Zontle Privacy Policy
Last updated: 7 October 2026
Zontle ("the app") is a language-learning app published by DevIon ("we", "us"). This policy explains what information the app uses, why, and the choices you have. Questions or requests: support@devion.world.
1. The short version
- Your learning progress and settings stay on your device. You can use the whole app without an account.
- An account is optional. If you create one (email + password) to join the global ranking, we store your email, a public display name you choose, and your weekly scores. Your display name, scores and rank are visible to other learners on the leaderboard.
- You can delete your account and its data at any time, in the app or from our account deletion page.
- The app shows ads provided by Google AdMob, which may use device identifiers.
- If you are an invited beta tester, we also store the audio-review verdicts you submit.
- The app downloads audio files from our servers. It does not upload your learning data.
- We do not sell your personal information.
2. Information the app uses
| Information | Where it lives | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Learning progress, streaks, scores, settings, chosen languages | Only on your device (local storage) | To run the app and remember where you are |
| Audio files (words, sentences, pronunciation) | Downloaded from our servers (Amazon Web Services) and stored on your device | So pronunciation audio works, including offline |
| Technical request data (IP address, device/app version, time) when the app downloads audio or contacts our servers | Processed by Amazon Web Services to deliver the content and keep it secure | Delivery, security, abuse prevention |
| Advertising data (advertising ID, IP address, device and app information, ad interactions) | Collected by Google AdMob | To show and measure ads |
| Account (only if you create one): email address, password (stored as a salted hash by Amazon Cognito, we cannot read it), the confirmation code emailed to you when you sign up | Our servers on Amazon Web Services (United States) | To sign you in and keep one identity for the ranking |
| Leaderboard (only if you have an account): the display name you choose, your score for each weekly board (weekly XP and the Políglota games), the number of languages you study, your rank, and when you last submitted a score | Our servers on Amazon Web Services (United States). Display name, score, rank and language count are shown to other learners on the ranking | To compute and show the global rankings and reject impossible scores |
| Beta testers only: audio-review verdicts and the time you made them | Our servers on Amazon Web Services (United States) | To let invited testers review audio together |
| Microphone audio, only while you use a pronunciation or speaking exercise and only after you grant permission | Processed by your device's speech-recognition service | To check your pronunciation. We do not record it or send it to our servers |
3. Advertising
The free version shows ads served by Google AdMob. AdMob may use your device's advertising ID and similar technologies to show ads and measure their performance, and where required it will ask for your consent. You can reset or opt out of personalized ads in your device settings (Android: Settings > Google > Ads; iOS: Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking). See how Google uses data from ads and the Google Privacy Policy. Ads may be removed by a Premium subscription once it is offered.
4. Microphone and speech recognition
The app can ask for microphone access for pronunciation practice. Speech is converted to text by the speech-recognition service built into your device (for example Google on Android, Apple on iOS), under that provider's policy. You can refuse or revoke the permission at any time in your device settings; the rest of the app keeps working.
5. Accounts, the leaderboard and beta testers
Accounts. Creating an account is optional. You sign up with an email address and password and confirm the address with a code we email to you (sent through Amazon Cognito). Your account is only used for the ranking; your lessons, streaks and other progress are not uploaded and stay on your device.
Public display name. You choose a display name (3 to 16 letters, numbers, dots, underscores or hyphens). Please do not use your real name or anything that identifies you. Your display name, score, rank and number of languages are visible to other learners. We may remove or rename names that are offensive or impersonate others.
Scores. Scores are stored per week and old weekly entries are deleted automatically after about 60 days. We check scores for plausibility and may discard ones that look impossible.
Beta testers. People who receive an invite code can also join a tester group, which stores their audio-review verdicts and hides ads in the app.
Deleting your account. In the app go to Settings > Account and ranking > Delete account. This immediately deletes your account, display name and all leaderboard entries from our servers. You can also follow the steps on our account deletion page or email us from the address you registered with. Data on your device is not affected; clear the app's storage or uninstall to remove it.
6. Sharing
We share information only with the service providers needed to run the app: Amazon Web Services (hosting, content delivery, account sign-in and confirmation emails, the leaderboard) and Google AdMob (ads). We may disclose information if the law requires it. We do not sell personal information.
7. Retention and deletion
Data on your device stays until you clear the app's storage or uninstall it. Account data stays until you delete your account (or ask us to) or we close the service; weekly leaderboard entries expire on their own after about 60 days. Tester review verdicts stay until you ask us to delete them or testing ends. Server logs kept by our infrastructure provider are retained only as long as that provider's standard settings allow.
8. Children
Zontle is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.
9. Security
Connections between the app and our servers use HTTPS. No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, but we use reputable infrastructure and keep what we hold to a minimum.
10. Your choices and rights
Depending on where you live (for example the EU/UK under the GDPR, or California), you may have the right to access, correct, delete or export personal information we hold about you, and to object to or restrict some processing. Because we hold personal information only for accounts (including tester accounts), requests concern those; you can delete your account yourself in the app, or email us and we will respond within a reasonable time.
11. Changes
If this policy changes we will update the date above and, for material changes, tell you in the app.
12. Contact
DevIon
support@devion.world