Tono is a translation and language-learning app. This policy explains what information the app handles and where it goes. The short version: your translations pass through our servers to an AI provider and are not stored there; your library lives on your device; we don't run ads, we don't track you across apps, and we never sell data.
What we collect
Account. Tono does not ask you to register. On first launch the app creates an anonymous identifier for your device so your free allowance and your subscription can be recognized; it contains no name, email or Apple ID, and it is not shared with anyone. Your subscription itself belongs to your Apple ID, not to us.
Content you submit for translation. Phrases you type, context you provide, photos you take of text, and transcriptions of speech are sent to our servers and forwarded to our AI provider (currently Google's Gemini API) to produce the translation. We do not store this content on our servers — it passes through to produce your answer, and nothing we keep contains what you translated.
Our AI provider processes it under its own terms, including Google's API data-use policy. We use Google's paid API tier, under which submitted content is not used to train or improve Google's models. If we ever change providers or tiers in a way that affects this, we will update this policy.
Where processing happens. Our servers and our AI provider operate in the United States and other countries, so content you submit for translation is processed outside your own country, including outside the EU/EEA and the UK.
Speech. Turning speech into text happens on your device using Apple's speech recognition. Audio never leaves your phone; only the resulting text is sent for translation, and only when you ask for one.
Your library. Translation history, scripts, and starred phrases are stored locally on your device, not on our servers. If you turn on conversation saving in Talk (off by default), full transcripts — including the other person's words — are also kept on your device only, with a visible indicator while saving is on, until you delete them.
Usage counts. We record how many translations are made per day against your device's anonymous identifier — this enforces the free allowance and helps us understand load. Counts only; not the content.
Subscriptions. Purchases are processed by Apple; we never see your payment details. We use RevenueCat to manage subscription status, which processes your Apple transaction identifiers under its own privacy policy.
Website analytics
Our marketing website (tonotranslate.com, including this page) uses Google Analytics to count visits and see which pages people find useful. It records page views, the site you came from, approximate location derived from a truncated IP address, and general device and browser type, and it sets a cookie in your browser. This is about website visitors, not app users: it is not connected to your Tono account, and the app itself contains no analytics or tracking SDKs.
If you're in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, that cookie is not set unless you accept it — we ask before anything is stored, and declining is one click. You can change your answer at any time with Cookie settings, at the bottom of every page. We do not use advertising cookies anywhere.
What we don't do
- No advertising, and no advertising identifiers.
- No tracking of you across other companies' apps or websites.
- No sale of any data, ever.
A note on other people
Tono's conversation features can transcribe what someone speaking another language says to you. That transcription is processed the same way as anything else you translate — on-device speech recognition, text sent for translation, not stored by us. Please be considerate about using these features where recording assistance is inappropriate.
Deleting your data
Your library — every phrase, script and transcript — exists only on your device. Deleting the app deletes it. Inside the app, Settings → Erase my library removes the same content without uninstalling, and Reset app returns settings to first launch.
What stays on our servers is an anonymous identifier with your translation counts and subscription status. It carries no name, no email address, and none of what you translated, and nothing links it to you. That also means we could not act on a deletion request for it even if you sent one: there is no name or address attached that you could give us to identify it. Canceling a subscription is separate and handled through your Apple account settings.
Changes and contact
If this policy changes materially we'll note it in the app. Questions: hello@tonotranslate.com.