Phrasebox for iOS — Privacy Policy

Article 1 (Purpose)

This Policy sets forth the information handled by the Application, the places in which such information is stored, the extent to which any such information is made available to the Developer or to any third party, and the means available to the User with respect to such information.

Article 2 (Definitions)

In this Policy, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below:

• (a) "User" means any person who installs or uses the Application;
• (b) "Account" means the account of the User in the Application, which is created anonymously on the first launch of the Application and which the User may link to an Apple account or a Google account;
• (c) "Phrase Data" means the information the User keeps in the Application, namely each Japanese sentence and its English phrasings, the tags, the scene notes, the records of reviews, and the records of each time the User used a phrase (「使えた」) together with the scene, the reaction and the memo the User adds to such a record;
• (d) "AI Suggestion" means the English phrasings of a Japanese sentence that the Application obtains from the AI service described in the Article entitled "AI English Suggestions"; and
• (e) "Usage Data" means the usage statistics concerning the Application that are collected by means of Google Firebase Analytics, as further specified in this Policy.

Article 3 (Information Handled)

The Application does not ask for the name, address or telephone number of the User, contains no advertising, does not collect the advertising identifier of the device, and does not track the User across applications or websites.

Information leaves the device of the User only in the following cases, each of which is described in this Policy: the Account and the synchronisation of Phrase Data; an AI Suggestion requested by the User and a report on an AI Suggestion; push notifications; Usage Data; crash reports; feedback the User chooses to send; the verification that requests come from the genuine Application; the backup of the device; and an export file the User chooses to create.

Google LLC and its affiliates (hereinafter "Google") process the information described in this Policy on behalf of the Developer as service providers, through Google Firebase (Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Cloud Functions, Cloud Messaging, App Check, Analytics and Crashlytics) and Google Cloud Vertex AI. The Developer does not sell information concerning the User and does not provide it to any third party for that third party's own purposes.

Article 4 (Account and Synchronisation)

On the first launch, the Application creates an anonymous Account by means of Firebase Authentication, without asking the User for any information. The Account is identified by a randomly generated user identifier. Phrase Data is stored on the device of the User and is synchronised, under that identifier, to Cloud Firestore of Google Firebase, where the security rules of the Developer permit only the Account concerned to read or write it. While the Account is anonymous, Phrase Data cannot be recovered on another device or after the Application is deleted.

Where the User chooses to sign in with Apple or with Google, the anonymous Account is linked to that Apple account or Google account, and Firebase Authentication keeps the email address of that account (which, in the case of Sign in with Apple, may be a relay address provided by Apple) and the identifier issued by Apple or Google. The Account then allows the User to restore Phrase Data on another device on which the User signs in with the same account. The Developer does not receive the password of any such account.

In addition to Phrase Data, the following information is kept under the Account in order to operate the Application: the date and version of the consent of the User to the AI English suggestions, and its withdrawal; the number of AI Suggestions requested on each day; the sentences waiting for their English; and, for each installation of the Application that receives push notifications, the information described in the Article entitled "Notifications".

Article 5 (AI English Suggestions)

The Application suggests English phrasings for a Japanese sentence by means of the AI model Claude provided through Google Cloud Vertex AI. Nothing is sent for this purpose until the User has agreed on the consent screen shown before the first use; the User may also use the Application without agreeing, by entering the English himself or herself.

Once the User has agreed, the Application sends, for each sentence the User asks to put into English (by tapping 「英語にする」, or by saving a sentence to wait for its English, for example from the share menu), only the following: that Japanese sentence; the English the User has tried to say for it, where the User enters one; the correction the User makes to the assumption stated in a suggestion, where the User makes one; and, for a follow-up request, the kind of follow-up and the English phrasings already shown. No other Phrase Data, tag, note or record is sent. The request is sent through Cloud Functions of the Developer, which checks the Account and the consent and counts the request against the daily limit before the request reaches Vertex AI.

