Privacy Policy

We collect only the information we need to provide the Service, and we keep as much of your data as possible on your own devices.

1. Information we collect

• Account information: your email address, your password in encrypted form (we cannot see the original), sign-up and sign-in times, and your device model.
• Usage data: cloud recognition time and the number and size of AI requests, used to count kibble and prevent abuse.
• Country or region: a country or region code inferred from your network connection (for example, US), used to count students on the “Where our students are” map on our website. We don't keep your IP address; the map shows only how many people are in each country, and no exact number when there are fewer than 5.
• Purchase information: subscriptions and Snack Packs are bought through the Apple App Store, and Apple processes the payment; we never see your card details. We receive only the transaction information Apple provides (transaction ID, product, purchase and expiry dates), which we use to deliver and reconcile kibble. When you pay with Alipay on Mac, we receive the transaction number, amount and payment time from Alipay, which we use to activate your plan and handle refunds; we never see your Alipay account or card details. When you pay to our Alipay payment QR code, we see the order number and payment note you enter, plus the payer name that Alipay shows us (which may include part of your real name), and we use them only to match your payment. When you pay by card, the payment is processed by Creem and we never see your card number; we receive only the order number, email, product, amount and country, which we use to activate your plan and handle refunds.
• Payment providers: on Mac, card payments are processed by Creem (the merchant of record) and Alipay payments by Alipay, each under its own privacy policy.
• Apple account linking: when you claim the Welcome Gift, we receive the unique identifier Apple provides for your account (and the email address, if you choose to share it), and we use Apple's DeviceCheck to mark that the gift was claimed on this device. No other personal information is involved.
• Website waitlist: the email, language and (optional) school you leave at oldcatapp.com/join are used only to tell you when OldCat launches and to get in touch. Every email has an unsubscribe link, and you can ask us to delete them.
• Sign-up choices: the country you chose when signing up, and your lecture and translation languages.

Anonymous statistics: We use the country and languages you chose, together with usage data such as class time, only for anonymous aggregate statistics (for example, to improve the product and for academic research). Aggregates contain only counts and percentages, and we never provide information that could identify you to third parties.

2. What stays on your device

Recordings, transcripts, translations, notes, slide annotations and your word list are stored on your own Mac, iPad or iPhone (Documents › OldCat) and are not uploaded to our servers.

3. What is sent to AI services

The app asks for your consent before first use. With your consent:

• Classroom audio is streamed to Soniox for speech recognition and translation;
• Class text, your questions and files you upload are sent to Alibaba Cloud Model Studio (Qwen), processed in Singapore, to generate notes and answers.

All of this travels over encrypted connections and is relayed through our server, which forwards it without storing it. Each provider processes the data under its own API terms. If you do not consent, these features are unavailable.

4. Email

We use Resend to send verification codes and after-class notes. Notes are sent only to the email address on your account, and you can turn them off in Settings.

5. Retention and deletion

Account information is kept while you use the Service. You can delete your account in the app at any time (iPad / iPhone: Settings › Delete Account; Mac: Account › Delete Account); your account information is deleted from our server immediately and all your devices are signed out. You can also ask us by email to delete it. Transaction records we are required by law to keep are excepted. Usage records used for billing and reconciliation are kept for no more than 180 days.

6. Your rights

You have the right to access, correct, export and delete your personal information. Contact [email protected].

7. Children

The Service is intended for students aged 16 and over.

8. Changes

We will notify you of material changes to this policy through an in-app notice or by email.