AI4IELTS is committed to protecting your personal data. This policy explains our processing practices and your rights.
1. Controller and scope
AI4IELTS controls the personal data described here. Data questions may be sent to support@ai4ielts.com. This policy follows Vietnam Decree 13/2023/ND-CP and applicable Vietnamese law.
2. Data we collect
We collect account details, submitted essays and recordings, practice data, transaction records supplied by payment providers, and technical data such as IP address, browser, device, cookies and usage events. We do not store card details.
3. Purposes and legal basis
We use data to operate accounts, grade and analyse IELTS work, process purchases, provide support and service messages, prevent abuse and improve quality. Processing relies on consent and/or performance of our service contract; consent may be withdrawn.
4. Sharing and international processing
We do not sell personal data. We share only as needed with authentication, AI, payment and infrastructure providers, or authorities where required by law. Overseas processing receives safeguards required by applicable law.
4.1. Third-party AI services
To grade your work, give feedback and create sample answers, we send the following to AI providers: (a) recordings of your Speaking answers and their transcripts; (b) your Writing essays, the prompts and any handwriting photos you upload; (c) the question, your target band and the feedback language for the item being graded. Providers: Google (Gemini API) for grading, analysis and speech transcription; OpenAI and Anthropic (Claude) as backups when Google is unavailable; Microsoft (Azure AI Speech) for pronunciation scoring. We never send your name, email, profile photo or payment details. The data is used only to return results to you. Each provider processes it under its data processing terms with protection equal to or stronger than this policy. In the mobile app, nothing is sent until you agree on the "Allow AI to grade your work?" screen; you can withdraw at any time in Settings → Privacy, after which AI grading is paused.
5. Anonymous community samples
Graded work may be included by default in the community library after names, email, avatar and precise submission time are removed. You can opt out in account settings. Public samples are generally limited to the latest month; previously anonymised samples may remain.
6. Retention and your rights
We retain data while your account is active and as legally necessary, then delete or anonymise it. You may request notice, access, correction, withdrawal, deletion, restriction, objection, portability, complaint and compensation. We aim to respond within 72 hours.
6.1. Account deletion: what goes, what stays
You can delete your account at any time from your account details on ai4ielts.com or in the mobile app, or by emailing support@ai4ielts.com. Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. We delete your essays, speaking answers, audio recordings, chart images you uploaded, practice data, learning roadmaps, comments, saved vocabulary and feedback; your account profile is anonymised. We retain: (a) invoices and payment transaction records, to meet accounting and tax obligations; (b) purchased entitlements and their ledger, to handle refunds and disputes; (c) a one-way hash derived from your email, Google account and device. That hash is kept indefinitely and serves one purpose only: preventing an account from being deleted and recreated to claim free usage again. It cannot be reversed into your email and is never used to contact, identify or advertise to you. If you need this hash removed, contact support@ai4ielts.com.
7. Security, children and cookies
We use transport encryption, access controls and backups. The service is intended for people aged 16 or over; improperly collected child data will be deleted. Cookies maintain sessions, remember choices and measure usage and can be controlled in your browser.
8. Changes and contact
We may update this policy and will publish the new date on this page. For privacy questions or rights requests, email support@ai4ielts.com.
9. Mobile app (Android/iOS)
On the mobile app, we collect your email, display name and avatar via Google Sign-In; voice recordings when you practise speaking and the essays you submit, sent to the AI services in section 4.1 for grading only after you agree; and transaction records when you purchase a plan through Google Play/the App Store — these stores process payment and we do not store card details. You can delete your account and speaking data yourself in the app under Settings, on the website at ai4ielts.com/privacy-policy (section 6.1), or by emailing support@ai4ielts.com. See section 6.1 for what is deleted and what is retained.
9.1. Advertising measurement (Meta)
The mobile app uses the Meta (Facebook) SDK to learn which ads bring people to the app. It sends Meta: app installs and opens, the first sign-in on a device, your first graded answer, and plan purchases (plan and price), together with basic device information and the device's advertising ID — on iOS only if you allow tracking when asked. We never send your recordings, essays, scores, name or email. Meta processes this data under its own policy (facebook.com/privacy/policy). You can turn tracking off at any time: on iOS in Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking; on Android by resetting or deleting your advertising ID in device settings (Google → Ads).
9.2. Advertising measurement on the website (Google Ads)
The website uses the Google Ads tag (gtag) to learn which Google ads bring people to sign up and buy a plan. When you arrive from an ad, Google records the ad-click ID; when you create an account or a payment succeeds, we send Google that event (for a purchase: the order ID and amount), together with your email in one-way hashed form (SHA-256, hashed in your browser before it is sent) so Google can match the conversion to the ad click. We never send your recordings, essays, scores or name. Google processes this data under its own policy (policies.google.com/privacy). You can turn off ad personalisation at adssettings.google.com or block advertising cookies in your browser.