Privacy Policy
This policy explains what the Fluent Bear app and its servers collect, why, and the choices you have. Fluent Bear is operated by YA Industries LLC ("we"). We do not sell your personal information, show third-party ads, or track you across other companies' apps and websites.
What we collect
| Data | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A random installation identifier | When you first open the app (guest mode) | To keep your guest library and progress, and to sign you in on this device |
| Email address | If you sign in with an email code, or your Apple or Google account shares it | To create your account, send sign-in codes and answer support requests |
| Name | If Apple or Google shares it when you sign in | To show your name in your profile |
| Apple or Google account identifier | If you sign in with Apple or Google | To recognise your account. For Apple, we also keep a token so we can revoke Sign in with Apple when you delete your account |
| Learning activity: reading and listening progress, saved courses, bookmarks, highlights, notes, practice completion, attempt counts, your latest practice score and the items you missed, and preferences | As you use the app | To sync your library and progress between your devices, resume where you left off, and show your practice results |
| Your learning preferences: subjects you're interested in, your goal, how many minutes a day you want to study, and how you rate your own level in a subject | Only if you answer the optional questions when you first open the app, or later under Profile → Personalize Home. You can skip them | To choose which courses and sections to show you on Home |
| How you use Home: which sections and courses appear on your screen, which ones you tap or open, and courses you mark "Not interested" | As you use the Home screen | To personalise Home for you, and to measure which sections are useful so we can improve them |
| Listening activity: which chapter you listened to, for how long, and how much of it | When you play chapter audio | To resume audio where you left off, personalise Home, and improve courses |
| Ratings and feedback: a 1–5 star course rating with an optional comment, and whether you found a chapter helpful | Only if you choose to give them (signed-in accounts) | To improve courses and to recommend courses to others |
| Language, time zone and approximate location: your app language and time zone from your device settings, and your country (and, where our network provider supplies it, state or region) worked out from your connection's IP address | When the app talks to our servers | To show content in your language, at a sensible time of day, and suited to where you are. We do not use GPS or collect your precise location |
| Technical logs: IP address, device and app version, request times and errors | When the app talks to our servers | To keep the service secure and working, and to fix problems |
We use this information only to provide, personalise and improve Fluent Bear. We do not use it for advertising and we do not ask for your age.
When we look at how Home sections perform, we use daily totals. We do not show statistics for any group of fewer than five learners.
Data stored on your device
Downloaded courses and audio, and a local copy of your library, are stored on your device so the app works offline. Removing the app removes its local data files; it does not delete your server account. Use the account-deletion action in the app to delete that account.
Who processes it for us
We use service providers who process data on our behalf and under our instructions:
- DigitalOcean (United States): our application servers and managed PostgreSQL database.
- Cloudflare: our website, private media storage and delivery, network security, and transactional sign-in email delivery.
- Apple and Google: Sign in with Apple and Google sign-in, if you choose them. Their own privacy policies apply to your Apple and Google accounts.
- Google Workspace: our support email inbox when you contact us.
We may disclose information if the law requires it, to protect the rights and safety of our users or of us, or as part of a merger or acquisition, in which case this policy continues to apply to it.
How long we keep it
- Home usage and listening activity: deleted automatically after 180 days, or sooner if you delete your account. After that we keep only daily totals that do not identify you.
- Account and account-scoped learning data, including your learning preferences, ratings and feedback: until you delete your account. Independent guest activity saved before sign-in may remain separately on the installation unless it was merged into the account.
- Standalone guest learning data on our servers: removed in the next daily sweep after six calendar months without activity. We keep the installation identifier and its authentication binding so a returning device can reconnect safely. Guest data retained by a signed-in installation or awaiting a merge into an account remains protected until that relationship is resolved. This does not erase files stored on your device; retained local data may be synced again when you return.
- Sign-in codes expire after 10 minutes. Verification records, including your email address and the hashed code, are removed in the next daily cleanup after seven days from expiry or use, whichever comes first.
- Operational logs are rotated automatically by size rather than a fixed number of days. Our managed PostgreSQL provider retains its daily backups for seven days, so deleted records may remain in those backups until they expire.
Your choices and rights
- Delete your account in the app under Profile → Profile & account → Delete account. This deletes your signed-in account and its account-scoped learning data, including your learning preferences, Home and listening activity, ratings and feedback. This also invalidates your sign-in sessions. Independent guest activity and cached files may remain separately. We also request revocation of Sign in with Apple when the required Apple token is available.
- Change or clear your learning preferences at any time under Profile → Personalize Home, or skip the questions entirely.
- Hide courses you don't want on Home with "Not interested".
- Access or correct your information, or ask any privacy question, by emailing support@fluentbear.app.
- Depending on where you live (for example the EU, UK or California), you may have further rights, such as to obtain a copy of your data or object to processing. Email us and we will respond within the time the law requires.
Security
Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS) and at rest on our servers. Access is limited to the people and services that operate Fluent Bear.
Children
Fluent Bear is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has given us personal information, email us and we will delete it.
Changes
We will post any change to this policy on this page with a new effective date, and tell you in the app if the change is significant.
Contact
YA Industries LLC
Registered office: 5900 Balcones Drive, Suite 100
Austin, TX 78731, United States
support@fluentbear.app