Privacy Policy

Last updated 22 September 2026

Zimu respects your privacy. This policy describes what data the Zimu app (on iPhone, iPad, and Android) and this website (getzimu.app) collect, how it is used, and the choices you have.

What we collect

Usage analytics (optional). If you leave the "Usage analytics" switch on in Settings → About → Privacy, Zimu sends pseudonymous product events to PostHog to help us understand how the app is used. Examples: which tabs you open, session length, how often the camera is used, how many words are saved. You can turn this off at any time in Settings.

Crash and performance reports. Zimu uses Sentry to capture crash and performance data so we can fix bugs. Reports include the crash stack trace, device model, operating system version, and app version. They do not include screenshots or any of your saved content.

Issue reports. If you send a report from the app, we receive what you put in it: the problem type, the word or recognized text it concerns, your note, and your app version, OS version, device model, and language. Nothing is sent until you tap Send. We keep reports while we work on the problem; email privacy@getzimu.app with the date and the text of a report to have it deleted.

On-device text recognition and translation. On Android, Zimu reads Chinese from the camera and translates sentences using Google ML Kit, which runs entirely on your device. ML Kit sends Google technical metrics about those operations, such as how often they run, how long they take, and any errors. It doesn't send Google your photos, the text it reads, or the translations. On iPhone and iPad this work is done by Apple's on-device frameworks instead.

Sync and backup. On iPhone and iPad, your saved words, grammar notes, tags, and views sync across your devices via Apple's iCloud service. This data lives in your private iCloud container. Apple's terms apply. We do not have access to it. On Android there's no such sync. If Android backup is on, Android may keep and restore Zimu's preferences and a snapshot of your notebook (saved words, tags, notes, saved views, search history, and learning progress), including the pseudonymous analytics token. Captures and photos are left out, and Zimu asks Android to skip cloud backup on devices that don't support encrypted backups. That backup is handled by Android and your backup provider; we never receive it.

Purchases. Optional Zimu Pro purchases are processed by the store you bought from: Apple's App Store on iPhone and iPad, Google Play on Android. To confirm Pro, the app sends the store's purchase record to our server. Requests to our server carry an identifier for that installation, which is not linked to you; your IP address is used briefly to protect the service and is not kept with reports.

Website analytics. This website (getzimu.app) uses Vercel's privacy-friendly, cookieless analytics to count visits and referrers in aggregate. It sets no cookies and doesn't identify you. We also count clicks on the store buttons and the navigation’s Download link using PostHog in the EU. These events include the selected store, button location, page language, and page path. Each event has a new random identifier, with no cookies or persistent browser identifier; we do not send your IP address, full referrer URL, or URL query parameters to PostHog.

What we never collect

• The Chinese text you scan with the camera, unless you put it in a report you send
• The search queries you type
• The notes, tags, or views you create
• Photos from your library or the captures you take in the app
• Your name, email, or any other directly identifying information (the app has no sign-up or accounts)

Zimu has no user accounts. For analytics, you're identified by a pseudonymous token that we can't connect to your name, email, or any directly identifying information. On iPhone and iPad the token is derived from an opaque iCloud (CloudKit) identifier when you're signed in, and generated randomly per install otherwise. On Android it is always generated randomly per install, and Android backup or device transfer may carry it across a reinstall. (We don't ask for your email anywhere in the app or on this website.)

Sharing

We do not sell or rent your data. Usage analytics are processed by PostHog (EU region) on our behalf; crash reports are processed by Sentry; website analytics are processed by Vercel and PostHog. Reports are handled by Vercel, Upstash and Linear. Each is bound by a data-processing agreement.

Your choices

• Opt out of analytics: Settings → About → Privacy → turn off Usage analytics. (Crash reports are separate; they carry only technical data, never your content.)
• Delete all data: uninstalling Zimu removes everything held on the device: captures, recent searches, and any saved words that aren't synced. On iPhone and iPad, notebook data synced to iCloud lives in your iCloud account rather than in the app, so remove it from your device's iCloud storage settings. On Android you can also clear the app's data from the system's app settings without uninstalling; Android backup may keep Zimu's preferences and a notebook snapshot, which you can manage in your Google account's backup settings. Full steps are on the Data Deletion page.

Children's Privacy

Zimu is not directed at children under 13. If you believe a child has used the app and you would like their data reviewed, please contact us.

Changes

If this policy changes in a material way, the updated version will be shipped in a future app release and available at getzimu.app/privacy.

Contact

Privacy questions: privacy@getzimu.app