Privacy Policy

1. Introduction and data controller

Snake Charmer Limited ("we", "us" or "our") operates the Vocal Edge mobile app and vocaledgeapp.com, including the website’s tongue twister test (the "Service"). This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we use it and the choices available to you.

Snake Charmer Limited is the data controller, based at Ballycordrea, Old Tramore Road, Waterford, Ireland. You can contact us using the contact link at the end of this policy or write to this address.

2. Information we collect

We collect information you provide and information created when you use the Service:

• Account information: your email address, a password hash if you register with email, account and session identifiers, and Apple’s account identifier and email address if you use Sign in with Apple. Apple may provide a private relay email address. Guest use creates a temporary account identifier without requiring your name or email.
• Learning information: your first language, practice goal, daily practice preference, reference voice, lesson activity, listening answers, progress, practice dates, scores and recommended review topics.
• Speech information: recordings you submit for assessment, the exercise text, recognised words or transcript, pronunciation and fluency scores, and feedback. Recordings you explicitly choose to save are stored separately.
• Subscription information: account, product and transaction identifiers, purchase history and entitlement status supplied through Apple and RevenueCat. We do not receive your full payment-card details.
• Technical information: IP address, request times, browser or device information made available by requests and service SDKs, app version, errors and security or rate-limit records.
• Support information: contact details and any information you choose to include when requesting help. Please avoid sending passwords or unnecessary sensitive information.

3. How and why we use your information

Providing an email or Apple sign-in is necessary to create a registered account, but you can try guest features without one. Recording is optional; without microphone access we cannot assess your speech. You can still use available listening and reading features. We do not sell personal data or use your recordings for advertising.

• Providing the Service (performance of our contract with you): creating and securing your account, assessing speech when requested, storing progress and saved recordings, personalising lessons, verifying subscriptions and responding to service requests.
• Optional choices (consent where applicable): microphone access and features you choose to enable. You can decline or revoke microphone permission in your device or browser settings and stop submitting recordings. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing already carried out lawfully.
• Operating and protecting the Service (legitimate interests): diagnosing faults, maintaining reliability, preventing abuse and enforcing reasonable usage limits. We consider your rights when using data for these purposes.
• Legal obligations: keeping records and responding to valid requests where applicable law requires it.

4. Recordings and automated feedback

When you record and submit an exercise in the app, or stop a recording in the website test, the audio is uploaded to our server and sent with the reference phrase to Microsoft Azure Speech for pronunciation assessment. The website automatically submits the take when recording stops. Microsoft returns recognised speech, scores and word or sound feedback, which we associate with your account or guest session.

We do not create a voice clone or use your voice to identify or authenticate you. We do not submit your recordings to train a custom speech model. Microsoft states that its pronunciation assessment service does not retain or store the audio and transcript data supplied for that processing.

Scores and recommendations are generated automatically from speech assessment and your practice history. They are learning guidance and may be inaccurate, particularly with background noise, different microphones or different accents. They are not decisions with legal or similarly significant effects.

Microsoft’s speech data and privacy information

5. Service providers and sharing

We use providers to deliver specific parts of the Service:

• Microsoft Azure Speech processes submitted audio and reference text and returns pronunciation results.
• DigitalOcean hosts our API, database, learning records and private recording storage.
• Cloudflare hosts and delivers the website and provides domain, network and security services, processing connection and request information.
• RevenueCat manages subscriptions using your app account identifier and store purchase information. Apple handles iOS payments, subscription administration and Sign in with Apple when you choose it.
• Expo delivers app updates and may process technical information needed to deliver a compatible update.
• Our support tools process messages you send us. If you use our existing contact form on the RiseWithin website, it is operated by the same company and the privacy notice on that website also describes that form.

RevenueCat privacy policy

Apple privacy policy

6. Other disclosures and international transfers

We may disclose information when required by law, to protect people or the security of the Service, or as part of a business transfer with appropriate protection and notice. We do not publish your recordings or progress. If you choose to share a quiz result using your device’s sharing tools, the service you select receives the content you share under its own privacy terms.

Our company is in Ireland, but hosting and speech processing currently take place in the United States, and other providers may process data in additional countries. Your data does not remain exclusively in Ireland or the European Economic Area. Where GDPR applies to a transfer outside the EEA, applicable safeguards are required, such as an adequacy decision or European Commission standard contractual clauses. Contact us for details or a copy of the safeguards applicable to your data.

7. Retention and deletion

In the app, open Settings → Delete account and data to remove your account, learning history and saved recordings. You can also contact us for help or to request deletion, including for website use. We may need information to locate the relevant session and verify a request. Deleting the app, closing the website or deleting an account does not cancel an Apple subscription; cancel it separately in your Apple subscription settings.

• Assessment uploads: the processing copy on our server is deleted when assessment finishes, including handled failures. A scheduled cleanup removes abandoned pending files older than five minutes. Service interruptions can delay cleanup.
• Saved recordings: only an explicit save action in the app creates a saved copy. It remains until you delete that recording or your account. Settings → Your recordings lets you delete individual saved audio files; deleting audio does not remove the associated learning score.
• Learning and account records: retained while your account is used to provide the Service, until account deletion, subject to the limited exceptions below. Guest accounts and their associated results are eligible for automatic deletion once the account is more than 30 days old and has no unexpired refresh session. Refresh sessions last up to 30 days and can be renewed during use.
• On your device: local playback and upload-retry copies are separate from server copies. The app discards completed takes as you move on; a pending upload can remain in cache to support retry and is expired when the app next checks it after 24 hours. Website recordings are held in page memory and are released when replaced or the page closes. Closing a page does not immediately delete its server-side guest results.
• Security, support and provider records: retained only for the applicable operational or legal purpose, such as resolving a support request, preventing abuse or administering a purchase. Retention depends on that purpose and the provider’s obligations. Account deletion does not immediately erase every provider log or backup.

8. Cookies and local storage

The website does not include advertising trackers or a third-party marketing analytics script. Its tongue twister test uses browser session storage to keep a temporary guest session across retries. Hosting and security services also process request information needed to deliver and protect the website.

The app stores session credentials, preferences, cached progress and pending-upload information on your device. You can clear website storage through your browser settings or remove the app’s local data by uninstalling it. This can sign you out or remove an unsent recording; it does not itself delete data held on our servers.

9. Your data protection rights

Where applicable under GDPR, you may request access, correction, deletion, restriction of processing or a portable copy of your personal data. You may object to processing based on legitimate interests and withdraw consent where processing relies on it. These rights are subject to the conditions and exceptions in applicable law.

Contact us using the details below to exercise your rights. We may ask for proportionate information to verify your identity. We normally respond within one month; if a lawful extension is necessary, we will explain it. You can complain to Ireland’s Data Protection Commission or your local supervisory authority.

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission

10. Security

We use HTTPS, authenticated access to account data, password hashing and restricted access to saved recordings. Authorised personnel and providers may process data to operate the Service; recordings are not end-to-end encrypted. No internet service or storage system can guarantee absolute security.

11. Children’s privacy

Vocal Edge is designed for adult learners and is not intended for children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. Contact us if you believe a child has provided personal data so we can investigate and delete it where appropriate.

12. Changes and contact

We may update this policy as the Service changes. We will update the date and provide notice through the website or app of material changes; where a new use requires consent, we will ask before that processing begins.

For privacy questions, support or a rights request, contact Snake Charmer Limited using the link below and mention Vocal Edge, or write to Ballycordrea, Old Tramore Road, Waterford, Ireland.