Privacy Policy

Welcome to TalkWide ("we", "our", or "us"). We are committed to protecting your personal privacy and ensuring a safe, transparent environment for global language learners. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use and protect it, and your rights under global privacy standards including GDPR, CCPA, and Google Play Developer Policies.

1. Information We Collect

To provide our language exchange services and match you with compatible native speakers, we collect the following categories of information:

A. Information You Provide Directly

• Account & Authentication: Email address, hashed password, display name, username, age/birthdate, and gender.
• Language & Fluency Profile: Native language(s), language(s) you are actively learning, proficiency levels, and personal learning goals.
• Profile Media: Profile photos, bio descriptions, interest tags, and lifestyle passions you choose to publish.
• Communications & Chat Messages: Text messages, voice notes, photos, and emoji reactions sent in 1-on-1 chat threads.

B. Device, Technical & Permissions Data

• Microphone Permission (Audio Calls): Used exclusively to enable real-time 1-on-1 WebRTC voice conversations and voice note recordings. We never record or listen to your live calls.
• Location Data (Optional): With your permission, we process approximate city/region or GPS coordinates solely to calculate distance to potential language partners in the Discovery Feed. You can disable location sharing at any time in your device settings.
• Push Notification Tokens: Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) tokens to notify you of incoming calls, friend requests, and new messages.
• Device & Log Data: Device model, OS version, app version, IP address, and crash reports for performance diagnostics.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information strictly for the following purposes:

• To match you with language partners based on mutual native and learning languages.
• To deliver real-time chat, in-line Google ML Kit AI translations, and WebRTC audio calling.
• To enforce community safety, prevent spam, investigate reports, and block abusive users.
• To send critical transactional notifications (such as password reset OTPs and call alerts).
• To maintain, optimize, and diagnose app performance.

3. Audio Calls & WebRTC Security

TalkWide uses industry-standard WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) with DTLS/SRTP end-to-end encryption for 1-on-1 voice practice. Voice streams travel directly between peers. We do not record, tap, transcribe, or store your live voice calls on our servers.

4. On-Device AI Translation

When you use the instant translation feature, text is processed securely using Google ML Kit models on your device or via secure endpoints solely to generate the translation. Translations are not used to train public language models.

5. Third-Party Service Providers

We work with trusted third-party partners to support core app functionality:

• Google Firebase: Used for FCM push notifications, analytics, and authentication.
• Google ML Kit: On-device translation models.
• WebRTC Infrastructure (STUN/TURN): Used to establish direct peer-to-peer audio connections.

6. Data Security & Storage

All data transmitted between the TalkWide app and our backend servers is encrypted using HTTPS/TLS 1.3. Passwords are cryptographically salted and hashed using industry-standard algorithms (PBKDF2/Argon2). We implement strict database access controls and firewalls to protect against unauthorized access.

7. Data Retention & Account Deletion (Google Play Compliance)

We retain your data only for as long as your account remains active. You have the absolute right to delete your account and all associated data at any time:

• In-App Deletion: Open TalkWide ➔ Go to My Profile ➔ Settings ➔ Tap "Delete Account". Confirm your action to instantly wipe your account.
• Web Deletion Request: If you cannot access the app, you can submit an account deletion request by emailing talkwide.app@gmail.com from your registered email address.

Upon deletion, all your personal profile details, chat histories, uploaded photos, friend connections, and tokens will be permanently removed from our active databases within 24 hours.

8. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

TalkWide is strictly intended for users aged 13 and older (or 16 in certain European jurisdictions). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we discover that a minor under 13 has registered, we will immediately delete their account and data.

9. Your Rights (GDPR & CCPA)

Depending on your location, you may have rights to:

• Access and obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Request rectification of inaccurate personal details.
• Request permanent erasure of your data ("Right to be Forgotten").
• Object to or restrict the processing of your data.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact our Data Protection Officer: