Learn Cantonese — Privacy Policy

Last updated: 23 August 2026 · iDataGear Inc

1. Who we are

iDataGear Inc ("we", "us") publishes the Learn Cantonese mobile application and the web version hosted at idatagear.com/cantonese/learncantonese/. This policy covers both. Questions go to idatagear@gmail.com.

2. Information we collect about you

Nothing that identifies you personally. We do not ask for your name, email address, phone number or date of birth. There is no registration, no login, and no user profile held on any server of ours. We have no database of users and no way to work out who you are.

The app does send anonymous usage and stability data to Google Firebase — which screens are opened, and diagnostic reports if the app crashes — together with the advertising data described in section 5. These are tied to a random, resettable identifier, not to you. See section 7.

3. Data stored on your own device

The app saves the following locally, in its own storage on your device:

• Your learning progress, streak and any test results
• Items you have saved or marked
• Your settings — chosen voice, playback speed, display language and layout preferences
• Whether you have purchased Remove Ads

This data never leaves your device. We cannot read it, we do not back it up, and there is no cloud sync. The practical consequence is worth stating plainly: uninstalling the app permanently deletes all of it, and there is no way for us or for you to recover it afterwards.

4. Microphone and speech recognition

Learn Cantonese includes pronunciation practice (多講 Speaking Practice). When you use it, the app asks for microphone permission and passes your speech to your device's own built-in speech recognition service to turn it into text.

We never receive, record or store your audio. The app only compares the text your device produced against the target text in order to score you. The microphone is active only while a speaking feature is actually on screen, and you can decline or later revoke the permission in your device settings — everything else in the app continues to work without it.

Depending on your device and settings, your operating system's speech recognition may process audio on-device or on the vendor's servers. That processing is governed by your device maker's privacy policy (for example Google's or Apple's), not by ours.

5. Advertising

In the mobile app

The app is free and is funded by ads served through Google AdMob. To show and measure ads, Google and its partners may collect and use certain information, including your device's advertising identifier, general device information, and ad interaction data. This is the only category of data in the app that leaves your device.

Where the law requires it — in the EEA, the UK and other applicable regions — the app shows a consent prompt from Google's User Messaging Platform before any ad request is made, so you can choose how your data is used for advertising. You can change that choice later from the app or your device settings.

On iPhone and iPad, the app additionally asks for permission through Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt before it can read your device's advertising identifier. Declining is entirely supported: every lesson still works, and you simply receive non-personalised ads instead. You can change your answer at any time in Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.

Users with an active subscription — or the older one-off Remove Ads purchase — see no ads at all. For them the app does not start the advertising system, and does not ask for tracking permission.

On this website

idatagear.com participates in Google AdSense. Pages on this site, including the web version of Learn Cantonese, may load Google's advertising script, which can set cookies and use your IP address and browsing activity to show and measure ads. This help, privacy and contact page set does not carry ad units.

Your advertising choices

• Reset or delete your advertising ID in your device settings at any time.
• Opt out of personalised ads at adssettings.google.com.
• Read how Google uses data at policies.google.com/technologies/ads and policies.google.com/privacy.
• Industry opt-outs: aboutads.info/choices (US) and youronlinechoices.eu (EU).
• Or remove ads entirely by subscribing — see section 6.

6. Purchases

Learn Cantonese offers optional auto-renewing subscriptions — one month or six months — which unlock the full lesson library and remove all advertising. New installs also get a free trial period before anything is locked or charged.

Payment is handled entirely by Google Play Billing on Android and the Apple App Store on iPhone and iPad. We never see or store your payment card, billing address or any other payment detail — we only receive confirmation from the store that a purchase or subscription is active. Subscriptions renew automatically until you cancel, and you can manage or cancel one at any time in your Google Play or Apple account settings.

Your entitlement is tied to your Google or Apple account, not to your device, so it can be restored on a new phone with Settings → McCantonese Premium → Restore.

7. What we share

We do not sell your data, and we do not share it with anyone for our own purposes. The only third parties involved are the ones described above:

• Google AdMob and its advertising partners — to deliver and measure ads in the app.
• Google AdSense — to deliver and measure ads on this website.
• Google Play and the Apple App Store — to process subscriptions and purchases.
• Google Firebase Analytics — anonymous, aggregated usage statistics, such as which lessons are opened, so we know what to improve.
• Google Firebase Crashlytics — automatic diagnostic reports when the app crashes, so we can fix it.
• Your device's speech recognition provider — only while you are using pronunciation practice.

Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics are tied to a random, resettable identifier rather than to your identity, and neither is used to build an advertising profile of you. We use no social media trackers in the app.

8. Internet access

The learning content is bundled with the app and stored on your device, so the material itself works without a connection. The app still reaches the network to request ads, to verify a purchase, and — on first launch — to fetch its display font. Speech features may also need a connection or a one-time voice download depending on your device.

9. Children

Learn Cantonese is intended for a general audience and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us at idatagear@gmail.com and we will act on it — though in practice, because the app collects nothing and requires no account, there is normally nothing for us to hold or delete.

10. Your rights and choices

• Delete everything: uninstall the app. All locally stored data goes with it.
• Revoke microphone access: your device's app permission settings, at any time.
• Reset your advertising ID or opt out of personalised ads: your device settings.
• Change your ad-consent choice (EEA/UK): via the in-app consent prompt.
• Remove ads: the one-off in-app purchase.
• Ask us anything: idatagear@gmail.com.

Because we hold no personal data about you, there is nothing for us to export, correct or erase on request — but if you would like that confirmed in writing, just ask.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the app changes. The date at the top always reflects the current version. Material changes will be noted on this page.

12. Contact

iDataGear Inc
Email: idatagear@gmail.com
Web: www.idatagear.com