Last updated 30 September 2026

Privacy

Draft pending review. This plain-language summary reflects how the app works today. The Way’s owner still needs to review it, ideally with legal advice, before it becomes the official policy.

The Way is a French practice app. This page explains what we keep, what leaves the app and the choices you have.

The short version

• We keep your account and your practice so you can pick up where you left off.
• Josh uses Google Gemini for conversations and voice. When you ask for writing feedback, OpenAI may read your saved answer. An unclear typed vocabulary answer may also be sent to OpenAI for a meaning check. The app tells you before it sends anything.
• There are no ads, no analytics trackers and no data sales.
• You can download your data or delete your account at any time in Settings.

What we store

• Your account: name, email address and password. The password is stored only as a one-way hash. If you use Google sign-in, we also keep your Google account ID, your profile photo link and encrypted sign-in tokens. Google shares only your name, email and profile.
• Your plan: exam goal, level, daily study time, optional exam date, time zone and reminder preferences.
• Your practice: answers, written responses and drafts, review cards and their schedule, streaks, vocabulary history, level-check results and exam practice.
• Feedback and conversations: Josh’s feedback, automatic transcripts of your recordings, and the full text of your practice conversations.
• Recordings: speaking answers you save in lessons and exam practice. They are private files that only you can play.
• Groups and leaderboards: study groups you create or join, and a nickname if you choose to join the conversation leaderboard.
• Reminders: if you turn on device notifications, the push address your browser gives us, plus the notifications we have shown you.
• Sign-in sessions: each session records the IP address and browser type used to sign in.

Your voice and recordings

• A recording you save with a lesson or exam answer is stored privately with that answer. It is not sent anywhere unless you ask Josh to assess the answer. You can discard a recording before you save it.
• In conversations with Josh and in the level check, your speech is sent to Google Gemini to be transcribed and assessed. The Way does not keep that audio; it keeps the transcript and the feedback.
• The microphone is only used after you press a button to start. The app does not listen in the background.

What is sent to Google Gemini

Josh’s conversations, spoken replies and feedback are powered by Google Gemini. Depending on what you start, Google receives:

• the messages and speech in a conversation, with recent history, and the whole conversation if you ask for an evaluation at the end;
• recordings when you ask Josh to check pronunciation;
• your answers and recordings during the level check;
• Josh’s replies, to turn them into speech;
• questions you ask about a book in your library, with short excerpts from it.

Each of these starts with an action you choose. Browsing and ordinary typed answers are not sent to Gemini. Google processes this content under its Gemini API terms; how Google may use it depends on the service tier The Way uses.

What is sent to OpenAI

When you ask Josh to assess a saved writing answer or speaking transcript, OpenAI receives that text and the practice task. When a quick vocabulary check cannot decide a typed answer, OpenAI receives your typed answer, the taught expression, its meaning and example. This applies to lesson vocabulary and scheduled cards. Exact answers and clear local corrections stay in the app. The app does not add your account name, email or recording to these requests. Personal details you type into an answer are part of the text sent.

OpenAI returns a short verdict. The Way saves the verdict with your practice result and reuses it for an identical answer, limiting repeat requests. A provider error does not mark your answer wrong.

Other services we rely on

• Vercel runs the app, and Neon hosts the database and private file storage. Both are in the United States, so your data is stored there.
• Google handles Google sign-in (if you use it) and Gemini.
• OpenAI checks saved text when requested and unclear typed vocabulary answers.
• Resend delivers account emails: the link to confirm your address when you create an account, and password-reset links when you ask for one. It receives your email address and that link.
• Device notifications are delivered by your browser’s push service, such as Apple, Google or Mozilla.

We don’t sell your data or share it with advertisers.

Cookies and browser storage

We use one essential cookie to keep you signed in. It expires after about a week without use. Google sign-in also sets short-lived cookies to protect the sign-in. There are no advertising or analytics cookies. The app also saves a few things in your browser, like an unsent draft, an exam practice in progress or your audio and conversation settings, so you don’t lose work.

Your choices

• Download your data: Settings → Export my data gives you a file with your account and learning records. It leaves out passwords, sign-in tokens and audio files.
• Delete your account: Settings → Delete account removes your learning records and recordings, and any groups you own. Private backups may keep older copies for a while.
• Change your details in Settings, turn reminders off, leave a group or leave the leaderboard at any time.

How long we keep data

We keep your data while your account exists, so your progress stays with you. When you delete your account, it is removed from the app’s database and file storage.

Changes

If this changes, we will update this page and the date at the top.