The request is processed by Google on behalf of the Developer through the global endpoint of Vertex AI, and may therefore be processed in a data centre outside Japan. The request is not used to train AI models, and is kept and deleted in accordance with the terms of Google Cloud. The AI Suggestion the User saves becomes part of Phrase Data. The Developer does not record the text of the sentences in its logs.

The User may withdraw the consent at any time under 「AI とプライバシー」 in the settings of the Application, after which no sentence is sent to the AI service until the User agrees again.

Where the User chooses to report an AI Suggestion (「この英語を報告」), the Application sends to Cloud Functions of the Developer the Japanese sentence, the English phrasing reported, the reason the User chooses, the comment the User writes, if any, and the identifier of the phrase; the report is stored together with the user identifier of the Account and the version of the AI model and of its instructions. Reports are kept apart from every other user and are used solely for checking and improving the quality of AI Suggestions.

Article 6 (Notifications)

Where the User allows notifications, the Application registers with Firebase Cloud Messaging a push token of the installation, which is stored under the Account together with the platform of the device and the language of the Application, and is used solely to notify the User that the English of a waiting sentence is ready. Such a notification contains the beginning of the Japanese sentence concerned.

In the iOS version of the Application, push notifications are delivered to the device by Firebase Cloud Messaging through the Apple Push Notification service.

The daily review reminder and the scene reminders are scheduled on the device by the Application and delivered by the operating system; no such reminder is sent through any server.

Article 7 (Usage Statistics)

In order to improve the Application, the Application uses Google Firebase Analytics to collect Usage Data. Usage Data consists of (a) events concerning the use of the Application, each of which carries only numbers, true-or-false values and values chosen from a fixed list, namely: the completion of the first use; the saving of a phrase, with the place it was saved from, whether it was typed or spoken, whether it was saved with AI, by hand or to wait, whether the device was offline, and the time taken; the giving and withdrawal of the consent to AI; the showing of AI Suggestions, with the time taken, the number of phrasings, and whether the User had tried an English or an assumption was stated; the saving of an AI Suggestion, with its position and whether it was edited; a follow-up request and its kind; a report on an AI Suggestion and its reason; the failure of an AI Suggestion and its stage; the reaching of the daily limit; a hint about a similar phrase and whether it was opened; the applying of a tag, with the number of tags; the start and completion of a review, with the number of cards due or reviewed, the number answered again and the duration; the recording of a use of a phrase, with where it was recorded, the scene and reaction chosen and whether a memo was added; the playing of speech; the setting of a reminder and its kind; the opening of the Application from a notification and its kind; the tapping of a widget and its kind; the linking of the Account, with the provider and the number of phrases; the deletion of the Account; the completion of an export or import, with the number of rows; and the sending of feedback; and (b) the information that Google Firebase Analytics records for any application, such as the device model, the operating system version, the version of the Application, the language of the device, an approximate location derived by Google from the network address of the device, and the times at which the Application is opened.

Usage Data never includes any sentence, English phrasing, tag name, note or memo of the User, the email address of the User, or the user identifier of the Account; it is associated with a randomly generated identifier assigned to the installation of the Application. The Application does not collect the advertising identifier of the device and does not permit Usage Data to be used for advertising.

The Developer uses Usage Data solely for the purposes of understanding how the Application is used and improving it. Usage Data is processed on behalf of the Developer by Google (see Firebase privacy information).

Article 8 (Crash Reports)

Where the Application stops unexpectedly or meets an error, the Application sends a crash report to Google Firebase Crashlytics, consisting of the technical record of the error, the screen on which it occurred, the device model, the operating system version, the version of the Application and a randomly generated identifier of the installation. A crash report never includes any sentence, tag name, note or memo of the User. The Developer uses crash reports solely to find and correct errors in the Application.

Article 9 (Feedback)

Where the User chooses to send feedback from the settings of the Application (「ご意見・不具合」) and taps the button to send it, the Application sends to the server of the Developer (api.shosin-labs.com) the kind of feedback, the text the User writes, the email address for a reply, if the User enters one, the version of the Application and of the operating system, and the device model. No Phrase Data is sent. The Developer uses such information solely to reply to the User and to improve the Application, and does not share it with any third party.

