Privacy Policy

At Culips, we care about your privacy. This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, and the choices you have. We try to keep it short and clear.

Who we are

Culips English ("Culips", "we", "us") runs the website and the Culips learning app. The service is provided by Culips LLC, based in California, United States. We decide how your personal data is used, so in data protection law we are the "data controller". For any privacy question, email us at Contact@Culips.com.

What information we collect

We only collect what we need to run our service:

• Account details. Your email and password when you sign up (passwords are stored in a secure, hashed form, never in plain text). If you sign in with Google, Apple, Facebook, Kakao, or Discord, we receive basic profile information such as your name and email. You may add a display name and avatar.
• Payment details. When you become a member, our payment partners handle your card. We do not store your full card number. We keep your subscription status, plan, billing period, and a payment-provider customer ID so we can manage your membership.
• Learning activity. Lessons you start and finish, words you save, quiz results, study streaks, listening time, flashcard reviews, bookmarks, and your settings.
• Device and usage data. Things like your browser type and how you use the service, to keep it secure and help us fix problems.
• Messages. Anything you send us by email or support.

AI features

Some features use trusted third-party AI providers to give you a result from your input:

• For speaking and writing practice feedback, the text of your answer is sent to an AI provider to produce feedback.
• For pronunciation assessment, a short audio recording of your speech is sent to an AI provider to produce a score.

Your input is processed only to return your result. We do not use your practice content to train AI models.

How we use your information

• Give you access to lessons, classes, and your account.
• Save and show your progress, words, and streak.
• Take payments and prevent fraud.
• Send service emails (welcome, billing notices, password resets, and class reminders you ask for), and our newsletter if you opt in.
• Answer your questions and keep the service safe and improving.

Who we share your information with

We never sell your personal data for money. With your consent, where consent is required (such as in the EEA and the UK), our analytics and advertising cookies share some data with Google to measure traffic and to personalize ads; you can accept or reject this in our cookie banner and change it at any time. Apart from that, we share your data only with service providers who help us run Culips, and only so they can do their work for us. They fall into a few categories:

• Hosting, storage, and database providers that run the service and store lesson audio and files.
• Payment processors that handle subscriptions and payments.
• Email providers that send account and service emails, and our newsletter if you subscribe.
• AI service providers that generate practice feedback and pronunciation scores from your input.
• Analytics and advertising providers, in particular Google, that help us measure how the site is used and, with your consent, personalize ads. See how Google uses data from sites that use its services.
• Community and sign-in providers for optional community access and social login.

These partners may only use your data to do work for us. We may also share data if the law requires it, or as part of a business transfer.

Cookies

Necessary cookies are always on, because the service cannot work without them (for example, to sign you in, remember your settings, and help prevent fraud at checkout). Where we use analytics or advertising cookies, visitors in regions that require consent (such as the EEA and the UK) can accept or reject them in our cookie banner. For full details, see our Cookie Policy.

How long we keep your data

We keep your data while your account is active. If you delete your account (Settings, then Delete account), we delete your account and learning data, and we ask our payment provider to remove your customer record. We may keep limited records where the law requires it, such as payment records for tax.

When your data moves to another country

We and our providers may store or handle your data in countries other than your own, including the United States. Where required, we use legal safeguards to keep your data protected.

Your rights

Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR in Europe and the UK, or the CCPA/CPRA in California), you can ask us to:

• Show you the data we hold about you.
• Correct data that is wrong.
• Delete your data.
• Limit or object to how we use your data.
• Send your data to another service.

You can update your profile in Settings, delete your account at any time (Settings, then Delete account), and unsubscribe from the newsletter using the link in any newsletter email. To make a request, email Contact@Culips.com. We do not sell personal data, so there is no sale to opt out of, and we will not treat you differently for using your rights. If you live in Europe or the UK and are not happy with our response, you can also contact your local data protection authority.

How we keep your data safe

We use strong security steps to protect your data, such as encryption in transit and hashed passwords, with limited staff access. No service can be 100% safe, but we work hard to keep your information protected.

Children

Culips is made for adults and older teens. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13 (or the minimum age required in your country). If you think a child has given us data, please contact us and we will remove it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we make a big change, we will tell you by email or on the site. The date at the top shows when it last changed.

Contact us

If you have any questions about your privacy, please email Contact@Culips.com. We are happy to help.