Privacy Policy

Effective date: 23 May 2026 · Last updated: 23 May 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how the ReadAloud mobile application (“ReadAloud”, “the App”, “we”, “us”) handles information when you use it on your iPhone or iPad.

TL;DR — ReadAloud does not collect, transmit, or share any personal data. Everything you import or read stays on your own device.

1. Data we collect

None. ReadAloud is designed to run entirely on your device.

• We do not collect personal information.
• We do not track usage, sessions, or behaviour.
• We do not use analytics, advertising, or third-party tracking SDKs.
• We do not require an account, sign-up, or login.
• We do not send any data over the network.

ReadAloud has no backend server. The application binary contains only on-device functionality.

2. Data stored on your device

ReadAloud stores the following locally in your device’s app sandbox:

• Books you import (TXT, EPUB, PDF) and any extracted text.
• Bookmarks, reading progress, and tags you create.
• Your settings (font, theme, voice preference, etc.) via Apple’s standard UserDefaults.

This data never leaves your device through ReadAloud. It is removed when you delete the app.

If you have enabled Apple’s iCloud Drive backup for your device, your app data may be included in your personal iCloud backup. This backup is governed by Apple’s Privacy Policy, not ours.

3. System permissions and services we use

• Background audio playback — required to continue reading aloud when the screen is locked. Uses Apple’s AVAudioSession API. No audio is recorded or transmitted.
• Text-to-Speech (TTS) — uses Apple’s on-device AVSpeechSynthesizer. Selected text is sent to the system synthesizer for playback only. Apple’s voices may be downloaded by you in iOS Settings; that download is managed by Apple, not ReadAloud.
• File import (Document Picker) — only when you tap “Import”. You explicitly select files; ReadAloud only reads the files you choose.
• Clipboard access (Paste) — only when you explicitly tap “Paste from Clipboard”. ReadAloud does not read the clipboard at any other time.

ReadAloud does not access the camera, microphone, contacts, photo library, location, calendar, reminders, health data, motion data, or any other sensitive system resource.

4. Third-party libraries

ReadAloud uses the following open-source libraries, all of which run entirely on-device:

• SwiftyOpenCC (Apache License 2.0) — Traditional/Simplified Chinese conversion. No network access.

These libraries do not collect or transmit data.

5. Children’s privacy

ReadAloud is suitable for users of all ages (rated 4+). Because we collect no data, we do not knowingly collect any data from children.

6. Data retention and deletion

We have no servers, so we have no data to retain or delete. All app data lives on your device. Deleting the app from your device deletes all associated data.

7. Your rights

Because we do not collect or process personal data, statutory rights such as access, rectification, deletion, restriction, portability, and objection are not applicable to ReadAloud. You retain full control over the locally-stored data on your device.

8. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes take effect when posted at this URL. The “Last updated” date at the top will reflect any changes.

9. Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

• Email: [email protected]
• Developer: Heion Technologies
• Jurisdiction: Hong Kong SAR

This policy is provided in English and Traditional Chinese. A Traditional Chinese version is available. In case of conflict between language versions, the English version prevails.