GripWords Privacy Policy
GripWords (“we”) is developed and operated by Zhi Tian, an independent developer. This policy explains what the GripWords iOS app and its services (the “Service”) collect, how we use and keep it, who we share it with, and how you can manage your information.
Our rule: we collect only what the features need. We don’t use your information for advertising, we don’t sell it, and we don’t track you across other apps or websites.
1. What we collect
1.1 Account information
When you create an account with Sign in with Apple, Apple gives us: an identifier Apple creates for this app; the name you choose to share (only at your first sign-in); and an email address, which may be an Apple private relay address. We use these to create and identify your account.
1.2 Learning data
To sync between your devices and schedule reviews, we keep on our servers:
- the words and phrases you save, the sentences you met them in, each sentence’s source (page address, title, author, site name) and its translation;
- which meaning each saved word is linked to;
- your review history: when you reviewed each word and how well you knew it;
- the frequent sites and saved pages in your library (address, title, last opened time);
- your study settings, such as the daily review limit and how meanings are shown.
1.3 Purchases
Apple handles payment when you subscribe; we never see your card or other payment details. We receive and keep the transaction identifier, the product, the subscription status and the expiry date, to turn on and verify your membership.
1.4 Feedback you send
When you report a dictionary entry, we keep the entry, the kind of problem and any note you write.
1.5 Sign-in and security information
When you sign in, we record the request’s IP address and User-Agent (including device model and system version) with your session, and our server access logs record request IP addresses. We use these for account security, abuse prevention and troubleshooting. Access logs are kept for 6 months in mainland China, as the law requires, and 30 days elsewhere, then deleted automatically.
1.6 AI usage records
For each call to an AI service we record the time, the model, the usage and the cost, to apply daily limits and track spending. These records don’t contain the sentence.
1.7 What stays on your device
The following is processed only on your device and never uploaded to our servers:
- the content of web pages you browse in the app, your browsing history and reading progress;
- sentence translation (done on device with Apple’s translation feature), word pronunciation (system voices) and language detection.
Web pages you open in the app come straight from their websites, whose own privacy policies and cookie rules also apply. If a page asks to use the camera or microphone, iOS asks for your permission first; what you capture goes to that page, and GripWords doesn’t keep it.
We don’t collect your location, contacts, photos or advertising identifier, and the app contains no third-party analytics or advertising SDKs.
2. Third-party AI services
Members can use “Pick and Link Meanings with AI”. The app asks for your permission before the first use. Once you allow it, each lookup sends the sentence, the position of the word in it and the candidate meanings to our server, which passes them to a third-party AI service to pick the meaning that fits. We don’t send your account information to the AI service.
- Mainland China: Alibaba Cloud Model Studio (Qwen);
- Everywhere else: OpenRouter, which passes requests to model providers such as OpenAI.
To avoid repeat calls, our server caches the AI’s answers. The cache keeps only an irreversible digest of the request and the chosen meaning, never the sentence itself.
You can turn this off anytime in Settings. When off, lookups show all meanings without linking one; looking up, saving and reviewing words all still work.
3. How we use information
- to provide lookups, the notebook, review scheduling and sync between devices;
- to turn on and verify memberships;
- to keep accounts secure and prevent abuse;
- to improve the dictionary from your reports.
We don’t use your information for advertising or profiling, and we don’t sell it.
4. Sharing and service providers
We share personal information only with:
- Apple, for sign-in and App Store purchases;
- cloud hosting providers that run our servers and databases (Alibaba Cloud for mainland China, a cloud server in the United States elsewhere);
- third-party AI services, only after you allow it (section 2);
- authorities, when the law requires it.
5. Where data is stored
Your account’s region is set automatically from your App Store country or region:
- Mainland China accounts are stored in mainland China (Alibaba Cloud, Beijing) and are not transferred abroad;
- all other accounts are stored in the United States.
The two regions’ accounts and data are separate and are never transferred between them.
6. Retention and deletion
- We keep your account information and learning data while your account exists. Words or sentences you delete in the app are marked as deleted, no longer shown or synced, and removed completely when you delete your account.
- When you delete your account, we immediately delete your account information, sessions and all learning data, and revoke the link with your Apple Account. The data on your device is deleted too.
- Purchase records are kept, no longer linked to any account, for accounting and legal obligations. Dictionary reports and AI usage records are also kept without the link, to improve the dictionary and track costs.
- Database backups are kept for 30 days and then deleted automatically, so data you delete is gone from backups within 30 days as well.
7. Your choices and rights
- View and correct: you can view, edit and delete your saved words, sentences and settings in the app.
- Withdraw consent: turn off AI meaning picks in Settings anytime; or stop using Sign in with Apple for GripWords in iPhone Settings → your name → Sign-In & Security → Sign in with Apple.
- Delete your account: in the app’s Settings, open your account and choose Delete Account. This can’t be undone.
- For a copy of your data or any other request, contact us (section 11). We reply within 15 business days.
8. Children
The Service isn’t directed to children under 13 (under 14 in mainland China). If we learn we have collected a child’s personal information without a parent’s or guardian’s consent, we delete it.
9. Security
All traffic between the app and our servers is encrypted with HTTPS, and our servers and databases are open only to the people and services that need them. No measure is perfectly secure; if a security incident affects your personal information, we will tell you as the law requires.
10. Changes
When we update this policy, we change the date on this page. For significant changes, such as collecting a new kind of information or using it for a new purpose, we let you know in the app and ask for your consent again where needed.
11. Contact
Questions about this policy or your information: support@gripwords.app.