Privacy Policy

Who we are. ZimanGo is operated by ZimanGo LTD (“ZimanGo”, “we”, “us”, “our”), a company registered in England & Wales, with its registered office at 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom. For the purposes of the UK GDPR and EU GDPR, ZimanGo LTD is the “data controller” of the personal information described in this policy. If you have any questions or want to exercise your rights, contact us at help@zimango.app.

1. Information we collect

We collect information in three ways: information you give us directly, information created when you use the Service, and information we receive from third parties such as sign-in providers and app stores.

Information you provide

• Account details. When you register, you provide a username and, depending on how you sign up, an email address and password. You may create an account with your email, or with your Google or Apple account.
• Profile information. Your profile may include your display name, username, profile photo and any bio or details you choose to add. It also shows learning information such as the dialects you are learning, your progress and statistics, your streak, league, badges and achievements, and the people you follow and who follow you.
• Content you share. If you post quotes, comments, reactions, images or other content within the community features, we collect and store that content. You choose what to share.
• Communications. If you contact support, send feedback, or report a problem, we collect the messages and any information you include (such as your email address and the details of your request).

Information from sign-in providers

If you register or log in using Google or Apple, we receive basic profile information from that provider, which may include your name, email address and profile photo, so that we can create and secure your account. We do not receive your social-account password. You can manage connected sign-in methods in the app Settings.

Audio and speech (speaking exercises)

Some lessons include speaking exercises. When you start one, ZimanGo asks for permission to use your device's microphone so it can recognise your speech and check your pronunciation. ZimanGo uses its own Kurdish speech-recognition models, which are downloaded to your device, and recognition is performed on your device wherever possible. We may collect anonymised information about how well recognition performed (for example, accuracy scores) to improve our lessons and models — we do not use your voice to build any voice-cloning technology. Speaking exercises are always optional: you can skip them, and you can withdraw microphone permission at any time in your device settings.

Learning, device and usage data

• Learning activity. Your lesson progress, answers, XP, streaks, league standing, trivia results, and similar data generated as you learn.
• Device and technical data. Device model, operating-system version, app version, language and region settings, and a device or installation identifier.
• Diagnostics and performance. Crash reports, error logs and performance data that help us find and fix problems (via Google Firebase Crashlytics and analytics).
• Log and network data. Including your IP address and general approximate location derived from it, used for security, fraud prevention and delivering the Service.

Purchase and subscription data

If you buy a ZimanGo subscription, the payment is processed by the Apple App Store or Google Play — not by us. We do not receive or store your full card details. We do receive confirmation of your subscription status (for example, whether you have an active subscription and when it renews or expires) so that we can unlock premium features for you.

2. How we use your information

We use personal information to:

• Create and maintain your account and profile, and keep you logged in;
• Provide the core learning experience — deliver lessons, track your progress, streaks, leagues, badges and achievements, and personalise content to your level and the dialect you are learning;
• Operate community features such as profiles, following, quotes and leaderboards;
• Recognise your speech in speaking exercises and improve our lessons and language models;
• Unlock and manage premium features and subscriptions;
• Send you service messages (such as password resets) and, where permitted, learning reminders, progress updates and announcements — you can opt out of non-essential messages;
• Show and measure advertising to users on the free plan (see Advertising & analytics);
• Keep ZimanGo safe — detect, prevent and respond to fraud, abuse, security incidents and violations of our Terms and Community Guidelines;
• Understand how the Service is used, fix bugs, and improve and develop new features;
• Comply with our legal obligations and enforce our agreements.

3. Our legal bases (UK/EU users)

Where the UK GDPR or EU GDPR applies, we rely on the following legal bases to process your personal information:

• Performance of a contract — to provide the Service you sign up for, such as running your account, saving your progress and managing subscriptions;
• Legitimate interests — to keep the Service secure, prevent abuse, understand and improve how ZimanGo is used, and support non-personalised advertising, in a way that is balanced against your rights;
• Consent — for things you opt into, such as microphone access for speaking exercises, personalised advertising where required, and optional marketing messages. You can withdraw consent at any time;
• Legal obligation — where we must process information to comply with the law.

4. Your profile & public content

By default, your ZimanGo profile is visible to other users — this includes your username, display name, profile photo, and public learning information such as your achievements, streak and league. Quotes and other content you post to community features are also public. Your email address, phone number (if any) and password are never shown on your public profile.

Because public content can be seen by others, please think before you share, and do not post personal, sensitive or confidential information. We may review, moderate, restrict or remove public content that breaches our Community Guidelines or the law, including with the help of moderation tools or providers. You can delete quotes and content you have posted, and you can control certain visibility options in the app Settings.

5. When we share information

We do not sell or rent your personal information. We share it only in the limited circumstances below.

