Welcome to Zen Chinese, a mobile application for reading Chinese‐language news and books (“the App”). We value your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have.
Our Website: http://www.zenchinese.top
1. Information We Collect
| Category | Examples | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Account & Profile | Name, email address, Apple ID / Google Sign-In ID, Firebase UID | Create and manage your account; enable sign-in and sync across devices |
| Usage Data | Articles viewed, bookmarks, in-app reading statistics, interaction logs | Personalize content, improve recommendations, analyze performance |
| Device & Log Data | Device model, OS version, unique device identifiers, crash logs, diagnostic data | Debugging, app stability, fraud prevention |
| Optional Data | Feedback you provide, survey responses, support requests | Respond to inquiries, improve user experience |
We do not collect sensitive personal information such as financial data, precise geolocation, or biometric identifiers.
2. How We Use Your Information
Account Services – authenticate you, remember your reading progress, and store preferences.
Content Personalization – recommend news or books you may enjoy.
App Improvement – aggregate analytics help us fix bugs and optimize features.
Security & Fraud Prevention – detect suspicious activity and protect user accounts.
Legal Compliance – comply with applicable laws, regulations, or court orders.
3. Legal Bases for Processing
We rely on one or more of the following legal grounds, as required by the GDPR and similar regulations:
Legal obligation (to meet regulatory or law-enforcement requests).
Your consent (e.g., for optional push notifications).
Contractual necessity (to deliver the App’s core services).
Legitimate interests (to maintain and improve our services).
4. Sharing & Disclosure
We never sell your personal information. We share data only:
| Recipient | Reason |
|---|---|
| Service Providers (Firebase, Google Cloud, Apple CloudKit) | Hosting, analytics, authentication, crash reporting |
| Analytics Partners (Google Analytics for Firebase) | Aggregate usage metrics (anonymized or pseudonymized) |
| Legal Authorities | Only when required to comply with the law, protect our rights, or investigate misuse |
All third-party processors are bound by confidentiality and security obligations.
5. Data Retention
Account data: retained while your account is active and for up to 30 days after deletion to allow recovery, then securely erased.
Usage and diagnostic logs: stored for a maximum of 24 months in aggregate form.
Back-ups: encrypted and automatically purged on a 30-day rolling basis.
6. Security Measures
We apply industry-standard safeguards to protect your data, including:
Automatic log monitoring and anomaly detection
End-to-end TLS encryption in transit; AES-256 encryption at rest
OAuth 2.0 for Google / Apple sign-in
Principle of least privilege for employee access
Regular security audits and penetration tests
7. Your Rights & Choices
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you
- Correct inaccurate or incomplete information
- Delete your data (“Right to be forgotten”)
- Object to or restrict certain processing
- Port your data to another service
You can exercise these by using in-app settings or contacting us (see Section 10). We will respond within 30 days.
Request Account Deletion If you wish to delete your account and all associated data, please send an email to zenchinese129@gmail.com with the subject “Delete my account”. We will process your request within 7 days.8. Children’s Privacy
Zen Chinese is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age required in your country). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we learn that a child has provided personal data, we will delete it promptly.
9. International Transfers
Your information may be processed on servers located outside your country of residence. We uphold the protections required by applicable data protection laws, including Standard Contractual Clauses for EU users.
10. Contact Us
If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact:
Zen Chinese – Privacy
Email: zenchinese129@gmail.com
Address: Dong Da, Hanoi, Vietnam
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Significant changes will be announced in-app or via email. The “Last updated” date at the top shows when it was last revised. Continuing to use the App after changes means you accept the updated policy.
12. Further Information for Users
Legal basis of processing
The Owner may process Personal Data relating to Users if one of the following applies:
- Users have given their consent for one or more specific purposes.
- provision of Data is necessary for the performance of an agreement with the User and/or for any pre-contractual obligations thereof;
- processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the Owner is subject;
- processing is related to a task that is carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Owner;
- processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Owner or by a third party.
In any case, the Owner will gladly help to clarify the specific legal basis that applies to the processing, and in particular whether the provision of Personal Data is a statutory or contractual requirement, or a requirement necessary to enter into a contract.
Further information about retention time
Unless specified otherwise in this document, Personal Data shall be processed and stored for as long as required by the purpose they have been collected for and may be retained for longer due to applicable legal obligation or based on the Users’ consent.
