Privacy Policy

Esango — Basque Language Learning App

Effective date:

This policy is written in English. Versions in Spanish (Castellano) and French (Français) are available on request at [email protected].

1. Who We Are

Esango is an AI-powered Basque language learning app built around voice conversation practice. The data controller is the individual founder, operating under Spanish law. For any privacy questions, contact us at [email protected].

2. What Data We Collect

Account data

When you create an account, we collect your email address, a username you choose, and your date of birth. Your date of birth is used solely to determine whether you are eligible for voice data features (age 16 or older) and is never shared with third parties.

Learning data

We store your session transcripts, vocabulary words learned, curriculum progress, streak count, and session history. This data is essential for tracking your learning and providing personalised conversation practice.

Voice data

During every session, your voice is processed in real time by a speech-to-text service to convert your speech into text. This is how the app works — without it, Miren cannot understand you. This real-time processing does not retain your audio.

Separately, if you explicitly opt in (via the voice consent screen or Settings → Voice data), we may retain voice recordings to improve Basque speech recognition technology and contribute to academic research. You can withdraw this consent at any time.

Usage data

We collect basic usage information such as session frequency, duration, and feature usage. This is used solely for product improvement and is never sold or shared for advertising.

Payment data

Payments are handled entirely by Paddle, our merchant of record. We never see, process, or store your credit card details, bank information, or billing address. Paddle handles all payment processing, invoicing, and tax compliance on our behalf.

3. Legal Basis (GDPR)

• Contract: Account data and learning data are necessary to provide you with the service you signed up for.
• Legitimate interest: Usage analytics help us improve the product. We process only what is necessary and do not use this data for profiling or advertising.
• Consent: Voice recording retention is based on your explicit opt-in consent, which can be withdrawn at any time in Settings → Voice data.

4. Voice Recordings

This is important, so we want to be very clear:

• Real-time processing: Every time you speak to Miren, your audio is sent to a speech-to-text service and converted to text. This happens in real time and the audio is not retained by us after conversion.
• Optional retention: If you opt in, we may retain voice recordings to train and improve Basque language speech recognition models, and to contribute to research by HiTZ / UPV-EHU (University of the Basque Country).
• No effect on app access: Refusing voice consent does not limit your access to any feature. You can use Esango fully without ever opting in.
• Under 16: Users under 16 years old are never offered the voice consent option. Their audio is processed in real time only and is never retained.
• Withdrawal: You can withdraw consent at any time via Settings → Voice data. Previously retained recordings will be deleted.

5. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate Esango:

• Anthropic (Claude API) — generates Miren's conversation responses. Your text transcripts are sent to Anthropic's API. Anthropic Privacy Policy
• Google Cloud (Speech-to-Text) — converts your spoken audio to text. Google Cloud Privacy
• ElevenLabs — generates Miren's spoken voice from text. ElevenLabs Privacy Policy
• Supabase — database and user authentication, hosted in the EU. Supabase Privacy Policy
• Paddle — payment processing and tax compliance as merchant of record. Paddle Privacy Policy
• HiTZ / UPV-EHU — Basque language technology research. Only anonymised voice data shared, only with your explicit consent.

6. Data Retention

• Account data: Retained while your account is active. Permanently deleted immediately when you delete your account (Settings → Account → Delete account).
• Session transcripts: Retained for progress tracking while your account is active. Deleted with your account.
• Voice recordings (opted-in): Retained until you withdraw consent or delete your account, whichever comes first.
• Payment records: Retained by Paddle as required by applicable tax law. We do not store payment data ourselves.

7. Your Rights

Under the GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access your personal data
• Rectify inaccurate data
• Erase your data (“right to be forgotten”)
• Port your data to another service
• Restrict processing of your data
• Object to processing based on legitimate interest

You can exercise most of these rights directly in the app via the Settings page. For any request we cannot handle in-app, email [email protected] and we will respond within 30 days.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority: the AEPD (Spain) or the CNIL (France).

8. Children and Minors

Esango is available to learners of all ages for Basque language practice. However:

• Users under 16 years old (or under 15 in France) are never offered voice data consent.
• We do not knowingly collect sensitive personal data from minors.
• The voice data consent section in Settings is hidden entirely for users under 16.

9. International Data Transfers

Some of our processors (Anthropic, ElevenLabs) are based in the United States. Data transfers to these services are covered by Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) as required by GDPR. Our primary database (Supabase) is hosted in the EU.

10. Cookies

We use only essential session cookies required for authentication and app functionality. We do not use advertising cookies, tracking cookies, or analytics cookies. No cookie consent banner is needed beyond this notice.

11. Changes to This Policy

If we make material changes to this privacy policy, we will notify you via email at the address associated with your account. The effective date at the top of this page will be updated.