Privacy Policy

DracoLanguage is a Chrome extension for learning languages with YouTube and Netflix videos, together with this website, made by Spiegelei Studio (see the Impressum at the bottom of this page for our company details). Spiegelei Studio is the controller of the personal data described here. This policy explains what data the extension and the website handle, why, and which service providers are involved.

Summary

• The transcript, translations, pinyin, and playback controls work without an account.
• A free account is needed to look up words and to save words, sentences, and grammar points. AI explanations are a Premium feature.
• DracoLanguage contains no advertising.
• We collect usage statistics about which features of the extension are used, never which videos you watch, what the subtitles say, or which words you look up.
• The extension only runs on YouTube and Netflix pages. It does not read your browsing history or the content of other websites.
• We do not sell your data and do not use it to build advertising profiles.
• You can delete your account at any time in the extension.

What happens on YouTube and Netflix pages

On YouTube video pages, the extension reads the list of subtitle tracks that YouTube provides to your browser and loads the subtitles of the video directly from YouTube, including YouTube's automatic translation when you turn translations on.

On Netflix, the extension reads the list of subtitle tracks from the data the Netflix player loads in your browser, asks Netflix for the subtitles in a text format, and loads them directly from Netflix.

This happens in your browser. The subtitles are not sent to us unless you ask for an AI explanation or look up a word (see below). Your use of YouTube and Netflix is governed by their own terms and privacy policies.

Data stored only in your browser

The extension stores its settings in your browser's extension storage: the interface language, the language explanations are written in, your level for each language, and display options such as pinyin, translations, and whether the panel is collapsed. When you are signed in, it also keeps your sign-in session and a copy of your name, email address, and profile picture address so it can show them. This data stays on your device and is removed when you remove the extension.

This website

You can browse this website without an account. If you sign up or sign in here, Firebase Authentication keeps your sign-in session in your browser's local storage so that you stay signed in; it is removed when you sign out. When you start a purchase, the website loads Paddle's checkout, which may set its own cookies as described in Paddle's privacy policy. The website uses no advertising or analytics cookies. Our hosting provider, Netlify, processes your IP address and technical request data to deliver the website and keeps them in short-lived server logs.

Account data

If you create an account, in the extension or on this website, you sign in with an email address and password or with Google. Accounts are provided by Google Firebase Authentication. Passwords are handled by Firebase; we never see them. If you sign in with Google, we receive the identifier, email address, name, and profile picture that Google shares with us.

For each account we keep a membership record in a Cloud Firestore database (located in the European Union, in Belgium and the Netherlands): your account identifier, email address, plan (free or Premium), when Premium ends, how it was obtained, the identifier of your subscription, and when the record was created and last changed. The record is created the first time the extension checks your plan after you sign in, or when you buy Premium. Sign-in itself is handled by Firebase Authentication, which processes sign-in data such as your email address on Google servers in the United States.

We use this data to sign you in, to know whether you have Premium, and to apply the monthly limit of AI explanations to your account.

AI explanations

When you ask for an explanation, the extension sends the following through our server to the Qwen language model operated by Alibaba Cloud: the sentence or the text you selected, up to three subtitle lines before and after it for context, the language of the video, the language the explanation should be written in, and your level. The title and address of the video and your account details are not included. Alibaba Cloud processes the request in China and returns the explanation.

To answer repeated requests quickly and keep costs down, our server stores each explanation together with the subtitle text it explains for 30 days. These stored explanations are identified only by their content, are not linked to your account, and may be shown to other users who ask for the same explanation. Because they consist of subtitles of videos and the explanation of them, please do not select text that contains personal information.

Word lookups

When you click a word in the transcript, the extension sends the word, the language of the video, and the language the meaning should be written in through our server to the Qwen language model, which returns a short dictionary entry. No context and no account details are included. Our server stores each entry for 180 days so that the next person who looks up the same word gets it from the store instead of the model. Stored entries are not linked to your account.