Article 10 (Verification of the Application)

In order to prevent the misuse of its backend, the Developer accepts requests to Cloud Functions only from the genuine Application, as verified by Firebase App Check.

In the iOS version of the Application, Firebase App Check relies on App Attest, a service of Apple that confirms to the backend that a request comes from the genuine Application on a genuine device.

Article 11 (Access to Functions of the Device)

Microphone: where the User chooses to say a sentence instead of typing it, the Application asks for permission to use the microphone and turns the speech into text with the speech recognition of the operating system, on the device where the device supports it. The Developer does not receive the audio.

Calendar: where the User chooses to be reminded of phrases before an event in the calendar, the Application asks for permission to read the calendar, and compares the titles of upcoming events with the keywords the User sets, on the device. The Application does not change the calendar, and does not send its contents anywhere.

Notifications: the Application asks for permission to send notifications only after the User chooses a reminder time.

The Application does not use the location of the device, the contacts of the User, or the photographs of the User. Speech played by the Application is produced by the text-to-speech function of the operating system.

Article 12 (Rating Prompt)

After the User has recorded the fifth use of a phrase, the Application asks once, through the rating prompt of the App Store provided by Apple, for a rating of the Application. Any rating or review the User gives is submitted to Apple under its terms; the Developer does not learn whether the User has given one.

Article 13 (Backup and Export)

In the iOS version of the Application, the data the Application stores on the device may be included in the backup of the device that the User makes to iCloud or to a computer. Such a backup is held by Apple or on the computer of the User, is subject to the terms between the User and Apple, and is not accessible to the Developer.

Where the User chooses to export the phrases, the Application writes them to a CSV file (the Japanese, the English, the other phrasings, the tags, the notes, the numbers of reviews and of uses, and the date of creation) and hands it to the User, who decides where it is saved or sent. The Developer does not receive the file.

Article 14 (Children)

The Application is intended for users aged 13 and over. It is not directed to children under the age of 13, and the Developer does not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13.

Article 15 (Deletion of the Account and of Information)

The User may delete the Account at any time from 「設定」→「アカウント」→「アカウントを削除」 in the Application. A User who has linked the Account to an Apple account or a Google account may also delete it at phrasebox.web.app/delete-account by signing in with that account. The deletion removes every document kept under the Account in Cloud Firestore, including Phrase Data, the consent record, the daily counts and the push tokens, and the Account itself from Firebase Authentication; where the Account was signed in with Apple, the Developer also asks Apple to revoke the authorisation of Sign in with Apple. The deletion cannot be undone, and the User may export the phrases beforehand.

The uninstallation of the Application deletes the data stored by the Application on the device of the User. A backup of the device or an export file the User has made is deleted by the User where it is kept.

Reports on AI Suggestions, feedback and Usage Data are not kept under the Account and are therefore not removed by the deletion of the Account. The User may request the deletion of any of them by contacting the Developer at the address set forth in the Article entitled "Contact".

Article 16 (External Transmission / 外部送信に関する公表事項)

本アプリは、電気通信事業法第27条の12に基づき、利用者の端末から外部へ送信される利用者に関する情報について、以下のとおり公表します。

本アプリは、氏名、住所、電話番号、広告識別子を送信しません。AI への送信は、アプリの「設定」→「AI とプライバシー」からいつでも取り消せます。アカウントとその下のデータは、アプリの「設定」→「アカウント」→「アカウントを削除」、または phrasebox.web.app/delete-account から削除できます。そのほかの送信済みの情報の削除は、下記「Contact」の連絡先までご依頼ください。

Article 17 (Amendment of this Policy)

The Developer may amend this Policy from time to time. In the event of any such amendment, the Developer shall revise the date of last update indicated at the top of this page.

Article 18 (Contact)

Inquiries concerning this Policy shall be directed to the Developer at support@shosin-labs.com.