Privacy policy - Speak with Native

Last Updated: November 4, 2024

Welcome to Speak with Native. We value your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This privacy policy outlines how we collect, use, store, and share your information.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly when you use our platform, such as:

Account Information: When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, profile picture, native language(s), and the language(s) you are learning and location. You may also provide optional profile details such as bio, profile picture and interests.
Communication: Messages you send and receive through our chat feature, as well as testimonials, reviews and interactions with other members.
Usage Information: Data about how you use the platform (e.g. clicks, screens viewed, pages visited), including your interactions with other users, reports, or blocks

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information for purposes such as:

To Create Your Public Profile: Your profile allows other members to find you based on your language preferences, proficiency levels, location, and shared interests, helping you connect with suitable language exchange partners. We ensure your privacy by never displaying sensitive details such as your email address or exact location. Only verified members have access to view your profile.
To Maintain a Safe, Curated Community: Speak with Native is a community designed for language learners, and we work hard to keep it safe. Access is restricted to verified members to help prevent abuse. We take various precautions, such as verifying the authenticity of profile pictures you provide. For instance, we use hashed (non-identifiable) profile photo comparisons to help detect and remove known scammers or flagged accounts.
To Send Service Notifications: We may use your contact information to send important updates regarding your account, including changes to your membership status, missed calls or messages, and new followers. Notifications may be sent via email.
To Optimize and Improve Speak with Native: We analyze aggregated, non-personally identifiable usage data to better understand how the platform is being used. This data helps us enhance features, fix bugs, and improve overall functionality.
To Foster a Friendly and Authentic Community: We aim to keep chats and interactions within Speak with Native positive and respectful. Our community guidelines encourage authentic communication to ensure a welcoming environment.
To Communicate With You: We may reach out to you directly regarding questions, feedback, or assistance related to your use of the platform.
For Quality Assurance and Statistical Analysis: To ensure a high-quality experience, we conduct regular evaluations of our services, gather statistics, and perform audits.
To Inform You of Events and Competitions: Your information allows us to invite you to participate in exclusive Speak with Native events, competitions, and challenges relevant to the language learning community.
For Advertising and Newsletters: We may send you information about relevant updates and language-learning tips through newsletters or emails.
For Surveys and Community Feedback: From time to time, we may invite you to participate in surveys to share your insights and help us further improve Speak with Native.
To Manage Community Moderation: We review applications to verify that new members align with our community guidelines. Our moderation team also works to resolve any reports or issues that arise to maintain a positive environment.

By creating a profile on Speak with Native, you enable other verified community members to find and connect with you for language exchange. We strive to keep your profile and experience secure, displaying only the necessary information.

3. How We Share Your Information

We may share your information with:

Other Members: Your profile information (such as name, language skills, location, and interests) will be visible to other members to facilitate connections and language exchanges.
Service Providers: Third-party vendors who assist us in running our platform (e.g., hosting services, analytics providers) may have access to your data to perform their tasks.
Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid legal requests.

4. Your Choices

You have control over your information and can:

Update Your Profile: Modify your account details or language preferences.
MemberDetailTestimonials: Delete your testimonials at any time if changes occur or if you no longer feel comfortable with them.
Report or Block Members: Use features to ensure your safety and comfort on the platform.
Delete Your Account: If you wish to leave Speak with Native, you can request the deletion of your account, and your personal information will be removed, subject to legal and regulatory requirements.

5. Data Recipients

We use your personal information strictly within Speak with Native and only share it with companies involved in providing services essential to fulfilling contracts with you or delivering relevant features. Customer data may be shared with third parties in the following cases:

Analytics and Service Optimization: To understand how Speak with Native is used by members and to continually improve the platform, we share pseudonymous usage data and personal information with Google Analytics.
Safety and Integrity: We work with third-party services to help maintain the safety and integrity of our platform.

5.1 Registration and Authentication

When users register or authenticate, they enable Speak with Native to verify their identity and securely grant them access to services. Some of these services are provided by third parties, which may access certain data stored with them upon the user’s explicit consent:

Google OAuth (Google Inc.): A registration and authentication service that allows users to log in with their Google account, connected to the Google network. Personal data collected may vary as specified in the privacy policy. Place of processing: United States – Privacy Policy.

5.2 Hosting and Backend Infrastructure

We use third-party hosting services to store data and files, enabling Speak with Native to operate, scale, and deliver a reliable service. These services may use distributed servers, making the exact storage location of personal data difficult to pinpoint.

DigitalOcean (DigitalOcean, LLC): Our primary hosting and backend infrastructure for Speak with Native, storing a range of personal data, including sign-in data, images, and message content. Place of processing: United States – Privacy Policy.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) (Amazon.com Inc.): As our hosting and infrastructure provider, AWS stores various types of personal data, including sign-in information, message content, and all images and files uploaded by users. We specifically use Amazon S3 to securely store files and images. Data processing locations: Germany and the United States – Privacy Policy.

5.3 Managing Contacts and Sending Messages

These services help us communicate with users outside of the platform, primarily through email notifications.

Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) (Amazon.com Inc.): We use Amazon SES to send important communications, such as account activity updates, notifications, and platform updates. Data processing locations: Germany and the United States – Privacy Policy.

5.4 Web and Mobile Analytics

We use analytics tools to monitor and analyze traffic on both web and mobile versions of Speak with Native, which helps us understand platform usage and improve our services.

Internal Analytics (Speak with Native): Our platform includes an internal analytics system that tracks cookies and usage data without involving third parties.
Google Analytics (Google Inc.): A web analysis service provided by Google that helps us understand user engagement on Speak with Native. Google may use this data to contextualize ads within its network. Personal data collected: Cookies and usage data. Place of processing: United States – Privacy Policy – Opt-Out.

6. Data Security

We take appropriate measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, please be aware that no method of online transmission or storage is entirely secure.

7. Children’s Privacy

Speak with Native is not intended for children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from children. If we become aware of any such data collected without parental consent, we will take steps to delete it.

8. Changes to Our Privacy Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of any significant changes through the platform or via email. Continued use of our services after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the new policy.

9. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Cookies and similar technologies are small text files or pieces of code that often include a unique identifier. When you visit a website or use a mobile application, a request is made to your computer or mobile device to store this file, which can later be accessed. Information gathered through cookies and similar technologies may include the date and time of your visit, your interactions with our platform, and other usage patterns.

We use cookies on Speak with Native for the following purposes:

To Remember Your Information: Cookies help us remember information, so you don’t have to re-enter it every time you visit, making your experience smoother and more convenient.
To Streamline Access to Your Account: Cookies help you quickly access your information after logging in and allow us to keep you logged in throughout your session, reducing interruptions.
To Enhance Security: Cookies enable us to maintain a safe and secure community by supporting our efforts to detect and prevent misuse or unauthorized activity.

By using Speak with Native, you consent to our use of cookies as outlined above.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our data practices, you can reach out to us directly via contact@speakwithnative.com