Privacy Policy

KickstartKorean ("we", "us", or "our") operates kickstartkorean.com. This page explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding your data.

1. Information We Collect

We collect personal information only when you voluntarily provide it, plus minimal anonymous usage data described below:

• Contact form: your name and email address
• Free trial application: your name, email address, Korean level, and learning goals
• Lesson booking: your name, email address, and any information you provide when creating an account or booking a lesson on the platform
• Anonymous usage analytics: page views, dwell time, and basic interaction events stored in our own database. We assign a random anonymous identifier (stored in your browser's localStorage as ks_anon_id) so we can tell repeat visits apart from new ones. We also store your browser's user-agent string (browser/OS/device family). This identifier is not linked to your name or email unless you sign in. Site analytics are also collected via Google Analytics 4 (pages visited, time on site, general location, device type).
• Homework portal: your name, email address, and any files (photos, PDFs) you upload as homework through the Student Homework Portal
• Lesson recording & weakness analysis: when you take a recorded lesson, we transcribe the audio (via OpenAI Whisper, audio is not retained) and use Claude (Anthropic) to (a) generate a lesson summary saved to your student record and (b) extract a structured list of specific weaknesses observed during the lesson (for example, particle confusion, pronunciation drops, vocabulary gaps). The weakness list is stored in your student record so the tutor can see what to reinforce next time and so the platform can recommend targeted practice. You can request deletion of any extracted weakness at any time.
• Korean Q&A tool (/ask): when you ask a question on our /ask page, the question text and the AI-generated answer are stored in our database for up to 90 days. This lets us improve the answer quality and create related learning content. We do not link these logs to your name or email unless you are signed in.

2. How We Use Your Information

• To respond to your enquiries and messages
• To manage your account and confirm lesson bookings on the platform
• To notify you when the video course launches (if you joined the waitlist)
• To understand how visitors use the site and improve it (analytics)
• To receive, review, and return graded homework to enrolled students via the Homework Portal
• To process lesson recordings and homework audio for transcription and AI-generated feedback

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes.

3. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate this site. Each has its own privacy policy:

• Google LLC (Firebase): student account authentication, data storage, and hosting
• Google LLC (Analytics): anonymised site analytics
• Google LLC (reCAPTCHA): bot prevention and security
• Google LLC (Cloud TTS): text-to-speech for vocabulary and grammar audio
• PayPal Holdings, Inc.: payment processing for lesson credits and course purchases
• PortOne (아임포트): KRW card and KakaoPay payment processing (Korean users)
• Resend Inc.: transactional email delivery (booking confirmations, verification emails)
• Microsoft Corporation (Azure Speech): pronunciation evaluation for speaking practice
• Microsoft Corporation (OneNote): homework synchronisation between tutor and student
• Anthropic PBC (Claude): AI conversation practice, grammar evaluation, lesson note summarization, automatic weakness extraction from lesson transcripts, and the Korean Q&A tool (/ask)
• OpenAI, L.L.C. (Whisper, gpt-4o-transcribe): speech-to-text for homework voice uploads and tutor lesson recorder (transcripts only, audio is not retained by OpenAI per their API policy)
• ElevenLabs Inc.: text-to-speech for the Korean level test audio prompts
• Zoom Video Communications, Inc.: video lessons are conducted over Zoom
• Formspree Inc.: processes contact form submissions

When you use our AI-powered features (conversation practice, pronunciation assessment, grammar quizzes), we collect and process conversation logs, voice recordings, and quiz scores to provide the service and improve your learning experience. This data is stored in Firebase and may be transmitted to the third-party AI providers listed above for processing.

4. Data Retention

We retain your contact and booking information for as long as necessary to provide our services and communicate with you. You may request deletion of your data at any time by emailing kickstartkorean@gmail.com.

5. Cookies and Local Storage

This site uses cookies via Google Analytics to collect anonymised usage data. No personal identifiers are stored in cookies. You can disable cookies in your browser settings at any time.

We also store a small set of values in your browser's localStorage and sessionStorage:

• ks_anon_id: a random anonymous identifier (UUID) used to distinguish repeat visits from new ones for our own usage analytics. Persistent until you clear your browser storage.
• ks_session_id: a per-session anonymous identifier. Cleared when you close the browser tab.
• ks_utm, ks_referrer, ks_landing_path: marketing source attribution (only populated if you arrived via a UTM-tagged link or external referrer). Cleared when you close the browser tab.

You can clear these at any time via your browser settings (Privacy → Clear site data) or by logging out and clearing storage.

