GRIOT
Privacy Policy
Last updated: 24 October 2026
GRIOT is an app for learning Yorùbá and translating between African and world languages. We collect as little as possible. This policy explains what GRIOT does with your information.
- We don’t collect personal information such as your name, email or phone number.
- GRIOT doesn’t need an account.
- We don’t upload or store your voice recordings.
- We don’t track you across other companies’ apps or websites, and we don’t use your advertising identifier.
- We don’t sell your data, and GRIOT has no advertising.
Who we are
GRIOT is published by Seore Soyannwo, trading as Eroesmeraki, based in London, United Kingdom. For anything about your data, email [email protected].
1. Information we process
1.1 Your voice in the translator
When you speak to the translator, Apple’s speech recognition turns your voice into text. GRIOT doesn’t store these recordings.
1.2 Practice recordings in lessons
When you record yourself in a lesson, the recording is saved temporarily on your device so you can play it back and compare it with the native audio. It never leaves your device and isn’t sent to us or anyone else. Your iPhone clears these temporary files.
1.3 Text you translate
Text you translate is sent to Google’s translation service to produce the translation. Phrases that GRIOT’s lessons already teach are answered by the app itself and aren’t sent. We don’t keep a history of your translations on any server.
1.4 Learning progress and settings
Your answers during setup (why you’re learning, your level and your language), your lesson progress, review schedule, streak, XP, daily goal and reminder time are stored only on your device. Deleting the app deletes them.
1.5 Reminders
If you turn on reminders, GRIOT schedules notifications on your device at the time you choose. No push server is involved and no notification data is sent to us.
1.6 Anonymous usage data
To learn which features help people learn, GRIOT sends a small set of anonymous usage events to PostHog, our analytics provider, which stores them on servers in the European Union. For example: the app was opened, a lesson was started or finished (with the lesson name and score), a daily goal was met, or the upgrade screen was viewed.
- Events are tied to a random identifier created for this installation only. It isn’t linked to your name, email, Apple ID or advertising identifier, and it can’t identify you.
- We don’t send anything you say, type or translate, and we don’t record your screen or your taps.
- We don’t use your IP address to work out where you are.
- You can turn this off at any time in the app: Translator → Settings → Privacy → Share anonymous usage data.
1.7 Purchases
Subscriptions and purchases are handled by Apple, and GRIOT never sees your payment details. RevenueCat manages your subscription status using an anonymous app user ID and your App Store receipt.
1.8 What we don’t collect
Your name, email, phone number, contacts, photos (other than a card you choose to save), location, health data, payment card details, or device identifiers for tracking.
2. How we use information
Only to provide GRIOT’s features (translation, lessons, review, reminders and Premium) and, through anonymous usage data, to improve the app. Never for advertising.
3. Services we use
| Service | What it does | Data it receives |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Speech Recognition | Turns speech into text in the translator | Your voice, processed by Apple |
| Google Translate | Translation | The text being translated |
| Google Cloud Text-to-Speech | Reads translations aloud | The text to be spoken |
| ElevenLabs | Natural-sounding voices for translations, when enabled | The text to be spoken |
| PostHog (EU) | Anonymous usage analytics | Anonymous events (see 1.6) |
| RevenueCat | Subscription status | Anonymous app user ID, subscription status, purchase receipts |
| Apple In-App Purchase | Payments | Handled entirely by Apple |
| Expo | App framework | None (crash reporting is turned off) |
These providers may keep data under their own privacy policies, for example for security and fraud prevention.
4. How long data is kept
Practice recordings, learning progress and settings stay on your device until you delete the app. Anonymous usage events are kept by PostHog for up to 12 months and then deleted. We keep no voice recordings and no translation history.
5. Security
All of GRIOT’s network connections use encrypted HTTPS.
6. Your choices
- Microphone: used for voice translation and pronunciation practice. You can turn it off in iPhone Settings → GRIOT. You can still type translations and finish lessons.
- Notifications: off unless you turn on reminders. Change them any time in the app or in iPhone Settings.
- Usage data: turn it off in Translator → Settings → Privacy.
- Saving cards to Photos: only when you choose “Save Image”, and iOS asks your permission first.
- Your data: we hold no personal data, so there’s nothing for us to access or delete. Deleting the app removes everything stored on your device.
Premium subscriptions
Premium is available as a monthly or yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Prices are shown in your currency in the app before you buy. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel them in your Apple ID settings. Refunds are handled by Apple under its policies.
7. Children
GRIOT isn’t directed at children under 13 and doesn’t knowingly collect personal information from them. Parents may use GRIOT to learn alongside their children. GRIOT has no accounts, no chat and no advertising.
8. Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to access, correct or delete your personal data, and to object to or restrict how it’s used. Because GRIOT doesn’t use accounts, we usually hold very little that can be linked to you, but email [email protected] and we’ll help. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.
9. Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, we’ll update this page and the date at the top.
10. Contact
Questions about privacy: [email protected]. We reply to privacy questions within 30 days.