Therefore:
- Personal Data collected for purposes related to the performance of a contract between the Owner and the User shall be retained until such contract has been fully performed.
- Personal Data collected for the purposes of the Owner’s legitimate interests shall be retained as long as needed to fulfill such purposes. Users may find specific information regarding the legitimate interests pursued by the Owner within the relevant sections of this document or by contacting the Owner.
The Owner may be allowed to retain Personal Data for a longer period whenever the User has given consent to such processing, as long as such consent is not withdrawn. Furthermore, the Owner may be obliged to retain Personal Data for a longer period whenever required to fulfil a legal obligation or upon order of an authority.
Once the retention period expires, Personal Data shall be deleted. Therefore, the right of access, the right to erasure, the right to rectification and the right to data portability cannot be enforced after expiration of the retention period.
The rights of Users based on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Users may exercise certain rights regarding their Data processed by the Owner.
In particular, Users have the right to do the following, to the extent permitted by law:
- Withdraw their consent at any time. Users have the right to withdraw consent where they have previously given their consent to the processing of their Personal Data.
- Object to processing of their Data. Users have the right to object to the processing of their Data if the processing is carried out on a legal basis other than consent.
- Access their Data. Users have the right to learn if Data is being processed by the Owner, obtain disclosure regarding certain aspects of the processing and obtain a copy of the Data undergoing processing.
- Verify and seek rectification. Users have the right to verify the accuracy of their Data and ask for it to be updated or corrected.
- Restrict the processing of their Data. Users have the right to restrict the processing of their Data. In this case, the Owner will not process their Data for any purpose other than storing it.
- Have their Personal Data deleted or otherwise removed. Users have the right to obtain the erasure of their Data from the Owner.
- Receive their Data and have it transferred to another controller. Users have the right to receive their Data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and, if technically feasible, to have it transmitted to another controller without any hindrance.
- Lodge a complaint. Users have the right to bring a claim before their competent data protection authority.
Users are also entitled to learn about the legal basis for Data transfers abroad including to any international organization governed by public international law or set up by two or more countries, such as the UN, and about the security measures taken by the Owner to safeguard their Data.
Details about the right to object to processing
Where Personal Data is processed for a public interest, in the exercise of an official authority vested in the Owner or for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Owner, Users may object to such processing by providing a ground related to their particular situation to justify the objection.
Users must know that, however, should their Personal Data be processed for direct marketing purposes, they can object to that processing at any time, free of charge and without providing any justification. Where the User objects to processing for direct marketing purposes, the Personal Data will no longer be processed for such purposes. To learn whether the Owner is processing Personal Data for direct marketing purposes, Users may refer to the relevant sections of this document.
How to exercise these rights
Any requests to exercise User rights can be directed to the Owner through the contact details provided in this document. Such requests are free of charge and will be answered by the Owner as early as possible and always within one month, providing Users with the information required by law. Any rectification or erasure of Personal Data or restriction of processing will be communicated by the Owner to each recipient, if any, to whom the Personal Data has been disclosed unless this proves impossible or involves disproportionate effort. At the Users’ request, the Owner will inform them about those recipients.
13. Additional information about Data collection and processing
Legal action
The User’s Personal Data may be used for legal purposes by the Owner in Court or in the stages leading to possible legal action arising from improper use of this Application or the related Services.
The User declares to be aware that the Owner may be required to reveal personal data upon request of public authorities.
Additional information about User’s Personal Data
In addition to the information contained in this privacy policy, this Application may provide the User with additional and contextual information concerning particular Services or the collection and processing of Personal Data upon request.
System logs and maintenance
For operation and maintenance purposes, this Application and any third-party services may collect files that record interaction with this Application (System logs) or use other Personal Data (such as the IP Address) for this purpose.
Information not contained in this policy
More details concerning the collection or processing of Personal Data may be requested from the Owner at any time. Please see the contact information at the beginning of this document.
Changes to this privacy policy
The Owner reserves the right to make changes to this privacy policy at any time by notifying its Users on this page and possibly within this Application and/or – as far as technically and legally feasible – sending a notice to Users via any contact information available to the Owner. It is strongly recommended to check this page often, referring to the date of the last modification listed at the bottom.
Should the changes affect processing activities performed on the basis of the User’s consent, the Owner shall collect new consent from the User, where required.
Thank you for trusting Zen Chinese. Happy reading!