Privacy Policy

Last Updated: October 28, 2026

1. Introduction

Welcome to Echo Translate! We value your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your information when you use the Echo Translate browser extension and the website echo-translate.com (collectively, "the Service").

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Account Information

• Email address: Collected when you choose to sign in. Signing in is not mandatory — you can use basic features anonymously.
• Authentication data: We sign you in with one-time codes sent to your email. We do not store passwords. In the extension you can also sign in with your Google account.
• Signing in on the website: After you sign in on echo-translate.com with an email code, your browser keeps a sign-in token that is valid for 30 days. When the extension opens the website, it brings a one-time sign-in code that works once, for 5 minutes; our server stores only a one-way hash of it. Signing in on the website does not change your sign-in in the extension.

2.2 Usage Data

• Translation volume: We track the number of words and paragraphs you translate after you sign in, to manage service limits and improve the Service.
• Lookup history: We do not keep a history of the words you look up. Your progress is computed in your browser from your word book.
• Audio review (Pro): Each time new audio is generated for you, we record your account, the number of characters and how long it took, to manage the daily limit; we do not record the text. When you listen to a word, we record in your synced word book when and how many times you heard it, and if the word was due for review that day, its next review date moves later.
• Extension settings: Your preferences such as your native language and translation mode are stored locally in your browser.

2.3 Payment Information

• Billing data: When you subscribe to a paid plan or buy the Pro 1-Year Pass, payment is processed by Stripe, our third-party payment processor. We do not store your credit card number or payment details on our servers. We store your Stripe customer ID, the status, amount and end date of your subscription or pass, and the language of the page you paid on (to choose the language of account emails), to manage your account.

2.4 Analytics Data

• Website analytics: We use PostHog to collect usage data on our website, such as page views and feature interactions. This helps us understand how the Service is used and improve it. Sign-in codes, verification codes and email addresses are removed from web addresses before any analytics data is sent. PostHog receives your IP address with each event, as any web request does, and may use it to estimate an approximate location (country and city); we don't collect your precise location.
• Extension usage events: The browser extension sends usage events to PostHog — for example installing the extension, translating a word or paragraph, a word you looked up earlier being highlighted when it appears again, reviewing a word, and upgrade prompts being shown or clicked. An event records what happened, when, and settings such as the translation mode. Events never include the address of the page you are reading or any text from it. When an event concerns a specific word, the word is replaced by a one-way hash made with a random key that stays in your browser, so we cannot tell which word it was. PostHog receives your IP address with each event, as any web request does, and may use it to estimate an approximate location (country and city); we don't collect your precise location.
• The ID events are linked to: Before you sign in, events are linked to a random ID. After you sign in, events from the extension and the website are linked to an ID derived from your account with a secret key; it cannot be turned back into your email address, and PostHog does not receive your email address. The welcome page that opens after you install the extension passes your website ID to the extension so the two are linked; this tells us whether people who visited the website went on to install and use the extension.

2.5 Text You Translate and Listen To

• Translation: When you translate, the extension sends the word or text you selected and the sentence around it (or the whole paragraph) to our server, which has it translated by Google's Gemini API. Our server keeps results only in a temporary in-memory cache so repeated lookups are faster; it does not store the text you selected.
• Video captions: To show full-sentence translations of YouTube captions, the extension sends the video ID and the caption lines to our server, which has them translated by the Gemini API. No account information or page address is sent. The translations are kept per video and line in a cache shared by all users, with no record of who asked; translations nobody has used for 180 days are deleted.
• Usage guide (for Chinese speakers): The card sends the word, the sentence you are reading, and the sentences where you met the word before, each with the website's domain (for example, bbc.com), to our server and the Gemini API, to explain what the word meant in each of them. The general part of the card (common mistakes, words not to confuse it with) is generated once per word by Anthropic's Claude API, which receives only the word and your native language, and is shared by all users; it contains none of your sentences.
• Audio review voices (Pro): To read words aloud, the website sends the words, meanings and sentences to be read to our server. English words and sentences are synthesized by Cloudflare Workers AI (Deepgram's Aura-2 voice model), and meanings by Google's Gemini speech generation. The audio is stored by its text on Cloudflare R2 and shared by all users who hear the same text; it contains no account information. For words with no sentence of their own (imported words, for example), our server has Google's Gemini API write an example sentence from the word and its meaning; it is stored by word and meaning, shared by all users, and contains no account information.
• PDFs: PDFs open in your browser and are never uploaded. Looking up a word in a PDF works like on a web page: only the selected text and its sentence are sent.
• AI coach (Echo Translate 2.2 and earlier): The coach sends the word, the sentence, the address of the page you are reading without the part after “?” or “#” (older versions of the extension send the full address, and our server removes that part before using it), and the words you looked up recently. To find related words, our server reads your synced Encounter Book; the Gemini API receives the word, the sentence and the related words.

