Privacy Policy

• We only collect data needed to run, secure, and improve the Service.
• We do not sell your personal information.
• We do not serve third-party advertisements inside the app.
• The Service is intended for users aged 13 and over.
• You can export or delete your account at any time, from inside the app or by emailing us.

We collect information you provide directly and information generated when you use the Service.

2.1 Information you provide

• Account data: name (or display name), email address, password (hashed), and optional profile photo.
• Learning profile: native language, languages you are learning, learning goals, and skill level.
• User content: messages in community posts, comments, ratings, and feedback submitted to support.
• Payment data: for paid subscriptions, payment is processed by Apple, Google, or our third-party payment processor (e.g., Stripe). We receive only a subscription status and an anonymised transaction reference — we never store card numbers.

2.2 Information collected automatically

• Usage data: lessons started/completed, time spent learning, quiz scores, streaks, XP, gems, and achievements.
• Device data: device model, operating system and version, app version, language and region settings, and an installation identifier.
• Diagnostics: crash logs, performance metrics, and error events.
• Approximate location: derived from your IP address (city / country only) for analytics and abuse prevention. We do not collect precise GPS location.
• Voice recordings (optional): if you enable speaking exercises, audio is captured on-device to evaluate pronunciation. Audio is processed transiently and is not retained beyond the lesson unless you explicitly save it.
• Cookies & similar technologies: on the website we use essential cookies for authentication and preferences, plus privacy-friendly analytics. See Section 8.

2.3 Information we do not collect

• Precise (GPS) location.
• Contacts, photos, calendar, or SMS — unless you explicitly choose to share a specific item.
• Health, financial account, or government-ID data.

• Create and secure your account; authenticate sign-ins.
• Deliver the Service — provide lessons, sync progress across devices, run live tutoring sessions.
• Personalise your curriculum, difficulty, and recommendations.
• Process payments and manage subscriptions.
• Send transactional notifications (e.g., streak reminders, important account alerts). Marketing emails are sent only with your consent and can be unsubscribed at any time.
• Analyse aggregated usage trends to improve features and fix bugs.
• Detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, abuse, or violations of our Terms.
• Comply with legal obligations.

Where European Union, United Kingdom, or Nigerian data-protection law applies, we rely on the following legal bases:

• Contract: to provide the Service you have signed up for.
• Legitimate interests: to secure the Service, prevent abuse, and improve the product, balanced against your rights.
• Consent: for optional features such as marketing emails and (where required) analytics cookies. You may withdraw consent at any time.
• Legal obligation: to comply with tax, accounting, and other applicable laws.

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only with the parties below, and only for the purposes described:

• Service providers (processors): cloud hosting (e.g., AWS / Google Cloud), authentication, push-notification delivery (e.g., Firebase Cloud Messaging / Apple Push Notification service), email delivery, crash reporting, and analytics. They process data on our instructions under written contracts.
• App stores & payment processors: Apple App Store, Google Play, Stripe — to process subscriptions and refunds.
• Other learners: profile name, photo, learning language, and any content you publish to the community are visible to other users by design.
• Legal & safety: where required by law, court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Lingoafrika, our users, or the public.
• Business transfers: in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. We will notify you of any change in data controller and your choices.
• With your consent: for any other purpose, with your explicit agreement.

We retain personal data only as long as needed for the purposes described in this policy:

• Active accounts: data is retained while your account is active.
• Deleted accounts: personal data is deleted within 30 days of an account-deletion request. Encrypted backups are overwritten within 90 days.
• Financial records: transaction records may be retained for up to 7 years to comply with tax and accounting laws.
• Abuse / safety records: minimum data needed to enforce bans may be retained.
• Anonymised analytics: may be retained indefinitely and cannot be tied back to you.

We use industry-standard protections including TLS encryption in transit, encryption at rest for sensitive fields, role-based access controls, password hashing (argon2/bcrypt), periodic security reviews, and least-privilege infrastructure access. No system is perfectly secure; we will notify you and the relevant authorities of any breach affecting your rights within the timeframes required by law.

Our website uses a limited set of cookies:

• Strictly necessary: session, authentication, and security.
• Preferences: remember language, theme, and consent choices.
• Analytics (with consent where required): privacy-friendly product analytics to understand aggregate usage.

You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings. The mobile app does not use third-party advertising identifiers for cross-app tracking and does not implement Apple's App Tracking Transparency tracking flow.

The Service is not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided personal information without your consent, please email privacy@lingoafrika.com and we will delete the data promptly.

Where required by local law (e.g., the EU/UK GDPR for users under 16, or applicable national variations), a parent or guardian must consent before a minor uses the Service.

Depending on where you live, you have the following rights:

• Access a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Delete your account and associated personal data. See our Data & Account page.
• Portability: receive a copy of your data in a machine-readable format.
• Object / restrict certain processing, including direct marketing.
• Withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent.
• Lodge a complaint with your local data-protection authority (e.g., the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, ICO in the UK, or your EU member-state authority).

Exercise these rights by emailing privacy@lingoafrika.com. We respond within 30 days.

Lingoafrika is operated from Nigeria. Your data may be processed in countries other than your own. Where we transfer personal data internationally, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses, adequacy decisions, or your explicit consent.

The Service may contain links to third-party websites or integrate third-party services (for example, social login). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties — review their policies before providing data.

We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the new policy on this page and update the "Effective" date. For material changes we will also notify you in-app or by email at least 14 days before the change takes effect. Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance.

For privacy questions, requests, or complaints: