Privacy Policy
Effective October 15, 2026
The short version
- ArcListen works without an account. Your books, documents, articles, notes and listening history are stored on your device.
- Speech is made on your device. We don't receive the text you listen to.
- The free version shows ads from Google AdMob, which collects some device and usage data. Buying unlimited listening turns ads off completely.
- Optional features (sign-in, AI with your own key, word look-up) send data to the service involved only when you use them.
- We don't sell your personal information.
This policy explains what information the ArcListen app for iPhone, iPad and Android (the “app”) and this website handle, why, and what choices you have. ArcListen is made by Not A Simple Studio (“we”, “us”). If you have a question, write to contacts.simplestudio@gmail.com.
1. Information that stays on your device
The following is created and kept on your device. We have no copy of it:
- Files you import (EPUB, PDF, MOBI, DOCX, TXT), text you paste, and articles you save.
- Your library, queue, reading positions, bookmarks and the news feeds you follow.
- Listening statistics, saved words and sentences, pronunciation rules and settings.
- How your “For you” news feed is ranked. It's worked out on your device from what you read and skip.
- API keys you add for AI features.
- Your daily listening-time balance.
Turning text into speech happens on your device using the voice you downloaded or a voice built into your system. If you use a system voice, your device's operating system handles the speech under its own privacy terms.
When you export a backup, the app creates a single file and hands it to the share sheet. Where it goes next (Files, iCloud Drive, email, another app) is your choice and subject to that service's terms.
2. Information shared with third parties
Advertising (Google AdMob)
In the free version, you can watch a rewarded ad to add listening time. Ads are provided by Google AdMob. When an ad is requested or shown, Google may collect your device's advertising identifier where available, IP address (from which approximate location can be inferred), device and app information, and how you interact with the ad. Google uses this to serve and measure ads and prevent fraud. See how Google uses information from apps that use its services.
- On iOS, ArcListen does not ask for permission to track you, so ads are not personalised using your advertising identifier.
- In the European Economic Area, the UK, Switzerland and US states with privacy laws, the app shows Google's consent form before ads are requested. To change your choice later, contact us and we'll help, or reinstall the app to be asked again.
- If you buy unlimited listening, the advertising SDK is not started at all.
Purchases (Apple, Google, RevenueCat)
Payments are processed by the App Store or Google Play. We never see your card details. We use RevenueCat to check whether you've bought unlimited listening and to restore the purchase. RevenueCat receives an anonymous app user ID, your purchase receipt and transaction history, and basic device information. See RevenueCat's privacy policy.
Optional sign-in (Supabase)
You don't need an account. If you choose to sign in, with Apple, Google or email where offered, we store your email address and a user ID with our hosting provider Supabase so you can restore your purchase on another device. If you sign in with Apple and choose to hide your email, we receive Apple's relay address instead. You can delete your account at any time from the app's settings; this deletes the account data we hold.
AI features with your own key (optional)
If you add an API key for Gemini, OpenAI, DeepSeek, OpenRouter or Groq and use an AI feature (summaries, word meaning in context, listening in another language), the app sends the relevant text directly from your device to that provider using your key. We don't receive it. That provider's terms and privacy policy apply to what you send.
Word look-up
When you look up a word, the word is sent to a public dictionary service (freedictionaryapi.com) to get its meaning. The sentence around it is not sent.
Content you ask the app to fetch
When you add a link, follow a news feed, or open a free classic, your device connects directly to that website, feed or Project Gutenberg to download it. Like any web request, those sites can see your IP address and basic device information. We don't proxy or record these requests.
Voice downloads
Voices are downloaded from our content delivery network. Our hosting provider keeps standard, short-lived server logs (such as IP address, time and the file requested) to operate and secure the service.
3. Analytics
ArcListen does not currently send usage analytics to us or to an analytics provider. If that changes, we will update this policy and the app's privacy label before the change ships.
4. This website
This website has no ads, no analytics and no tracking cookies. Our host may keep standard server logs to deliver and secure the site. Fonts are loaded from Google Fonts, which receives your IP address when the page loads.
5. Summary table
| Data | Who receives it | When | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advertising ID (where available), IP address, device info, ad interactions | Google AdMob | Free version, when an ad is requested | Showing and measuring ads |
| Anonymous app user ID, purchase history | RevenueCat, Apple, Google | When you buy or restore | Unlocking unlimited listening |
| Email address, user ID | Supabase (our host) | Only if you sign in | Your account |
| Text you choose to process | The AI provider you picked | Only when you use an AI feature with your key | Summaries, meanings, translation |
| A single word | freedictionaryapi.com | When you look up a word | Showing its meaning |
6. How long we keep data
Data on your device stays until you delete it or uninstall the app. Account data stays until you delete your account. Purchase records are kept by RevenueCat, Apple and Google as long as needed to provide the purchase and meet legal and tax requirements.
7. Your rights
Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR in Europe or the CCPA in California), you may have the right to access, correct, delete or export your personal information, to object to or restrict its processing, and to withdraw consent. For data on your device, you can do this yourself in the app. For account data, delete your account in the app or write to us. You can also limit ad tracking in your device settings. You may also complain to your local data protection authority.
We don't sell personal information, and we don't share it for cross-context behavioural advertising beyond the ad serving described above.
8. Children
ArcListen is not directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we'll delete it.
9. Security
Network connections made by the app use HTTPS where the remote service supports it. No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, but we keep the data we hold to a minimum.
10. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we'll update the effective date above. For significant changes, we'll also tell you in the app before they take effect.
11. Contact
Not A Simple Studio · contacts.simplestudio@gmail.com