• Service providers. We use trusted providers to run ZimanGo, who process information on our behalf under contract. These include Google (Firebase — authentication, database, storage, cloud functions, crash reporting, analytics and push notifications), Apple and Google (app-store sign-in and payments), and providers that support features such as content moderation. They may only use the information to provide services to us.
• Advertising partners. For users on the free plan, we work with Google AdMob and its advertising partners to show ads. See Advertising & analytics for details and your choices.
• Other users. Your public profile and content are shared with other users of the Service as described above.
• Legal and safety. We may disclose information if required by law or a valid legal request, or where we reasonably believe it is necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of ZimanGo, our users or the public, to enforce our Terms, or to prevent fraud or harm.
• Business transfers. If ZimanGo is involved in a merger, acquisition or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this policy.
• Aggregated or anonymised data. We may create and share information that has been aggregated or anonymised so that it can no longer identify you — for example, to understand learning trends or improve our models. This is not personal information.

6. Advertising & analytics

ZimanGo is free to use with ads, and ad-free for premium subscribers.

• Premium is ad-free. If you have an active ZimanGo subscription, you will not be shown ads.
• Ad providers. Ads are delivered by Google AdMob and its partners. Depending on your consent and device settings, ads may be personalised (tailored to your likely interests) or non-personalised.
• Consent in the UK/EU/EEA. Where required, we show a consent prompt (via Google's User Messaging Platform) that lets you choose whether to allow personalised ads. You can change your choice at any time from Settings → Ad Privacy in the app.
• Device controls. Your device also offers advertising controls — for example, Apple's App Tracking Transparency and “Limit Ad Tracking”, and Android's advertising-ID reset and opt-out. You can use these to limit ad personalisation.
• Analytics. We use Google Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics to understand how the app is used and to diagnose problems. This helps us improve ZimanGo and is not used to show you personalised ads.

Opting out of personalised ads does not stop ads altogether — you may still see non-personalised ads on the free plan.

7. Your rights & choices

Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the following rights over your personal information:

• Access a copy of the information we hold about you;
• Correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• Delete your information and your account;
• Object to, or ask us to restrict, certain processing;
• Port your information to another service in a portable format;
• Withdraw consent you previously gave (without affecting processing already carried out);
• Opt out of non-essential messages and of personalised advertising.

How to exercise your rights. You can update your profile and manage many choices directly in the app Settings. To delete your account and data, go to Profile → Settings → Delete your account, use the account-deletion page on our website, or email help@zimango.app and we will help. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request, and some rights are not absolute — we may decline a request where the law allows, for example if it would affect another person's rights or a legal obligation. If you are in the UK or EU/EEA and are unhappy with how we have handled your information, you have the right to complain to your local data-protection authority (in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office, ico.org.uk).

8. How long we keep data

We keep your personal information for as long as your account is active, so that the Service works and your progress is saved. If you delete your account, we delete or anonymise your personal information, except where we need to keep certain data for a limited period to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, prevent fraud or abuse, or enforce our agreements. We may keep aggregated or anonymised data, which does not identify you, for longer.

9. How we protect your data

We use technical and organisational measures designed to protect your information, including encryption in transit, access controls, and secure, reputable infrastructure (Google Firebase / Google Cloud). No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security — but we work to protect your information and to respond appropriately to any incident. You also play a part: keep your password confidential and let us know if you believe your account has been compromised.

10. International data transfers

ZimanGo is based in the United Kingdom. The providers we use (such as Google) may process and store information in other countries, including the United States and the European Union, which may have different data-protection laws. Where we transfer personal information internationally, we rely on appropriate safeguards, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement / Addendum and the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or an adequacy decision, to protect your information.

11. Children's privacy

ZimanGo is intended for users aged 13 and over (or the minimum age of digital consent in your country, if higher). The Service is not directed to children under that age, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information without appropriate consent, please contact help@zimango.app and we will take steps to delete it.

12. Cookies on our website

Our website (zimango.app) uses a small amount of local storage that is strictly necessary for the site to work, and — only with your consent — Google Analytics cookies that help us understand how the site is used. When you first visit, a banner lets you accept or reject analytics; rejecting is just as easy as accepting, and the site works fully either way. You can change your choice at any time via the “Cookie settings” link in the footer of every page, and you can also control or delete cookies through your browser settings.

If you reject analytics, no Google Analytics code is loaded and no analytics cookies are set. The ZimanGo mobile apps do not use browser cookies, but do use device identifiers and the analytics and advertising technologies described above.

13. Third-party links

The Service may contain links to third-party websites or services that we do not control — including the App Store, Google Play, and social platforms. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those third parties. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party services you use.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our practices or for legal reasons. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top and, where appropriate, notify you in the app or by email. Your continued use of the Service after an update means you accept the revised policy.

15. Contact us

If you have any questions, requests or concerns about this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact us:

• Email: help@zimango.app
• ZimanGo LTD, 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom

ZimanGo is operated by ZimanGo LTD, a company registered in England & Wales.