Privacy Policy
Naruve Studio (the "Company") complies with the Personal Information Protection Act and other applicable laws of the Republic of Korea, and establishes and discloses the following privacy policy in order to protect the personal information of its users.
1. Personal information collected and how it is collected
The Company collects only the minimum information necessary to provide the service. There is no sign-up procedure, and the Company does not collect information that directly identifies a user, such as name, address, telephone number or date of birth. Users are distinguished only by an anonymous identifier generated by the app.
| Category | Items | How it is collected | Layer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation assessment | Audio recorded by the user; assessment results (scores, error types, intonation analysis) | When the user presses the record button in the app | Basic |
| User settings | Native language (display language); learning stage (beginner / intermediate / advanced, as selected by the user themselves); the example voice to imitate (male / female) — this value is stored on the device only and is not sent to the server | Entered by the user on first launch. May be skipped | Basic |
| Service operation | Anonymous device identifier, operating system and app version, error logs, number of free uses | Generated automatically while the app is used | Basic |
| Service improvement | Stored copies of recorded audio; app usage records (actions taken inside the app and their timestamps — viewing a sentence, playing the example audio, recording, skipping, retrying, and the like) | Generated automatically while the app is used, where the user has given separate consent | Optional |
| Enquiry handling | Email address, contents of the enquiry | When the user makes an enquiry by email | Basic |
Payment for a paid subscription is made through Google Play, and the Company does not collect or store users' payment method or card information.
2. Processing of voice information
The core function of this service is pronunciation assessment, so voice information is indispensable. Voice is processed as follows.
Basic processing — all users
- Recording starts only at the moment the user presses the button; the app does not use the microphone at any other time.
- Recorded audio is sent, by way of the Company's server, to the external voice processing providers set out in Section 5, for the purpose of pronunciation assessment.
- For users who have not consented to service improvement, their audio is destroyed automatically within 7 days of assessment processing, and is not retained thereafter. The 7 days cover scoring, verification of the result and reprocessing where an error occurs; once the period passes the storage deletes the object automatically.
- Assessment results (scores, error types, intonation analysis) are saved as learning records.
Optional processing — users who have consented to service improvement
- Recorded audio, assessment results and app usage records are stored in the Company's storage.
- The stored information is used for analysis intended to improve the accuracy of the pronunciation assessment function, and for the training of artificial intelligence models. Specifically, it is used to analyse tendencies in pronunciation errors by native language and by learning stage, to develop syllable-level assessment, and to improve sentence content.
- Consent is obtained on the app's first-launch screen and may be withdrawn at any time in the app settings. Once withdrawn, audio and usage records from that point on are not stored, and information already stored may be deleted at the user's request under Section 7.
- Even if you do not consent, you can use every function of the app, including pronunciation assessment, in exactly the same way.
3. Purposes of processing personal information
Basic processing
- Providing pronunciation assessment and learning feedback
- Managing learning progress and providing statistics
- Providing comparison information against the group of learners sharing the same native language (in statistically processed form)
- Managing the number of free uses and verifying eligibility for paid features
- Identifying and fixing service errors
- Responding to user enquiries
Optional processing (with separate consent)
- Training and validating artificial intelligence models in order to improve the accuracy of pronunciation assessment
- Analysing tendencies in pronunciation errors by native language and by learning stage
- Improving the learning sentences and content
4. Retention and use period
| Item | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Recorded audio (no consent to service improvement) | Destroyed automatically within 7 days of assessment processing |
| Recorded audio and app usage records (consent to service improvement given) | Five years from the date of collection. Once the period expires, the information is destroyed, or is anonymised so that it can no longer be linked to an individual and retained solely for statistical purposes |
| Assessment results and learning records | Until the user requests deletion |
| Anonymous device identifier, number of free uses | For as long as usage records exist under that identifier |
| Operating system and app version, error logs | One year from the date of collection |
| Enquiry contents and email address | Three years after the enquiry is resolved |
Information that must be preserved under applicable laws is retained for the period prescribed by those laws.
5. Transfer of personal information abroad
In order to provide the pronunciation assessment function, the Company receives server processing and voice analysis technology from external providers, and in the course of this the information below is processed and stored outside the Republic of Korea.
| Recipient | Country | Items transferred | Purpose of transfer | Retention period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare, Inc. | United States (processed on servers distributed worldwide) | Recorded audio, the sentence used for comparison, anonymous device identifier, number of free uses, app usage records (where consent is given) | Transmission of audio and server processing, management of the number of free uses, storage of service improvement material (where consent is given) | Information under basic processing is destroyed automatically within 7 days of processing. Stored copies for consenting users are as set out in Section 4 |
| Microsoft Corporation (Azure) | Republic of Korea (Seoul region). Further regions may be added according to the distribution of users, in which case this policy will be updated accordingly | Recorded audio, the sentence used for comparison | Producing pronunciation assessment results | Destroyed immediately after assessment processing |
Transfers are made by transmission over encrypted communications. If a recipient changes or is added, this policy will be updated accordingly and notice will be given in advance.
