Privacy policy

What data is collected

Hanbi has no account. Your progress — which characters you have learned, when each one is due for review, the days you practiced, the lists you make, your exam date if you set one, your placement, test, quiz and dictation results, your Weak Spots, the How to remember notes you write, how long each card took, and your settings — is stored on your iPhone or iPad and, with iCloud Sync on, in your own iCloud, as described under “iCloud Sync”. If you use Back Up to File, the backup file is created on your device and goes only where you save or send it. We never receive it.

The strokes you draw are checked on your device as you write. Write to search and the Structure Hints shown after you write also work on your device. If you leave a round unfinished, Hanbi keeps its strokes on your device so you can pick up where you left off, and deletes them when the round ends or can no longer be resumed.

For My Handwriting, Hanbi keeps the strokes of characters you write correctly without tracing or seeing the answer: one copy per character per day, for 90 days, after which they are deleted. They are kept on your device, go into Back Up to File, and are synced by iCloud Sync. Strokes from tracing, Timed Writing and Write to search are not kept. The My Handwriting PDF is made on your device and goes only where you share it. Your strokes are never sent to us.

Save as Copybook Page makes an image of characters you wrote, from your My Handwriting strokes. The image is made on your device and goes only where you save or share it. It is never sent to us.

Daily Reminder is off until you turn it on. Reminders are set on your device; nothing is sent to us or from a server. A reminder may name a character that is due for review. Whether the reminder is on, and its time, are kept on this device only: they are not in a backup file and not in iCloud Sync.

If you make a list from a photo of a page, Hanbi reads the characters on your device, using Apple’s built-in text recognition. The photo is never sent anywhere, is not saved by Hanbi and is not included in Hanbi’s backup file; it is discarded once the characters are read. Only the list you make is kept.

Only three things are ever sent to us. When you buy Full Access, a record of the purchase is sent, as described under “In-app purchase”. When you send feedback, what you send goes to us, as described under “Feedback”. And unless you turn it off, Hanbi sends anonymous usage statistics, as described under “Usage statistics”.

iCloud Sync

iCloud Sync keeps your progress the same on your iPhone and iPad. It is on by default when you are signed in to iCloud, and you can turn it off at any time in Settings › iCloud Sync.

Hanbi keeps one file in a private space in your own iCloud that only Hanbi uses; it does not appear in the Files app. The file holds what a backup file holds — your progress, lists, most of your settings, How to remember notes and My Handwriting strokes — except the app language, plus a random number the app creates to tell your devices apart. It does not hold your purchase (use Restore Purchase on each device), your usage statistics setting or its random number, or the strokes of an unfinished round.

The file is stored and synced by Apple’s iCloud under your Apple Account. It never passes through our servers, we cannot read it, and nothing in it goes into usage statistics.

If you wrote on two devices before they synced, the one you wrote on last is kept. The other device first saves what it had as a backup file, in Files › On My iPhone (or iPad) › Hanbi, and tells you once; you can restore it in Settings › Backup. Hanbi keeps the five most recent of these automatic copies and deletes older ones, and never deletes backup files you save there yourself. These copies are not synced.

Turning iCloud Sync off stops this device from reading or writing the file; the copy in your iCloud stays. Deleting the app doesn’t remove it either. To delete it, open the Settings app, tap your name, then iCloud, and manage your storage: find Hanbi and delete its data. (The exact labels vary a little between iOS versions.)

How data is used

Your progress is used only by the app: to choose which characters to show you and when. Pronunciation uses your device’s built-in voice, so nothing is sent to be spoken.

In-app purchase

Full Access is bought through Apple’s App Store. Apple handles the payment; we never see your name, your payment details or your Apple Account.

When a purchase succeeds, Hanbi sends Apple’s signed record of it to AirPayment, AirBuild’s purchase-verification service, so we can confirm the sale. This also happens when a parent approves a purchase later, when a purchase made on another of your devices reaches this one, or when a purchase is refunded. The record says which product was bought and gives its transaction ID, date, price, currency and App Store country or region. It is sent with the Hanbi version, the iOS or iPadOS version and the device type, such as “iPhone”. It contains nothing about your progress or your writing, and it is not used for advertising or tracking. Like any network connection, the server sees your network (IP) address; we don’t use it to identify you.

Unlocking does not depend on this record. If you are offline, Full Access still unlocks; the record may just not be sent.

Feedback

You can send us feedback from Settings in the app. Nothing is sent until you tap Send. Feedback contains the message you type, any screenshots or photos you choose to attach (up to four), and the Hanbi version, the iOS or iPadOS version, the device model, and your language and region setting. It has no account or device identifier, and nothing about your progress or your handwriting.

You choose photos in the system photo picker, so Hanbi sees only the ones you pick, and asks for no access to your photo library. Each one is sent as a new, smaller image, without its location or other photo details.

Feedback goes to AirFeedback, AirBuild’s feedback service. We read it to fix problems and improve Hanbi; it is not used for advertising or tracking. Like any network connection, the server sees your network (IP) address; we don’t use it to identify you. Feedback carries no reply address, so if you would like an answer, email us instead.

