Privacy policy

1. Who we are

This policy covers the Zhuyin Pro app for Android, published by Merry Mandarin. The Android package name is com.merrymandarin.zhuyin. The company responsible for the app and for personal information we receive is:

Zhuyin Pro is an installed app. We do not offer a web app. Our website gives product information, free Zhuyin guides and legal documents. Information about website visitors is in our separate website privacy information.

2. No internet, no account

We do not sell personal information. We do not share it for advertising. We do not use your data to train AI models.

3. Data stored on your device

The app saves the following information in its private storage on your device to provide its features:

Handwriting is checked on your device. The app saves the score of a writing exercise, not the drawing. All course content, words, stroke data and fonts are part of the app; the app downloads nothing.

4. Microphone

Speaking exercises (See & say and Sound Lab) are optional. When you first start one, the app asks for Android’s RECORD_AUDIO permission. If you allow it, the app records a short take of up to about three seconds when you press the record button. It measures the pitch of your voice to show your tone and give feedback. Nearby sounds can also be recorded during a take.

The audio is processed on your device and held in memory only, so you can replay your take. It is not saved to a file, not stored in your history, not uploaded and not used to identify you. A new take replaces the previous one, and leaving the exercise discards it. The app saves only the result of the exercise, like any other answer.

You can refuse or remove microphone access in Android settings at any time. Speaking exercises then cannot record. Everything else keeps working.

5. Device services

Sound: the 37 Zhuyin symbols play recordings that are stored in the app, so they need no speech engine and no internet. Speech (text-to-speech): to play a syllable, word or sentence, the app sends a Chinese character or word to the speech engine installed on your device, for example Google Speech Services. The app never sends your voice to it. The speech engine and its voices are provided by your device maker or a provider you choose, under their own terms. Use an installed offline voice if you want speech to stay offline. We do not receive the text.

Notifications: if you turn on reminders, the app asks for Android’s notification permission and schedules local reminders. After a restart of the phone, the app schedules them again. No notification comes from a server.

Share sheet and file picker: exporting a backup, a practice sheet or a map picture opens Android’s share sheet. Restoring a backup opens Android’s file picker. The app reads only the file you choose. It does not access your photos, contacts, location or other files.

6. Backups and exports

• Android backup: the app allows Android’s own backup and device-to-device transfer of its database and settings. If backup is on for your Google account, Android may copy this data to your Google account and restore it on a new phone. Google runs this service under its terms and your device settings. We do not receive these backups. You can turn backup off in Android settings.
• Backup file: in Settings, you can export all your progress as a file and share or save it where you choose. The file is not encrypted or password-protected. Anyone with the file can read your learning progress. When you restore a file, it replaces the progress on the phone, after you confirm.
• Practice sheets and map pictures: PDF practice sheets and map images contain symbols and your map colours. They contain no personal details beyond what the picture shows.

If you share a file to a cloud drive, an email app or another person, that service or person receives it under their own policies. Exporting does not send a copy to us.

7. Retention and deletion

Local data stays on your device until you delete it. To delete all app data, open Android Settings › Apps › Zhuyin Pro › Storage, and clear storage, or uninstall the app. Delete exported files and Android backups separately where you keep them.

We cannot see, recover or delete data on your device, because we never receive it. There is no account to delete.

The app uses Android’s app-private storage and permission system. We do not add a separate encryption layer. Your screen lock and device security also protect your data.

8. Google Play

Google Play handles downloads and purchases under its own terms and privacy policy. We do not receive your payment card details. Google may give us order, sales and statistics information for product administration, support and accounting.

After a good practice session, the app may ask Google Play to show its standard in-app rating card. Google controls the card. We do not learn whether it appeared or whether you rated, and the app sends us nothing about it. “Rate Zhuyin Pro” in Settings opens the store page. See Google’s privacy policy.

9. When you email us

If you email support@merrymandarin.com, we receive your email address, your message and any attachments. Send only what we need for your request. We use correspondence to answer you, solve problems and meet legal duties. Our email provider processes it to deliver and store messages.

We keep correspondence as long as needed for your request, follow-up questions, disputes and legal record-keeping. Then we delete or anonymize it.

Where the GDPR applies, answering a request you make relies on Article 6(1)(b), routine support and service protection on our legitimate interests under Article 6(1)(f), and required records on Article 6(1)(c). We are based in Taiwan. Our email provider may process correspondence in other countries. Where the law requires safeguards for international transfers, we use them.

10. Your choices and rights

You can use the whole app without sending us any personal data. Device settings and the app let you keep, export or delete the data on your device, and remove microphone or notification access.

Depending on where you live, including under Taiwan’s Personal Data Protection Act, the EU GDPR or the UK GDPR, you may have the right to access, correct, copy, delete, restrict or object to the use of personal information we hold about you, and to withdraw consent. You may also complain to your data-protection authority.

Contact us at the address above and name Zhuyin Pro. We may need some information to confirm that a request is about your data. Scores, memory curves and levels are learning feedback. They are not decisions with legal or similarly significant effects.

11. Children

The app is for learners aged 13 and older. Younger learners should use it with a parent or guardian. The app does not ask for a name, age, email or date of birth, and we do not knowingly collect children’s personal information. If a child sends us information by email, a parent or guardian can ask us to delete it.

12. Changes to this policy

If the app’s data practices change, we will update this page and its date. We will give appropriate notice of important changes and ask for consent where the law requires it. Questions: support@merrymandarin.com.