Tako Talk Privacy Policy
Effective August 25, 2026
Tako Talk is an AI-assisted Japanese-learning app operated by Tetsuya Maeda. This policy explains the information we process, why we use it, and the choices available to you.
Information we process
- Account information: a Firebase user identifier and information made available by Apple or Google sign-in, such as your name and email address.
- Learning information: preferences, saved vocabulary, review progress, companion progress, and memories or upcoming events that you approve. A minimized learning snapshot is synced across your devices.
- Conversation and audio content: messages, audio, and transcriptions are processed to provide AI conversation, speech, readings, and feedback. Raw audio and full conversation content are not placed in our server operational logs. Conversation history remains on your device unless you remove it.
- Journey speaking recordings: recordings made for immediate listen-and-compare practice remain in the app’s temporary storage, are never uploaded, and are discarded when you leave or background the lesson.
- Purchase information: Apple-signed transactions, product and entitlement status, and opaque account tokens used to verify and restore Tako Talk Plus.
- Security and operations: installation and app version information, App Attest and DeviceCheck proof, bounded usage counts, route, status, latency, and sanitized error categories used to protect and operate the service.
- Optional usage analytics: only after you choose “Share limited usage data,” Firebase Analytics processes feature events and coarse app/device information. Analytics events never contain your voice, messages, name, email, Firebase user ID, or free-form text.
- Crash diagnostics: Firebase Crashlytics processes crash traces, app version, device/OS details, and technical identifiers needed to diagnose reliability problems. We do not attach conversation, account, or profile values to crash reports.
- YouTube thumbnails and video playback: Journey loads video thumbnails from YouTube when you open a video example, sharing your IP address and request information. Thumbnail requests do not use stored cookies or a disk cache. The privacy-enhanced YouTube player loads only after you choose to play a reviewed example. During playback, Google/YouTube may receive your IP address, approximate location, device information, player interactions, advertising information, and diagnostics under Google’s policies. The player uses a non-persistent web data store, and Tako Talk does not download or cache YouTube audio or video.
How we use information
We use information to authenticate accounts, sync learning progress, personalize learning, generate AI responses and speech, verify purchases, prevent abuse, enforce service limits, fix crashes, and operate Tako Talk. Optional analytics is used only to understand and improve product flows.
Analytics choice
Analytics is off until you make a separate choice. Creating an account is not consent to analytics, declining does not change app functionality, and advertising storage and personalization remain disabled. You can allow or withdraw analytics at any time in Settings → Data & Privacy.
Service providers and disclosure
Tako Talk uses Apple for sign-in, device integrity, and App Store purchases. It uses Google services including Firebase Authentication, Firestore, Analytics, Crashlytics, Cloud Run, Hosting, Gemini, and YouTube for account services, secure storage, diagnostics, hosting, AI processing, and learner-initiated video examples. Providers process information under their own terms and privacy commitments. We may disclose information when required by law or to protect users and the service.
We do not sell personal information or track you across other companies’ apps and websites. The standard YouTube player may show ads under Google’s policies; Tako Talk does not operate its own advertising network.
Journey video playback is also subject to the YouTube Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy.
Storage and international processing
Your account and synchronized learning snapshot remain until you delete them. Security challenges, usage ledgers, subscription status, diagnostic records, and fraud-prevention records are retained only as needed to provide and protect the service, meet legal obligations, and resolve disputes. Apple may retain purchase records independently. Our production backend is hosted in the United States, and Apple and Google may process information in other countries where they operate.
Your choices and rights
You can export or remove conversations and learning data in the app. You can delete your Tako Talk account from Settings after reauthentication; this removes the synchronized learning snapshot and Firebase account. Account deletion does not cancel an App Store subscription, which is managed separately through Apple.
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or restrict certain processing. Contact us to make a request.
Security, changes, and contact
We use transport encryption, short-lived credentials, Apple device-integrity checks, access controls, and minimized server identifiers. No system is completely secure. We may update this policy as Tako Talk changes and will update the effective date or provide additional notice when required.
Questions or privacy requests: support@maepace.com