Privacy Policy

• Google account information. If you choose to sign in, we receive your Google account identifier, name, email address and verification status, and profile image when provided. We keep a Hanzi Now user identifier, display name, account status and relevant dates to operate your account. We do not receive your Google password or request access to Gmail, Drive or your contacts.
• Sessions and security. We handle session identifiers, expiration dates, approximate browser and operating system information, and authentication events such as sign-in attempts, sign-outs and deletion requests. Our systems also process connection information, including IP addresses, for request delivery, security and usage limits.
• Searches and tool inputs. Depending on the feature, we process text, pronunciation choices, settings and generated results. Some tools run in your browser; searches, translations, language analysis and speech generation can send text to our servers and relevant providers. Server-generated results may be stored or cached for reuse.
• Information you submit voluntarily. This includes support messages, feedback and optional contact emails, survey responses about your purpose or occupation, and emails submitted for feature availability notifications. Providing an email for one of these purposes does not create a Google account connection.
• Usage information. We use page views and feature interactions, such as generating, playing or downloading a result, to understand usage and improve the website.

We use information to provide dictionary and tool results, authenticate accounts, manage sessions, respond to requests, investigate errors and abuse, enforce usage limits, and improve features. A feature notification email is used to follow up on the feature you requested. Survey participation and feedback are optional.

Where applicable law requires a legal basis, we process information as necessary to provide the service you request, for legitimate interests such as security and service improvement, to meet legal obligations, or with your consent when required. You may withdraw consent by contacting us; this does not affect processing already carried out lawfully.

Google sign-in is optional. All currently available public dictionaries and tools can be used without a Hanzi Now account; signing in enables account management. We request only basic sign-in permissions: identity, email and profile. We use that information for your Hanzi Now account and related security and support, not for personalized advertising.

Google access and refresh tokens are not stored as ongoing account credentials. Hanzi Now maintains its own browser session. Signing out of Hanzi Now does not sign you out of Google. You may also remove Hanzi Now access in your Google Account connections; to delete your Hanzi Now account, use the separate account deletion process below.

Google handles its own services under the Google Privacy Policy.

When account features are enabled, we use essential cookies to maintain sign-in and protect the Google authorization flow. Browser storage may hold recent browsing history, worksheet drafts, tool preferences, speech usage records, temporary text transfers and survey invitation status. These local records are not automatically uploaded or merged into your account when you sign in.

You can clear these records using your browser’s site-data controls, or the history controls where available. Clearing cookies signs you out; clearing local storage can remove drafts and preferences. Deleting your Hanzi Now account does not automatically clear data stored in your browser.

We use service providers for hosting, content delivery, storage, security, analytics, language processing and speech synthesis. Depending on the feature, these include Vercel, Cloudflare, Google, Alibaba Cloud, iFlytek and Youdao. They receive the information needed for the relevant request or service. External links and provider services are also subject to their own terms and policies.

Vercel Web Analytics helps us understand visits and tool interactions. It uses a cookie-free approach and may process page URLs, referrers, device characteristics and approximate location. See Vercel’s analytics privacy documentation. Our custom usage events describe feature actions rather than including your Google email or the full text you enter.

We may disclose information when required by applicable law or when reasonably necessary to investigate abuse, protect users and systems, or respond to a lawful request. Do not put passwords, confidential documents or sensitive personal information into public learning tools. Search-result pages and generated playback or media links may be accessible to other people who obtain the URL; they are not private account storage.

Account information is kept while your account remains active and as needed to handle a deletion request. Browser sign-in sessions last up to 30 days unless ended sooner. Temporary sign-in flows expire after 10 minutes. Authentication event records are scheduled for deletion after 90 days; expiry and background cleanup may not occur at the exact expiration time.

When account features are available, open Account to edit your display name, review and revoke browser sessions, or request account deletion. Deletion requires confirmation and a fresh check of the same Google identity. Accepted deletion requests disable account access and revoke sessions, then background processing removes the account and Google identity and removes the user association from authentication events. Cleanup can be delayed by a service interruption and retried.

Feedback, surveys, notification requests, support correspondence, generated content and operational records have separate purposes and are not automatically deleted by deleting your login account. We retain them as needed for those purposes, security and applicable legal obligations. Contact us to request removal of information you submitted, including a feature notification email or a generated public result; include enough context to locate it without sending passwords or login tokens.

You can use public features without signing in, decline optional surveys, clear local site data, sign out, or request account deletion. Depending on your location and applicable law, you may also have rights to access, correct, delete or obtain a copy of personal information, restrict or object to processing, withdraw consent, or complain to a relevant supervisory authority.

Send requests to support@hanzi.now. We may need to verify that a request relates to you before disclosing or changing account information. Some requests may be limited by security needs, other people’s rights or legal obligations.

We use measures such as encrypted connections, protected session cookies and access checks to protect account information. No online service can guarantee absolute security. Our infrastructure and providers may process information outside your country; the protections required depend on the locations and laws involved.

Do not submit personal information about children through tools, surveys or feedback without appropriate authority. Where parental permission is legally required to use account features or submit personal information, obtain that permission first. A parent or guardian who believes a child has submitted personal information can contact us to request review and removal.

We may update this policy as features and practices change. We will update the date on this page and provide additional notice or request consent when required. Questions about this policy or information handling can be sent to the Hanzi Now team at support@hanzi.now.