App, device, and network details needed for security and service delivery
- Crash logs and limited analytics where those features are enabled
- Permission status for notifications, microphone, camera, and photos when used
Choice
Optional information and public visibility
Not every data field is mandatory. The service needs some core account and safety information, but much of the profile and engagement layer is optional.
Usually optional
- Profile photo and cover photo
- Bio and many descriptive profile fields
- Community posts, direct messages, and support attachments
- Microphone, camera, photo-library, and notification permissions
Usually required
- At least one working sign-in method
- Name, username, language selections, and core signup information
- Technical data needed to secure and operate the service
What can become public
- Public reading pages and their metadata
- Profile and community content you choose to post publicly
- Community details when a group is configured as public
Use
How we use data
We use personal data only where we have a valid reason, including performing our contract with you, our legitimate interests in running a safe product, your consent where required, and legal obligations.
- Create and maintain accounts, profiles, and linked sign-in methods.
- Deliver reading content, saved words, practice flows, communities, and cafes.
- Send verification codes, password resets, service notifications, and reminders.
- Detect abuse, investigate reports, enforce rules, and protect users.
- Debug issues, improve reliability, and understand product performance.
- Respond to support tickets, legal requests, and deletion requests.
Rights
Your privacy rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, port, or object to certain processing of your personal data.
- Access the information we hold about you.
- Correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Request deletion where retention is no longer required.
- Object to or restrict certain processing based on legitimate interests.
- Request portability of data you provided to us where applicable.
- Withdraw consent where processing depends on consent.
- Lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority, including under the GDPR or UK GDPR where applicable.
Retention
Retention and deletion
We keep data only for as long as it is reasonably needed for the purposes described above, unless a longer period is required for safety, law, dispute handling, tax, fraud prevention, or backup recovery.
- Active account data is kept while your account remains in use.
- Support, report, and moderation records may be retained longer for safety reasons.
- Deletion requests remove or disassociate account-linked data where reasonably possible, but shared content, audit trails, or backups may remain temporarily.
- Detailed guidance about the account-deletion process is available on the delete-account page.
Security
Security and children
We use administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect personal data, but no service can guarantee absolute security.
- Use a strong password and secure your email or phone account.
- Link a backup sign-in method if you want additional recovery options.
- Language Cafe is not intended for children under 13, and we do not knowingly allow accounts below that age threshold.
- If you believe a child created an ineligible account, contact us so we can review and act.
Contact
Contact and complaints
For privacy questions, deletion requests, or rights requests, contact the support team and include enough information to identify the account safely.
Privacy support
Use email for access, correction, deletion, objection, or portability requests.
support@languagescafe.comSafety overlap
If the issue also involves harassment, impersonation, or another user, report it in-app first when possible so moderation context is preserved.
Open safety guidance