Privacy Policy

Last updated: 25 September 2026

HearThai Academy (“we”, “us”) is operated by HearGlobal LLC, a limited liability company registered in the State of New Mexico, USA, with its registered address at 1209 Mountain Road Pl NE, STE N, Albuquerque, NM 87110, USA. HearGlobal LLC is the data controller for personal data processed through HearThai Academy, on the web at academy.hearthai.app and in the HearThai Academy app for iPhone, iPad and Android. This policy explains what we collect, why, and your rights. Questions: [email protected].

What we collect

Account: your email address; a securely hashed password if you choose to set one; and, while they are valid, one-way hashes of the one-time sign-in codes and links we email you. We use your email to sign you in and to contact you about your account.
Learning data: your progress, saved words, and settings, stored with your account so they follow you across the web and the app.
Payments: on the web, payment is handled by Stripe; we receive confirmation of payment and a transaction reference. In the app, payment is handled by Apple (App Store) or Google (Google Play); we receive the store's signed record of the purchase (product, transaction id, date, and whether it was later refunded) so we can unlock your account. We never see or store your card details.
Technical: standard server/CDN logs (IP, device/browser, timestamps) for security and reliability, via Cloudflare.
First-party product analytics: while you are signed in, we record pseudonymous usage of our own app (such as pages or screens viewed and their order, time spent, session length, return visits, which features and lesson groups you use, and aggregate friction signals) on our own systems, to understand and improve HearThai Academy. This is coarse and product-level: we never store which specific word or clip you played. It is kept on our infrastructure, is not sold, and is not shared with advertisers.
Aggregate traffic statistics (website): to count how many people visit our pages each day, our own server records each page load with the page path, the referring site, any campaign tags in the link you arrived from, your country, and a coarse device type. To count daily unique visitors without tracking you, the server derives a one-way hash that changes every day and stores neither your IP address nor your browser details; it cannot be linked back to you or followed across days. This uses no cookie and stores nothing on your device, so it does not depend on the cookie banner. It is kept on our infrastructure, is not sold, and is not shared with advertisers.
App analytics and crash reports (iPhone, iPad and Android app): the app uses Google Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics. They collect crash reports (stack trace, device model, OS and app version), diagnostic and performance data, the Firebase installation id and app instance id, your HearThai Academy account id, product interaction (screens viewed, audio played, exercise rounds completed, words saved, sign-up, checkout started and purchase completed with price and currency), and the approximate country or region Google derives from your IP address. They are used only to understand how the app is used and to fix crashes. No name, email address, free text, or anything you type or say is sent to them. No advertising identifier is used, and nothing is used to track you across other companies' apps or websites. Google's privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy.
Support messages: if you contact us through the help form, we keep your message and our reply with your account so we can help you.
Microphone: the speaking and pronunciation exercises record your voice only on your device, so you can play it back and compare it with the model audio. Recordings are never uploaded and never stored on our servers. The microphone is used only while you are recording, and only after you grant permission.

Why we use it (legal basis)

To provide the service and your account on the web and in the app (performance of contract).
To process your one-time purchase, unlock your account wherever you sign in, and issue receipts (contract / legal obligation).
To send essential transactional email: sign-in codes and links, email verification and password-reset links, trial reminders, purchase receipts, and account notices (legitimate interest / contract).
To keep the service secure and prevent abuse (legitimate interest).
To understand and improve how our own app is used and to fix crashes, via first-party product analytics and, in the app, Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics (legitimate interest). You can object at any time by contacting us.

Who we share with (sub-processors)

Cloudflare: hosting, CDN, database, and edge security.
Stripe: payment processing for purchases made on the website.
Apple: payment processing for in-app purchases made through the App Store, and app distribution. When a customer asks Apple for a refund of an in-app purchase, we send Apple summary usage information about that purchase (account age, how much of the content was used, and purchase and refund totals) so Apple can decide the request.
Google Play: payment processing for in-app purchases made through Google Play, and app distribution.
Google Firebase (Analytics and Crashlytics): app usage analytics and crash reporting in the iPhone, iPad and Android app.
Anthropic: the text of support messages you send us is processed by Anthropic's AI service to help us draft a reply, which a person reviews before it is sent.
Resend: transactional email delivery.
Google Analytics (GA4): consent-gated product analytics on the website.
Meta (Facebook) Pixel & Conversions API: consent-gated advertising measurement on the website; where enabled it matches activity to Meta accounts using hashed identifiers (such as a hashed email) to measure and improve our ads.

We do not sell your personal data.

Cookies

We use one essential cookie (hts_session) to keep you signed in on the website. With your consent (via our cookie banner) we also use analytics and advertising tools on the website, Google Analytics and the Meta Pixel / Conversions API (including advanced matching, which sends hashed identifiers such as your email), to measure site use and ad performance. These load only if you choose “Accept all,” and you can decline with “Essential only.” The app uses no cookies and no advertising tools.

Your rights

Under Thailand's PDPA and the EU/UK GDPR you may request to access, correct, delete, or export your data, and to withdraw consent. Email [email protected] and we'll respond within the legally required timeframe. You can delete your account yourself at any time from the Account page on the website or in the app.

Retention & deletion

We keep your data while your account is active. When you delete your account, we delete your account, learning data, saved words, purchase and store-purchase records, support messages, sign-in sessions, product-analytics events, and the ad-attribution and usage records tied to your account. We keep only: (a) a security log of account events (such as sign-in, purchase and deletion) linked to your former account id; and (b) a one-way hash of your email address, which cannot be read back, used only to stop the same address from claiming a second free trial. Stripe, Apple and Google keep their own payment records under their own policies and legal obligations. Firebase data is kept under Google's retention settings and is not linked to your email address. We use encryption in transit and reputable infrastructure providers.

International transfer

Our providers operate globally; data may be processed outside Thailand/your country under appropriate safeguards.

Children

The service is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age in your country). We do not knowingly collect their data.

YouTube API Services

HearGlobal LLC uses YouTube API Services, but only as an internal publishing tool, to upload and manage the lesson content on our own YouTube channel. It is not a feature of HearThai Academy that you interact with.

Users of our API client: none. The tool is internal to us. It does not access, collect, or store any YouTube user data from our visitors or app users, and it does not touch your Google or YouTube account in any way.
By using our services that interact with YouTube content, you also agree to the YouTube Terms of Service (https://www.youtube.com/t/terms).
Google's own Privacy Policy governs Google's handling of data (http://www.google.com/policies/privacy).
What we store: a single OAuth refresh token for our own channel, held securely outside the HearThai Academy application. No other YouTube data is stored. Retention: it is kept only while our publishing tool is in service and is deleted when the tool is decommissioned, or sooner on request via [email protected].
Revoking access: the authorized access can be revoked at any time through your Google security settings (https://security.google.com/settings/security/permissions).

Changes

We'll post updates here and revise the date above. Material changes will be notified by email where appropriate.