Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

LingoMate (“LingoMate,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a language practice app operated by Indigenoustech. It is designed for practicing languages with AI (Lingo AI) and, where eligible, with other people for language practice—not for dating, meeting offline, or exchanging private contact details. This Privacy Policy explains how we handle information when you use the LingoMate mobile applications on Android and iOS, and our website at lingomate.site.

Contact: hello@lingomate.site

2. Information we collect

Depending on how you use LingoMate, we may process:

• Account information — email address, password (stored by our authentication provider), and optional display name when you create an account.
• People profile — birth date (for age checks), country, native/learning languages, and a short intro if you use People chat.
• Practice content — text and voice messages you send in AI chat, plus AI-generated replies and translations needed to run the conversation.
• People messages — text you exchange with other users in People chats, stored on our servers so both people can see the thread. Messages may be filtered for safety (for example contact details or abusive language).
• Reports and blocks — when you report or block someone, we store the report reason, optional note, and related account identifiers to review abuse.
• Preferences — language, level, theme, and related settings stored on your device.
• Usage and entitlement data — approximate daily message/voice counts and Plus status used to apply free-tier limits and features.
• Device and push data — device platform and push notification tokens (when you grant permission), so we can send practice reminders if enabled.
• Support messages — content you send us by email (for example reports or support requests).
• Advertising identifiers — on free tier, advertising partners may collect device advertising IDs and similar data to show ads (see Ads below).

AI practice chat history for each language and level is stored locally on your device by default. People chats are stored in the cloud. We do not use your conversations to train public foundation models for unrelated third-party products.

3. How we use information

• Provide and operate LingoMate for language practice, including AI chat and voice features.
• Match users and deliver People messaging for language practice (Plus, 18+).
• Authenticate your account and keep you signed in.
• Apply free-tier limits and Plus features.
• Filter People messages (for example attempts to share phone numbers, emails, social apps, or payment details) and process reports/blocks for safety.
• Send optional practice reminders when you allow notifications.
• Show ads to free-tier users.
• Respond to support and safety reports.
• Maintain security, prevent abuse, and improve reliability.
• Comply with law and enforce our Terms of Use.

4. Keeping chats on language practice

LingoMate is for practicing languages. Do not put private contact details, payment information, or other sensitive personal data in Lingo AI or People chat. Do not ask other users for phone numbers, email addresses, social media accounts, or to continue chatting outside the app. If someone asks you for those things, do not share them—use report/block and contact us if needed. We may filter or remove such content when we detect it, but filters are not perfect; you remain responsible for what you send.

5. AI processing

To generate replies, transcriptions, translations, and (for Plus) higher-quality speech, conversation content you submit may be sent to our cloud infrastructure and AI service providers (for example Google Gemini via our backend). Content is processed to deliver the feature you requested. Do not share secrets, payment card numbers, private contact details, or other sensitive personal data in chat.

6. Ads (free tier)

Free accounts may see banner ads served by Google AdMob. AdMob and its partners may use cookies, advertising IDs, and similar technologies to serve and measure ads. Plus users are not shown these ads. You can learn more in Google’s advertising policies and, where available, adjust ad personalization in your device settings.

7. Service providers

We use trusted providers to run LingoMate, including:

• Firebase (authentication, cloud database, messaging infrastructure)
• Google AI / Gemini (language and speech features)
• Google AdMob (ads on free tier)
• Apple App Store and Google Play (distribution and, when enabled, billing)

These providers process data under their own terms and privacy policies, only as needed to provide their services to us.

8. Data retention

Account data is kept while your account is active. Local AI chat history remains on your device until you clear it or uninstall the app. People messages and profiles are kept while needed to run the feature and for safety review of reports. Push tokens are updated or removed when you sign out or revoke permission. Support emails are kept as long as needed to resolve your request and meet legal obligations. We may delete or anonymize data sooner when it is no longer needed.

9. Your choices and rights

• Update preferences (language, level, theme) in the app.
• Clear local chat history from chat settings.
• Revoke microphone or notification permission in system settings.
• Sign out of your account from chat settings.
• Request access, correction, or deletion of account data by emailing hello@lingomate.site.

Depending on where you live (for example EEA/UK or certain US states), you may have additional rights under applicable privacy laws. We will respond to valid requests within a reasonable time.

10. Children

Lingo AI is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age required in your country). People chat (human matching and messaging) is limited to users 18 and older; we use birth date to enforce that gate. We do not knowingly allow under-18 users into People chat. If you believe a child has provided us data improperly, contact us and we will take appropriate steps.

11. Security and international transfers

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. Our providers may process data in the United States and other countries. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards for cross-border transfers.

12. Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the revised version on this page and update the “Last updated” date. Continued use of LingoMate after changes means you accept the updated policy.

13. Contact

Questions about privacy: hello@lingomate.site. See also our Terms of Use.