2.6 Cloud Sync (Pro)

Pro members' word books sync to our servers so they can be used on several devices. For each word we store:

• the word, its meaning, its base form, the languages, and when and how often you looked it up or met it;
• the sentence where you last looked it up, and where it came from: for a web page, its address (http and https only, without the part after "?" or "#") and title; for a video, its address (youtu.be/ followed by the video ID), its title and the point in the video where you looked the word up; for a PDF, the page, a fingerprint of the file (to recognize the same file) and the file name; for an imported word, where it came from (Kindle, Eudic or CSV);
• your review progress: the current review level, the next review date, when you last reviewed it and when you learned it, and when and how often you heard it in audio review. We do not keep a record of each answer.

Paths of files on your computer (file://) are never synced. On the free plan, your word book stays only in your browser.

2.7 Import and Export

• Kindle Vocabulary Builder and CSV files: The file is read in your browser and never uploaded. Imported words go into your word book and are treated like any other word (synced for Pro members).
• Eudic: When you import your Eudic word list, your browser connects to Eudic's open API directly, not through our servers. The token you create on the Eudic website stays in your browser; it is not synced or sent to us, and is used only to read your word list.
• Send to Anki (Pro): The extension connects to AnkiConnect on your own computer; the words do not pass through our servers. Exporting to a CSV or Anki file also happens only on your computer.

2.8 Cookies and Local Storage

• Cookies: Our website uses cookies for analytics (PostHog) and essential site functionality.
• Local storage: The browser extension uses local storage to save your word book, preferences and sign-in state. The website uses your browser's local storage to keep your website sign-in token.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information to:

• Provide, maintain, and improve the Service.
• Manage your account, subscription, and access to features.
• Process payments and manage billing through Stripe.
• Analyze usage patterns to improve the Service.
• Send emails about your account: sign-in codes, confirmation that Pro is on, confirmation that auto-renewal was cancelled, and a reminder before your Pro 1-Year Pass ends. We do not send marketing emails.
• Comply with legal obligations.

4. Third-Party Services

We share information with the following third-party services, only as necessary to operate the Service:

When you import from Eudic, your browser connects to Eudic directly (we do not handle that data), and Eudic's privacy policy applies.

We do not sell your personal information to any third party.

5. Data Storage and Security

• Your data is stored on encrypted servers.
• We use industry-standard security measures including HTTPS encryption for all data in transit.
• Payment data is handled by Stripe in compliance with PCI DSS standards.

6. Data Retention

• Account data: Retained as long as your account is active. You may request deletion at any time.
• Translation and audio usage data: Retained for the duration of your account to manage service limits.
• Synced word book: Retained as long as your account exists, also after your plan changes. You may request deletion at any time.
• Shared caption translations: Deleted when nobody has used them for 180 days. Shared audio and usage guide entries contain no user information.
• Website sign-in: The sign-in token stops working after 30 days; a one-time sign-in code after 5 minutes.
• Analytics data: Stored by PostHog and retained according to its data retention policy, currently 1 year.
• Payment records: Retained as required by applicable tax and financial regulations.

7. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of your personal data.
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate data.
• Deletion: Request deletion of your account and associated data.
• Portability: Request your data in a portable format.
• Opt-out: Use the Service without signing in for basic features.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@echo-translate.com.

8. Children's Privacy

The Service is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Updates will be posted on this page with a revised "Last Updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at support@echo-translate.com.