General
At Read Bean, we care about your personal information, so we have prepared this Privacy Policy to explain how we collect, use, and share it. This Privacy Policy applies to Read Bean websites, mobile apps, and related services (collectively, the “Service”). By using the Service, you agree to Read Bean’s collection, use, and sharing of your personal information in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy.
Please note that Read Bean is constantly testing and improving its product features. Any features discussed in this Privacy Policy may not be available to all users or in all jurisdictions.
a. Account Registration
To register for a Read Bean account, you may provide us with basic information such as your email address and phone number (where applicable). If you choose to register using certain social logins (e.g., Google or Facebook), Read Bean may receive information about you from your social login provider, including your email address and contacts.
You can manage your Read Bean account and social logins in your Settings.
b. Profile Page & User-Generated Content
After registering, a profile page will be created for you (“Profile”). Your Profile may include information such as your username, a bio, and an optional profile picture, which we refer to as “User-Generated Content.” Your phone number and email address are not included in your public Profile. Other Read Bean users may be able to search for your Profile using your username or email address (if you opt in).
Your Profile may also include information about your reading progress or achievements. By default, your Profile is public and may be visible to other Read Bean users and anyone else on the internet. You can change your Profile’s visibility in your Settings.
Read Bean may scan or review any User-Generated Content you submit, or share it with a third-party content moderation service, to ensure compliance with our community standards. We may restrict or delete User-Generated Content if it violates our guidelines or for any other reason.
c. AI Features
If you interact with our AI features (e.g., chatbots, text or audio assistance), your input (text or audio) may be shared with third-party AI vendors. These vendors might store your content for their own operational purposes. Please do not submit any personal or confidential information when using AI features.
d. Speaking Activities
Some activities within the Service may involve speaking into the Read Bean app. Audio recordings for speech recognition may be processed by third-party providers (e.g., Google, Apple, or Amazon Web Services). Additionally, Read Bean may analyze your speech to improve our lessons and product features. You can skip speaking activities if you prefer.
If you agree to share your audio data with us, any audio we receive is anonymized once it reaches our servers so that it cannot be linked back to your personal information.
e. Contact Sync Feature
Read Bean may offer a Contact Sync feature that helps you find friends or contacts who also use Read Bean. If you enable Contact Sync, the app will access the contacts on your phone for the sole purpose of identifying which of your contacts use Read Bean. We do not store your contacts’ phone numbers; instead, we store a secure, encrypted hash. This means we cannot identify your contacts’ real phone numbers or contact them.
If you have provided your phone number to Read Bean, other users who have that number in their contacts may be able to find your Profile.
f. Activity Data & IP Addresses
When you use the Service, we generate data about your activity, which may include device information, log data, and your IP address. We also record your engagement with reading activities to track your progress and personalize your experience.
We may use your IP address to suggest other Read Bean users you might know (e.g., if you share a Wi-Fi network). We may retain your IP address for a limited time, unless exceptional circumstances require a longer retention period.
How We Process Your Information
Read Bean may process your personal information according to the following legal bases: to provide the products or services you request, to protect and promote Read Bean’s legitimate interests, to comply with legal obligations, and with your consent.
a. Providing and Improving the Service
We use your information to personalize and improve the Service, including maintaining your Profile, tracking your progress, recommending content, fixing bugs, and offering customer support. We may share your information with third-party vendors (e.g., hosting providers, AI services, analytics providers) that help us operate or improve the Service.
b. Communicating With You
Read Bean may use your email address or phone number to send you:
Essential Service notifications.
Learning tips, progress reminders, and personalized messages.
Announcements about changes to the Service.
Information on new Read Bean products or features.
You may opt out of non-essential messages in your Settings.
c. Complying With Law and Preventing Harmful Activities
Read Bean may disclose personal information if required by law, or when we believe doing so is necessary to protect our rights or third-party rights, to prevent fraud or other illegal activity, to assist law enforcement, or to prevent imminent harm.
Your Data Subject Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information, including:
The right to know what personal information we collect about you.
The right to access or delete your personal information.
The right to correct inaccurate information.
The right to object to or restrict our processing of your personal information.
The right to withdraw consent where we rely on consent.
The right to export your data in a portable format.
You may exercise some of these rights via your Settings. To make other requests, please contact us at privacy@readbean.com (example email). We may refuse certain requests if we cannot authenticate your identity, or if your request could violate others’ rights or applicable laws.
Data Retention
We generally retain your personal information until you delete your account. However, we may retain certain data for longer periods if necessary to comply with legal obligations, protect our interests, resolve disputes, investigate misuse, or fulfill other legitimate purposes.
Child Users
Read Bean is designed for users interested in improving their Mandarin reading skills. We may not knowingly offer full access to children under the age of 13 (or the age of digital consent in your jurisdiction) without parental consent. If we discover we have collected personal information from a child under this age without proper consent, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.
