Privacy Policy
Last updated September 25, 2026
The short version
- Your voice is sent to Microsoft Azure AI Speech only to score it. We don’t keep recordings unless you turn on “Keep 30 days”.
- We store your practice answers and scores so your plan and progress work.
- No ads, no selling data, no third-party analytics or trackers.
- You can delete your recordings or your whole account from inside the app at any time.
Who we are
Schwa is an American English pronunciation app for iPhone, made by Shashi Kumar Parappanavar (“we”, “us”). This policy covers the Schwa app and the website at shwah.app. Questions: hi@shwah.app.
What we collect and why
Account identifier
When you first use Schwa we create a random account ID so your plan and progress can be saved. If you choose Sign in with Apple or Google, we receive only that provider’s account identifier for you. We don’t request your name or email address from Apple or Google.
Your plan
Your first language, what you’re practicing for, your daily time and (optionally) your speaking level. We use these to choose which sounds to practice first.
Voice recordings
Schwa uses the microphone only while you’re recording. Each recording is sent from your phone directly to Microsoft Azure AI Speech, which compares the sounds you made with the sentence you read and returns scores. By default, recordings are deleted from your phone when the lesson ends and are never stored on our servers. If you turn on “Keep 30 days” in the app, your recordings are also stored on our servers for 30 days so you can compare takes, then deleted automatically.
Practice results
For each attempt we store the scores and per-sound results returned by the speech service, the date, and whether the recording was noisy. We use these to give feedback, track your progress, choose your next lessons and improve how Schwa interprets scores.
Waitlist email
If you join the waitlist on shwah.app, we store your email address to tell you when Schwa launches.
What we don’t collect
No contacts, location, advertising identifiers or device tracking. The website doesn’t use cookies, analytics or third-party fonts.
Who processes data for us
- Microsoft (Azure AI Speech) scores recordings. It receives the audio and the sentence you read.
- Cloudflare hosts our servers, database, recording storage and this website.
- Apple and Google, only if you choose to sign in with them.
Each processes data under its own terms and privacy commitments. We don’t sell or share your data for advertising.
How long we keep it
- Account, plan and practice results: until you delete your account.
- Recordings: not kept, unless you turn on “Keep 30 days”, in which case each is deleted 30 days after it’s made.
- Waitlist email: until launch, or earlier if you ask us to remove it.
Your choices and rights
- Delete recordings: Account → Your data → Delete my recordings.
- Delete everything: Account → Delete account and progress. This removes your plan, scores and any stored recordings.
- Microphone: you can turn access off at any time in iPhone Settings.
- To access, correct or delete your data, or to ask a question about it, email hi@shwah.app. Depending on where you live (for example the EU, UK or California) you may have additional rights, and we’ll honor them.
Children
Schwa isn’t directed to children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect their data. If you believe a child has used Schwa, contact us and we’ll delete it.
Security
Data is encrypted in transit. Service keys stay on our servers; the app uses short-lived tokens.
Changes
If we change this policy in a meaningful way, we’ll update the date above and tell you in the app.