Privacy Policy

HeyShima ("the app") is a Japanese-learning app operated by the HeyShima team ("we"). This policy explains what data we collect and how it is used.

Data we collect

Without an account: your learning progress and setup answers are stored on your device only. The app sends a small number of anonymous product events (below) and nothing else.

Setup answers (onboarding): when you first open the app we ask a few optional questions, your experience level, your learning goal, a daily study target, and how you heard about us, to personalise the course. These are saved on your device and synced to your account only if you create one. You can skip them.

If you create an account:

• Email address, used solely to sign you in and sync your progress.
• Learning progress: completed lessons, test results, your daily streak, your review schedule, and the flashcard decks you build, so your progress follows you across devices.
• Your setup answers, synced so your experience carries across devices.

Product events: to see where people get stuck, the app records a short list of events such as which onboarding step was reached, when a lesson starts, finishes, or is closed early, when a review or exam is completed, and when the HeyShima Pro screen is shown or a purchase is attempted. Each event carries a random identifier for your device, the app version and device model, the screen you were on, and the event's own details (for example the lesson id). It never carries free text or your email. If you create an account, the identifier is linked to your account id so your journey before signing up counts as yours.

Session recordings: the app also records how its screens are used (taps, scrolls, and what was on screen) so we can watch back where a lesson or a screen confused someone. Text fields are masked in these recordings: your email, password, name, feedback, searches, and typed answers never appear in them. Recordings are kept for 30 days.

Product events and session recordings are processed by PostHog (PostHog Inc.), hosted in the European Union. They are used only to improve the app, never for advertising, and are not shared with anyone else.

If you buy HeyShima Pro: Apple processes the payment and we never see your card details. Our subscription service, RevenueCat, receives the purchase receipt from Apple together with your account identifier, so the app knows Pro is active on every device you sign in to. We keep a record of which plan you hold and when it renews or ends.

If you send feedback in-app: the message you write, plus, to help us reproduce issues, your account email (or the per-install identifier if signed out), your IP address, and basic diagnostics: app version, device model and OS, your device language, region, and timezone, the in-app screen you were on, and your active course. This is sent only when you tap Send. If you later delete your account, the email and IP address are removed from any feedback you sent.

We collect no advertising identifiers, no GPS or precise location, no contacts, and we do not track you across other apps or websites.

Where data is stored

Account, progress, and profile data are stored with Supabase (hosted PostgreSQL with row-level security, so only you can read or write your own data). Product events and session recordings are held by PostHog in the EU. Purchase records are held by RevenueCat. Feedback messages are delivered to our private Discord workspace.

Children

HeyShima isn't directed at children under 13 (or under 16 where that is the age of digital consent), and we don't knowingly collect data from them. If you believe a child has created an account, email privacy@heyshima.com and we'll delete the account and everything held with it.

Retention and deletion

Your data is retained while your account exists. You can delete your account and all associated data at any time inside the app (Profile → Settings → Change account details → Delete account); deletion is immediate and irreversible: your account, email, profile, and review schedule are deleted, and the link between you and any session recordings is removed. Study records (which items you learned and when, and your goal) are kept only in anonymised form, with nothing that connects them to you. Deleting your account does not cancel an Apple subscription; do that in your Apple account settings. You may also request deletion by email.

Children

The app does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

Contact

Questions or deletion requests: privacy@heyshima.com

Changes

We will update this page when the policy changes; material changes will be noted in the app's release notes.