Privacy Policy

1. Who this policy is for

This policy explains how HANYU HQ, operated by Diego Manolo Tesoro ("HANYU HQ", "we", "us", or "our"), handles information when learners, parents, guardians, and schools use the website. HANYU HQ is designed for young Mandarin learners, so we aim to use as little personal information as possible and keep privacy settings protective by default.

2. Information used by the current website

Learning progress stored on the device

The website stores lesson position, scores, completion status, test attempts, hearts, and learning preferences in the browser's local storage. A signed-in teacher may also explicitly save named class lists containing display names and corrected Pinyin in that browser. This information stays on that browser and device and is not currently sent to a HANYU HQ learner database. Saved class lists remain until the teacher deletes them or clears the browser's site data.

Live classroom games

When a teacher creates a HANYU Live game, the service temporarily stores the class display names and Chinese-name Pinyin supplied by the teacher, game answers, scores, timing, connection status, and private connection credentials. Pinyin textboxes are filled automatically on the teacher’s device and can be edited. Anyone visiting Join game while a game is active can see the roster display names and their Pinyin and may select an available name; name selection does not verify a student’s identity. A presenter screen shows the joined students’ names and scores during play. Students do not need an account or email address. The teacher signs in through Google, and HANYU HQ stores a verified account identifier and a temporary sign-in session, not the Google password. Teachers should use a first name with an initial, a school-approved display name, or another name that distinguishes students without entering a full legal name.

A signed-in teacher can download game reports as CSV files while the temporary game record remains available. Downloaded files are stored on the teacher’s device and remain there until the teacher or device administrator deletes them.

Interactive classroom lessons

Classroom lesson setups store student display names and approved presenter email addresses until the teacher deletes the setup. Verified Google account identifiers and temporary presenter sessions control the slides. During a lesson, answers, response times, and scores are stored temporarily and scores appear on the class leaderboard. Students join by choosing a display name; only presenters sign in with Google. Only the teacher can download named answers as a CSV file.

Microphone and speech recognition

Speaking activities are optional. The website requests microphone access only after the learner taps the speaking control. Speech recognition is supplied by the learner's browser or device. Depending on the browser, audio or speech may be sent to the browser provider for recognition under that provider's privacy terms. HANYU HQ does not intentionally record or retain raw microphone audio. A recognition result may be used briefly to check an answer and is not saved as learner progress.

Basic technical information

Like most websites, the hosting provider may automatically process limited request information such as an IP address, browser type, device type, requested page, date and time, and security logs. This supports delivery, reliability, abuse prevention, and security. HANYU HQ does not currently use advertising or behavioural analytics trackers.

3. How information is used

• To remember the learner's place and settings on the same device.
• To coordinate live classroom games and show results to the participating student and teacher.
• To provide optional pronunciation and speaking activities.
• To operate, secure, troubleshoot, and improve the website.
• To comply with law and protect learners, schools, and the service.

We do not sell personal information, run targeted advertising, create advertising profiles, or ask learners to share their precise location.

4. Children and school use

A parent, guardian, or authorised school adult should supervise a young learner's use of the website. Learners should not type or share their real full name, home address, personal telephone number, passwords, photographs, or other private information in website activities. The example names and telephone numbers in lessons are fictional learning content.

If a school provides access, the school may have its own privacy responsibilities and policies. Schools and parents should review browser speech-recognition settings before enabling microphone activities. Speaking can be skipped in Settings without affecting access to the learning content.

5. Sharing and service providers

Information may be processed by providers that help host and securely deliver the website, and by the learner's chosen browser or operating-system provider when speech recognition is used. We may also disclose information when legally required or when reasonably necessary to protect a person or the service. We do not share learner information with advertisers or data brokers.

6. Retention and deletion

Device-based progress remains until someone resets progress in Settings, clears the browser's site data, or removes the browser profile. Temporary speech-recognition results are not added to saved progress. Hosting and security logs may be retained by the hosting provider for a limited operational or legal period.

Unattended HANYU Live games end after two hours without meaningful activity. Game and player data is deleted within 24 hours after a game ends, or sooner if the teacher deletes it. Hosting and security logs may have a separate provider retention period. Live scores do not become part of saved lesson or test progress.

Unattended interactive classroom lessons also end after two hours without meaningful activity. Their answers and player records are deleted within 24 hours after the lesson ends. Saved classroom setups and presenter approvals remain until the teacher deletes them. Classroom scores do not become part of saved Learn or Test progress.

7. Choices and privacy rights

Parents and guardians can turn off speaking activities, deny microphone permission, reset saved progress, or clear the browser's site data. Depending on where a family lives, they may also have rights to ask about, access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to processing of personal information, and to complain to a data-protection authority.

Because current learning progress is stored only on the learner's device, HANYU HQ may not be able to retrieve it remotely. The person using the device can remove it through Settings or the browser controls.

8. Security and international processing

We use reasonable safeguards appropriate to the limited information handled by the website. No online service can promise perfect security. Hosting or browser providers may process technical or speech information in other countries under their own safeguards and terms.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when the website or legal requirements change. We will change the effective date and provide an appropriate notice if a change materially affects how learner information is handled.