5a. Data Retention Periods

• Account & lesson booking data: retained while your account is active; deleted on request.
• Lesson transcripts and extracted weaknesses: retained for as long as you remain a student; deleted on request or 12 months after your last lesson, whichever comes first.
• Korean Q&A logs (/ask page): automatically deleted 90 days after creation.
• Anonymous usage events: retained for 90 days; aggregated summaries (no per-user data) retained indefinitely.
• Payment records: retained for 5 years per Korean e-commerce law (전자상거래법).

6. Your Rights (GDPR / UK GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Request correction or deletion of your data
• Object to or restrict how we process your data
• Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority

To exercise any of these rights, email kickstartkorean@gmail.com.

7. Children's Privacy

Our services are intended for individuals aged 14 and over, in accordance with the Korean Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 14. For users located in the European Economic Area, the minimum age is 16 under the GDPR. If you believe a child under the applicable age threshold has submitted information to us, please contact us immediately.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "last updated" date at the top of this page will reflect any changes. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

9. 개인정보 보호법 (Korean Personal Information Protection Act, PIPA) 관련 고지

9-1. 개인정보 보호책임자

성명: 신규훈
직위: 대표
이메일: kickstartkorean@gmail.com
전화: 070-7954-9107

9-2. 개인정보 처리 위탁

당사는 서비스 제공을 위해 다음 업체에 개인정보 처리를 위탁하고 있습니다:

• Google LLC (Firebase): 회원 인증, 데이터 저장, 호스팅 (미국)
• Google LLC (Analytics): 웹사이트 이용 분석 (미국)
• Google LLC (reCAPTCHA): 봇 방지 및 보안 (미국)
• Google LLC (Cloud TTS): 어휘·문법 음성 생성 (미국)
• PayPal Holdings, Inc.: 결제 처리 (미국/싱가포르)
• PortOne (아임포트): 카드·카카오페이 결제 처리 (한국)
• Microsoft Corporation (Azure Speech): 발음 평가 (한국/미국)
• Microsoft Corporation (OneNote): 숙제 동기화 (미국)
• Anthropic PBC (Claude): AI 문법 평가·회화 연습·레슨 노트 요약·약점 자동 추출·한국어 Q&A 도구 (/ask) (미국)
• OpenAI, L.L.C. (Whisper, gpt-4o-transcribe): 숙제 음성 업로드 및 튜터 레슨 레코더의 음성 전사 (미국). OpenAI API 정책상 오디오는 저장되지 않고 전사 텍스트만 당사에 전달됩니다.
• ElevenLabs Inc.: 레벨 테스트 음성 생성 (미국)
• Zoom Video Communications, Inc.: 화상 수업 (미국)
• Resend Inc.: 이메일 발송 (미국)
• Formspree Inc.: 문의 폼 처리 (미국)

9-3. 개인정보의 국외 이전

상기 위탁 업체는 대부분 미국에 소재하며, 이용자의 개인정보(이메일, 이름, 학습 데이터)가 해당 국가로 이전될 수 있습니다. 각 업체는 자체 개인정보 보호 정책에 따라 데이터를 보호하며, 당사는 이전 시 적절한 보호 조치를 취하고 있습니다.

9-4. 개인정보 파기 절차 및 방법

이용자의 개인정보는 수집 목적이 달성된 후 지체 없이 파기합니다.

• 전자적 파일: 복구할 수 없는 방법으로 영구 삭제
• 계정·예약 정보: 회원 탈퇴 시 즉시 삭제
• 수업 전사본 및 약점 분석: 마지막 수업 후 12개월 경과 시 또는 이용자 요청 시 즉시 삭제
• /ask 페이지 질문·답변 로그: 작성일로부터 90일 후 자동 삭제
• 익명 이용 이벤트: 수집일로부터 90일 후 자동 삭제 (집계 통계는 영구 보관)
• 결제 기록: 전자상거래법에 따라 5년간 보관

브라우저 localStorage 에 저장된 식별자 (ks_anon_id 등) 는 브라우저 설정에서 "사이트 데이터 삭제" 를 통해 직접 제거하실 수 있습니다.

9-5. 이용자의 권리

이용자는 언제든지 자신의 개인정보에 대해 열람, 정정, 삭제, 처리정지를 요청할 수 있습니다. 요청은 kickstartkorean@gmail.com으로 보내주시면 10일 이내에 처리합니다.

9-6. 개인정보 관련 신고 및 분쟁 해결

개인정보 침해에 대한 신고나 상담이 필요한 경우 아래 기관에 문의하실 수 있습니다:

• 개인정보 침해신고센터 (privacy.kisa.or.kr, 국번없이 118)
• 개인정보 분쟁조정위원회 (kopico.go.kr, 1833-6972)

10. Contact

For any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact:
KickstartKorean (킥스타트코리안)
대표: 신규훈
kickstartkorean@gmail.com
전화: 070-7954-9107