· If you refuse the transmission of your voice for pronunciation assessment (basic processing), voice analysis cannot take place, and your use of the pronunciation assessment function will therefore be restricted.
· If you refuse storage for service improvement (optional processing), you can still use every function of the app, including pronunciation assessment, exactly as before.
6. Provision of personal information to third parties
The Company does not provide users' personal information to third parties. The transfers abroad described in Section 5 are entrustment of processing for the purpose of the Company's provision of the service, and are not provision to third parties. An exception applies where an investigative agency makes a request through lawful procedures under applicable law.
7. Users' rights and how to exercise them
Users may exercise the following rights at any time.
- Request access to their own personal information
- Request correction where there is an error
- Request deletion
- Request suspension of processing
- Withdraw consent to service improvement
How to exercise them
Pressing "View my identifier and request deletion" on the app's settings screen displays the user's anonymous identifier, and a deletion request including that identifier can be sent to support@naruve.app. The Company will act on the request and reply with the outcome within 10 days of receiving it. You may also make the request by email directly; in that case you must include the identifier shown in the app settings, as otherwise the Company cannot locate the information concerned.
Scope of deletion
- On a deletion request, the Company deletes all of that user's audio, assessment results, learning records and app usage records held in its storage.
- Where the information has already been used to train an artificial intelligence model, the model itself is not reversed. A trained model does not contain the individual recordings, and separating one particular user's material out of a model is technically impossible. The Company keeps a record of which model training a user's material was used in, and will inform the user on request.
- Statistical material that has been anonymised so that it can no longer be linked to an individual is not subject to deletion.
Relationship with deleting the app
If you delete the app, the information stored on the device is deleted with it, but information held on the Company's servers is not deleted automatically. To delete information on the servers, please request deletion by the method above before deleting the app, or let the Company know your identifier by email. If you reinstall the app, a new anonymous identifier is created, and it is not linked to the previous identifier.
8. Personal information of children under 14
The Company does not collect the personal information of children under the age of 14. Where it is confirmed that a child under the age of 14 is using the service, the Company destroys the information concerned without delay.
9. Procedure and method of destruction
Personal information whose retention period has expired or whose purpose of processing has been achieved is destroyed without delay. Information in the form of electronic files is deleted by a method that makes recovery impossible, and where printed material exists it is shredded or incinerated. Of the information stored for service improvement purposes, that whose retention period has expired is destroyed, or is anonymised so that it can no longer be linked to an individual and then retained solely for statistical purposes.
10. Measures to ensure security
- Limiting the number of personnel who process personal information to a minimum
- Applying encryption to the transmission channel
- An anonymous identifier scheme that does not collect information capable of directly identifying a user
- Automatic destruction within 7 days of the audio of users who have not consented to service improvement (enforced by a storage rule)
- Managing access rights to storage and retaining access logs
11. Personal information protection officer
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Officer | Park Changhong (박창홍), Representative, Naruve Studio |
| Contact | support@naruve.app |
If you need to consult someone about an infringement of your personal information, you may contact the following Korean authorities.
- Personal Information Infringement Report Center — 개인정보침해 신고센터 (privacy.kisa.or.kr / 118, no area code)
- Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee — 개인정보 분쟁조정위원회 (kopico.go.kr / 1833-6972)
- Cyber Investigation Division, Supreme Prosecutors' Office — 대검찰청 사이버수사과 (spo.go.kr / 1301)
- National Office of Investigation (Cyber Bureau), Korean National Police Agency — 경찰청 사이버수사국 (ecrm.police.go.kr / 182)
12. Changes to this privacy policy
Where this policy is changed, notice will be given through the app or the website from seven days before the effective date. Where the change is unfavourable to users, notice will be given 30 days in advance.
| Date | Details |
|---|---|
| 6 August 2026 | First effective |
| 18 August 2026 | Added provisions on optional storage for service improvement (separate consent, five-year retention, deletion requests from within the app). Added learning stage, app usage records and number of free uses to the items collected. Named the recipients of transfers abroad (Cloudflare, Microsoft). Set out the scope of deletion and the relationship with deleting the app in concrete terms. Revised before the service was released, so there are no existing users |
| 19 August 2026 | Named the example voice to imitate (male / female, stored on the device only) among the items collected. Clarified the retention period for the audio of users who have not consented to service improvement, from "destroyed immediately after assessment processing" to "destroyed automatically within 7 days of assessment processing" — this states the period needed for scoring, verification of the result and reprocessing where an error occurs, and it is enforced by a storage rule. As this clarifies the items collected and states a retention period, it takes effect without a grace period. Revised before launch, so there are no existing users |