The short version
Kikusho is designed to work without an account and to keep your study data on your device whenever possible. We do not sell your personal information, run third-party advertising, or use your captures to build advertising profiles.
Creating a card requires an internet connection because the text or highlighted image you submit is processed to draft the card. Reviews work offline.
Information Kikusho processes
Depending on how you use the app, Kikusho may process the following information:
- Capture content: words, phrases, transcripts, and highlighted images you choose to submit for card generation.
- Account information: an anonymous Firebase identifier by default, or the account identifier and limited profile information provided through Sign in with Apple if you choose to sign in.
- Study and sync data: cards, settings, review history, tags, and streaks when you are signed in with Apple, and the photos attached to your captures if you also subscribe to Kikusho Pro.
- Purchase information: subscription status and entitlement information. Payments are processed by Apple; Kikusho does not receive your full payment-card details.
- Technical information: installation identifier, app version, device and time-zone information, quota usage, and limited service logs needed to keep the app secure and reliable.
How information is used
- To generate, save, review, pronounce, and synchronize your flashcards.
- To provide daily capture quotas, subscriptions, account recovery, and cross-device sync.
- To protect the service against abuse, diagnose failures, and improve reliability.
- To answer support requests and comply with legal obligations.
On-device data and card generation
Your local card library and generated audio are stored on your iPhone. Generated pronunciation audio is always created on the device and is never uploaded. Microphone input is handled through Apple speech recognition to create a transcript. Kikusho does not keep a separate recording of your voice as an account profile.
When you ask Kikusho to create a card, the submitted text and, for photo captures, the highlighted image are sent securely to Kikusho’s service and Google’s Gemini service for generation. The Kikusho backend does not intentionally retain request images after the generation request completes.
Photos attached to your cards
A photo you capture stays on your device unless two things are both true: you are signed in with Apple, and you subscribe to Kikusho Pro. In that case the photo is resized and stored in a private folder in Kikusho’s cloud storage that only your account can read, so the card looks the same on your other devices. Anyone using Kikusho for free, or without signing in, keeps their photos on the device that took them.
Stored photos are not used to train models, are not shared with other users, and are not used for advertising. Deleting a card removes its stored photo, and deleting your account removes all of them.
Service providers
Kikusho relies on a small number of service providers that process information only to deliver their services:
- Apple for App Store distribution, purchases, Sign in with Apple, speech recognition, and platform services.
- Google Firebase and Google Cloud for authentication, secure backend services, storage, app integrity, and optional synchronization.
- Google Gemini for generating draft flashcard content from the material you submit.
- Google Analytics for optional website audience measurement, with prior consent where required and an opt-out available everywhere.
- RevenueCat for managing subscription status and purchase entitlements.
Website analytics and your choice
For visitors in the European Union, European Economic Area, and United Kingdom, the Kikusho website uses Google Analytics only after they select Accept in the analytics banner. Until then, the analytics service is not loaded. Elsewhere, analytics loads automatically unless the visitor has previously declined. Google Analytics may process visit and device information to provide aggregate audience statistics that help us improve the website.
Our hosting provider supplies a country-level location inferred from the request’s IP address so the website can determine whether to show the consent banner. If the country cannot be determined, the website asks for consent by default.
Your choice is saved in your browser. You can change it at any time through Cookie settings in the website footer. Choosing Decline stops future analytics measurement and removes Google Analytics cookies accessible from the website.
Retention and deletion
Local data remains on your device until you delete it, remove the app, or erase the device. Synced account data is kept while your account is active and for the limited time reasonably needed for backup, security, fraud prevention, or legal compliance.
You can delete individual cards inside Kikusho. You can also request account deletion from the app’s settings; this removes the account and associated cloud data, subject to short-lived backups and records we must keep for legal or financial reasons.
Your choices and rights
You can use Kikusho without creating a named account, decline optional permissions, edit or delete cards, turn off notifications, and choose whether to sign in for sync. You may also have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, or export personal information under the law where you live.
To make a privacy request, email zangiacomistefano@gmail.com. We may need to verify your request before acting on it.
Children, security, and changes
Kikusho is not directed to children under 13, or the minimum digital-consent age in their country, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children below that age.
We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards, but no online service can guarantee absolute security. We may update this policy as Kikusho changes. Material updates will be reflected by the date on this page and, when appropriate, communicated in the app.