Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 19, 2026

KIKUGO helps English-speaking learners turn Japanese Netflix subtitles into Anki-ready study cards. This policy explains what we collect, why, and the choices you have. We collect the minimum needed to run the product.

Who we are

KIKUGO is operated by Bruce Rosier, 60 rue François 1er, 75008 Paris, France, who is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy.

What we collect and why

• Account identity (email). When you sign in, we store your email address and a user ID so we can save your cards to your account and enforce plan limits.
• Subtitle text you click. When you ask for an explanation, the Japanese sentence is sent to our backend to generate it. The explanation is stored anonymously, without any link to your identity, so it can be reused if another user clicks the same sentence.
• Saved cards. Cards you choose to save (sentence, translation, reading, vocabulary, grammar notes, source title, timestamp) are stored against your account so you can review and export them.
• Usage counts. We keep counters (explanations, saved cards, CSV exports) to enforce plan limits.
• IP address (no account only). If you ask for explanations without signing in, we use your IP address to enforce the daily free-use limit and prevent abuse. It's kept for at most 24 hours and is never linked to an account.
• Product analytics. On the website, dashboard, and in the Chrome extension, we use PostHog to understand how the product is used: pages viewed, clicks, signup/checkout funnel steps, and — to diagnose bugs — a masked recording of your session (every text input is blanked out before it is ever recorded) and browser console logs. If you're signed in, these events are linked to your email and basic account info (plan, trial status) so we can understand usage by plan. This sets cookies and local storage identifiers in your browser.

Processors we share data with

• DeepSeek — our AI provider. The Japanese sentence is sent to DeepSeek to generate the explanation. No account identity is sent.
• Supabase — authentication and database hosting. Stores your account, cards, and usage data. The browser extension uses this to keep you signed into the same account as the dashboard.
• Stripe — payment processing for paid plans. Stripe handles your card details directly; we never see or store full payment card numbers.
• PostHog — product analytics and session replay, hosted on PostHog's EU servers, used on the website and in the Chrome extension. We mask all text input fields before any session recording happens, and we strip one-time login links from any URL we send it.
• Sentry — error monitoring on our website, backend, and extension. Receives technical error reports (stack traces, page context) to help us fix bugs; it isn't used to collect the content of your sentences or cards.
• Resend — sends account-related emails (sign-up confirmation, password reset). Receives your email address and the message content.
• Loops — sends product emails about your usage (e.g. your trial ending soon, a nudge after your first saved card). Receives your email address and profile/usage details (plan, key dates, card count) — never the content of your sentences or cards.

DeepSeek is based in China, but the sentence we send it is subtitle dialogue, not personal data — it isn't linked to your identity, so this isn't a transfer of your personal data outside the EU. Some of our other processors (Stripe, Resend, Loops, Sentry, Supabase) may handle data outside the EU/EEA; where that happens, we rely on their standard contractual safeguards (e.g. Standard Contractual Clauses) for the transfer.

Data retention & deletion

You can delete your account and all associated cards and usage data at any time by contacting us at the address below; we will remove your personal data within 30 days. Anonymous explanations are not tied to your identity and are kept to keep the product fast for everyone.

Legal basis for processing

We process account, card, and usage data because it's necessary to provide the product you signed up for (performance of a contract). We process the IP address of signed-out users on the basis of our legitimate interest in preventing abuse of the free tier. We process analytics cookies and session recordings only with your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.

Your choices

Explanations work without an account (rate-limited); an account is only required to save cards. You control which sentences you click and which cards you save. When you first visit the website, you'll be asked whether to allow analytics cookies; you can change that choice at any time via "Manage cookies" in the footer. The Chrome extension asks separately, in its own settings, and works identically whether you accept or reject. Either way, analytics is for our own product decisions and never required for a feature to function. This consent choice only covers analytics — it doesn't affect the sign-in storage that keeps you logged in, which is essential to the service and isn't subject to a consent toggle.

Your rights

Under GDPR, you have the right to access, correct, delete, or export your personal data, and to object to or restrict certain processing. Contact us using the address below to exercise any of these rights. If you're not satisfied with our response, you can lodge a complaint with the French data protection authority (CNIL) or your local supervisory authority.

Contact

Questions or deletion requests: privacy@kikugo.jiyuu.tech.

KIKUGO is not affiliated with Netflix or AnkiWeb.