Saved words, sentences, and grammar points

When you save a word, a sentence, or a grammar point, it is stored under your account in the Cloud Firestore database (located in the European Union, in Belgium and the Netherlands) together with its explanation, the sentence it came from, the identifier of the YouTube or Netflix video, and the time in the video, so that you can find it again and use it on other devices. Only you can read your saved items. A copy is kept in your browser's extension storage while you are signed in and removed when you sign out. You can remove items in the extension at any time.

Usage statistics

To understand which features are used and where things go wrong, the extension sends usage events to PostHog: for example that a transcript was shown (with the video language and the number of lines), that an explanation or a word lookup was requested and whether it succeeded, that an item was saved, or that a setting was changed. Each event includes the extension version, the interface language, and whether you are signed in. If you are signed in, it includes your account identifier; otherwise an identifier that exists only in memory and changes after a short time, so that we cannot recognise you across sessions. Events never contain the video, the subtitle text, the words you look up, or page addresses, and we have turned off location detection from your IP address.

Usage limits

To apply the limits, our server keeps a counter of how many explanations your account used in the current month and how many words it looked up today. The counters contain no content and expire automatically, after about 40 days and two days respectively. We also keep a daily total across all users, which contains no personal data.

Subscriptions and payments

Premium is sold by Paddle.com, our reseller and Merchant of Record. Paddle processes your payment and billing details under its own privacy policy; we never receive your card or bank details. Paddle tells us the email address and account identifier linked to your purchase, the plan, and the status and end date of your subscription, which we store in your membership record.

Service providers

• Google Firebase (Google Ireland Limited): sign-in and membership records. Sign-in processed in the United States.
• Cloudflare, Inc.: our server, usage counters, and stored explanations.
• Alibaba Cloud (Qwen): AI explanations, processed in China.
• Paddle.com Market Limited: payments and subscriptions, as Merchant of Record.
• PostHog, Inc.: usage statistics of the extension, hosted in the European Union.
• Netlify, Inc.: hosting of this website.

Some of these providers process data outside the European Union, including in the United States and, for AI explanations, in China. Where required, such transfers are based on the safeguards provided for by data protection law, such as standard contractual clauses.

Chrome Web Store User Data Policy

DracoLanguage uses the data described above only to provide its features. The use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. We do not transfer this data to third parties except as described above, and we do not use it for advertising, creditworthiness, or lending purposes.

Legal bases

We process account, membership, explanation, lookup, and saved data to provide the features you request (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). Usage counters, stored explanations and entries, server logs, and measures against abuse are based on our legitimate interest in keeping the service secure, available, and affordable, and usage statistics on our legitimate interest in improving DracoLanguage (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). You can object to usage statistics at any time by writing to us.

How long we keep data

• Account data and membership record: until you delete your account.
• Saved words, sentences, and grammar points: until you remove them or delete your account.
• Stored explanations: 30 days. Stored word entries: 180 days.
• Usage counters: about 40 days (explanations) and two days (word lookups).
• Usage statistics: as long as they are needed to improve DracoLanguage.
• Settings in your browser: until you remove the extension.
• Purchase records: as long as required for accounting and tax purposes, kept by Paddle.

Deleting your account

You can delete your account in the extension: click the DracoLanguage icon in the browser toolbar and choose Delete account at the bottom of your account card. This permanently deletes your sign-in, your membership record, your saved items, and your usage counters. For security reasons Firebase may ask you to sign in again first. You can also ask us to delete your account by writing to the address below. Deleting your account does not cancel a running subscription; cancel it through the link in your Paddle receipt or by contacting us.

Your rights

Under the GDPR you have the right to access, correct, or delete your data, to restrict or object to its processing, and to receive it in a portable format. To exercise these rights, write to the address below. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority.

Children

DracoLanguage is intended for teenagers and adults and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13.

Changes to this policy

If the extension or the website changes in a way that affects your data, we will update this page and revise the "last updated" date above.

Contact

Questions about this policy or DracoLanguage can be sent to service@spiegeleistudio.com. See also our Terms of Service.