Privacy Policy

1. Our Approach

Yomaru is designed to work primarily on your device. We collect minimal data, we don't require an account, and the core features — including camera OCR, text analysis, and the learning path — work entirely offline.

2. Information We Collect

Crash reports & analytics

We use Firebase Crashlytics and Firebase Analytics (by Google) to collect anonymous diagnostic data:

• Crash stack traces, device model, and OS version (Crashlytics)
• App sessions, screen views, and aggregated learning milestones such as items learned and quizzes completed (Analytics)

None of this data contains personally identifiable information such as your name, email, or individual learning progress.

App Store information

When you download Yomaru from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, those platforms collect transaction and device information under their own privacy policies. We only receive aggregated, anonymized metrics (e.g. total downloads).

3. Device Permissions

Camera

Yomaru requests camera access to photograph Japanese text for OCR (optical character recognition). Photos are processed entirely on your device using Google ML Kit for text recognition. No images are uploaded to any server. Captured images are stored locally in the app's private document directory for your reading history.

Photo library

Yomaru requests photo library access so you can pick existing images for text recognition. Selected images are copied into the app's local storage and processed on-device. They are not uploaded or shared.

Clipboard

Yomaru reads the clipboard only when you explicitly tap the "Paste" button on the text input screen. Clipboard contents are never read in the background or transmitted off-device.

Notifications

Yomaru may request notification permission for study reminders. These notifications are scheduled and triggered entirely on your device — no data is sent to a remote server.

4. Data Storage

Learning progress

Your timeline, learned kanji and words, practice queue, quiz results, and reading history are stored in a local SQLite database on your device. This data never leaves your device.

Reading images

Photos captured or picked for OCR are stored in the app's private document directory on your device. These images are used only to display your reading history within the app. They are not uploaded, synced, or shared with any service.

Data deletion

Uninstalling Yomaru or using the "Reset All Progress" feature in Settings permanently deletes all local data, including learning progress and stored images. We do not maintain backups of your data.

5. Share Intent

When you share an image or text to Yomaru from another app (via the iOS Share Sheet or Android intent system), the shared content is processed locally and stored on your device as a reading. It is not uploaded or transmitted to any external service.

6. Third-Party Services

Yomaru uses the following third-party services:

• Firebase Crashlytics — anonymous crash reporting
• Firebase Analytics — anonymous usage analytics

Firebase processes data according to Google's Firebase privacy policy.

On-device text recognition uses Google ML Kit on both iOS and Android. All processing happens locally on your device — no text or image data is sent to any server for this feature.

7. Children's Privacy

Yomaru does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. The app does not require an account and collects no personally identifiable information.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date.

9. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, contact us at [email protected].