Usage statistics

To see which features are used and where Hanbi needs work, the app sends anonymous usage statistics to AirTraffic, AirBuild’s analytics service. They record which screens you open and what you finish: setting up the app, with the level you chose; the three-character placement, with how many were right and the level it suggested; tapping the next step on Today; writing your Weak Spots three times each; starting a list made from photos right away; a practice or review session, with what kind it was, its writing style, how many characters were in it and how many were right; a lesson, Lesson Quiz, round of characters you already know, or Writing Test, with its level and score, and for a Writing Test how many marks you changed; switching writing style; searching, with the kind of match it found and roughly how many results; Write to search, with how many strokes you wrote, how many suggestions appeared and which one you picked, but not the character; editing a How to remember note, but not what you wrote; resuming an unfinished lesson or list, with where you resumed it from and roughly how many characters were left, or dismissing it from Today; a dictation, with where you started it, whether it was words, single characters or whole sentences, whether the meaning was shown, and how many questions there were, how many were right and how many were skipped; turning “My list, then blank grid” on or off for a practice sheet, and where the sheet came from; printing or saving a practice sheet, dictation sheet or My Handwriting PDF, with which kind it was, the paper size, how many rows it had and, for My Handwriting, where its characters came from (today, the last 7 days, one day or a list), but nothing if you cancel; finishing Timed Writing, with its level, how many characters, the time it took, the suggested time and whether you finished; a Structure Hint appearing, with its kind, how many and whether the character was right, and turning Structure Hints off; turning iCloud Sync on or off, your answer to the first iCloud Sync notice, and seeing the notice that another device’s newer writing was used, or opening Backup from it; making a list from photos, with whether they came from the camera or your photo library, how many photos there were and roughly how many characters were found; sharing a list, with whether it was a link or a QR code; adding a shared list from a link, or making a list from pasted text, with how many characters were added, but never the characters or the list’s name; finishing a radical in a Common Radicals lesson, and opening a radical’s page, with which radical and lesson it was; opening the Full Access page, and from which screen; completing a purchase, or restoring one and whether a purchase was found; sending feedback; asking iOS to show its rating prompt (iOS decides whether it actually appears); opening Redeem Code in Settings, and whether redeeming succeeded, was canceled or failed, but never the code; in test versions only, seeing the card that says Hanbi is on the App Store, opening the App Store from it, or closing it; and when the app is installed, updated, opened or closed.

Each record also carries technical details: the Hanbi version, the iOS or iPadOS version, the device model, the screen size, your language and time zone setting, whether you are on Wi-Fi or mobile data, and where this copy of Hanbi came from (the App Store, a test version, a developer build, or not yet known).

Usage statistics never contain the characters you write or draw, what you search for, what is in your lists or your How to remember notes, anything iCloud Sync stores, or what you type in feedback. They are tied to a random number the app creates on your device, not to your name, your Apple Account or any other account, and Hanbi does not use Apple’s advertising identifier. They are not used for advertising or to track you across other companies’ apps and websites. Like any network connection, the server sees your network (IP) address; we don’t use it to identify you.

Usage statistics are on by default. You can turn them off at any time in Settings › Anonymous Usage Statistics. From then on Hanbi records nothing, and when the switch is off at launch it doesn’t start the statistics at all. A few records made just before you turned it off may still be sent.

Third parties

Purchase records go to AirPayment, feedback to AirFeedback and usage statistics to AirTraffic, all run by AirBuild, as described above. Usage statistics are sent with PostHog’s open-source library, set up to send only to AirTraffic. iCloud Sync stores its file with Apple, in your own iCloud. Apart from that, Hanbi shares no data with anyone, and it contains no advertising or tracking code.

Keeping and deleting your data

Your progress stays on your device until you delete the app, which removes it. With iCloud Sync on, a copy also stays in your iCloud until you delete it there, as described under “iCloud Sync”. My Handwriting strokes are deleted after 90 days. If you back up your device, the backup may include Hanbi’s progress, as it does for your other apps; that is managed by your device and Apple, not by us.

AirPayment checks Apple’s signature and keeps a summary of the purchase — the product, price and currency, whether it was a real or test purchase, the Hanbi version, the system and the device type — as our record of sales. It does not keep Apple’s signed record itself. To ask about a purchase record, email us at the address below.

Usage statistics are kept in AirTraffic, tied only to the app’s random number. Deleting the app removes that number from your device; if you install Hanbi again, it starts with a new one.

Permissions and consent

Hanbi asks for three permissions, each only when you first use what needs it: the camera, to photograph a page and read its characters; notifications, if you turn on Daily Reminder; and adding to your photo library, if you save a copybook page to Photos. That last one only lets Hanbi add the image: Hanbi cannot see your photos. It asks for no access to your microphone, location or contacts; photos you choose come through the system photo picker. You can turn each of these off at any time in your device’s Settings. Usage statistics need no permission; they are on by default, and you can turn them off in Settings. Deleting the app removes everything it stored on your device; the iCloud Sync copy stays in your iCloud until you delete it. iCloud Sync needs no permission; it is on by default, and you can turn it off in Settings.

Changes and contact

If this policy changes, we will update this page and its date. Questions about privacy: cool_zqy@163.com.