Please note that the Privacy Policy was last revised on March 4, 2024
1. General
At Svar, we care about your personal information, so we have prepared this Privacy Policy to explain how we collect, use, and share it. This Privacy Policy applies to Svar websites, mobile apps, and related services. By using the Service, you agree with Svar’s collection, use, and sharing of your personal information in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy. Certain Svar services are subject to additional or different terms. Please note that Svar is constantly testing and improving our product features. Any features discussed in this Privacy Policy may not be available to all users or in all jurisdictions.
2. Information We Collect
When you use the Service, Svar may collect the following personal information about you.
a. Account Registration
To register for a Svar account, you may provide us with your age and email address. In some countries, you may also provide us with your phone number. You may also register for a Svar account using certain social logins, such as Google and Facebook. If you register for Svar using a social login, Svar may receive information about you from your social login provider, including your email address and contacts. You can manage your Svar account and social logins from your Settings.
b. Profile Page & User-Generated Content
After you register for your Svar account, a profile page will be created for you (“Profile”). Your Profile will be populated by information you submit, such as your name, username, bio, and profile picture (“User-Generated Content”).
c. Speaking Challenges
Some lessons involve you speaking into the Svar app. To recognize speech, your audio may be sent to a third-party provider such as Google, Apple, or Amazon Web Services. Svar may also collect and analyze your speech to help us understand the effectiveness of our lessons and to improve the product. Any audio you share with Svar is anonymized when it reaches our servers.
d. Activity Data
When you use the Service, we may generate data about your use of the Service, which may include your browser and device data, log data, and IP address. We will also generate data regarding your engagement in educational activities on the Service.
e. Cookies
When you access the Svar website, we store certain data from your browser using cookies. A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to data about the user. We use session ID cookies to confirm that users are logged in. If you do not want your data to be collected by cookies, there is a simple procedure in most browsers that allows you to deny or accept the cookie feature. However, cookies may be necessary to provide you with certain features available on the website (e.g., customized information).
f. Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics, which is a web analytics tool that helps us understand how users engage with our website. Like many services, Google Analytics uses first-party cookies to track user interactions, as in our case, where they are used to collect information about how users use our site. This information is used to compile reports and to help us improve our site. These reports disclose website trends without identifying individual visitors. You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing Google’s browser add-on available here.
3. How We Process Your Information
Svar may process your personal information according to the following legal bases: to provide products or services you request, to promote Svar’s legitimate interests, to comply with legal obligations, and with your consent. In particular, Svar may process and share your personal information in the following ways:
a. Providing and improving the Service
Svar will process your personal information to provide and improve the Service. For example, we will use the information you provide to maintain your Profile and learning progress, personalize learning content, detect and fix bugs, perform research, and provide customer service to you. Svar may share personal information with third parties that help us provide or improve the Service, including hosting providers such as Amazon Web Services, search engine providers such as Google, etc. Svar may also share your information with third-party vendors that support product features such as AI, speech recognition, and content moderation.
b. Communicating with you
Svar will use the email address or phone number you provide to send you the following types of messages: Essential messages to support the operation of the Service. Messages to support the Svar teaching methodology and reinforce your learning, such as learning tips, reminders to practice, and progress reports. Notifications about friend requests and your friends’ progress on Duolingo. Announcements regarding changes to the Service or products. Announcements of new Svar products, services, offers, or research opportunities. You may opt-out of receiving non-essential messages in your Settings.
c. Complying with law and preventing harmful activities
Svar may process and share personal information if necessary to comply with legal requests, such as subpoenas or court orders. Svar may share personal information when we believe it is necessary to comply with law, to protect our interests or property, to prevent fraud or other illegal activity, to assist law enforcement, or to prevent imminent harm. This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, agents, or government agencies.
d. Personalized advertising
Svar may process and share your personal information for the purpose of providing you with personalized advertising. To provide personalized advertising, we work with a variety of third-party advertising networks, marketing analytics service providers, and website analysis firms, such as Google, Facebook, Oath, and Unity. These third-party advertising service providers collect and use personal information about your visits to and use of the Service, as well as other websites, in order to serve you with advertisements and content tailored to meet your preferences and likely interests, and better understand ad effectiveness. Aggregate demographic and interest data will also be used for market research purposes.
e. Anonymous information
Svar may process aggregated, de-identified, or otherwise anonymous or anonymized information for any purpose. Such information is not considered personal information.
4. Your Data Subject Rights
You also have the following rights in relation to the personal information we hold about you, in addition to any other rights required by applicable law: Know what personal information we have collected about you. Access a copy of the personal information that we hold about you. Know what personal information about you we have shared with third parties. Opt out of the sharing of your personal information with third parties. Object to our processing of your personal information. Request that we limit our use of your sensitive personal information to what is necessary to perform the services you requested. Not be discriminated against for exercising your data subject rights. Request that we delete any personal information we have collected from you. Request that we correct any inaccurate personal information about you. Export the personal information you have provided to Duolingo in a format that can be transferred electronically to a third party. Withdraw any consent you previously gave us to process your personal information. Delete your Svar account by following the instructions in the Service. You may update or correct your information, and exercise certain opt-out rights. Please note that these rights are not absolute and Svar may refuse requests to exercise data subject rights if there is a legitimate reason, such as if we cannot authenticate your identity, if the request could violate the rights of a third party or applicable law, or if the request could interfere with a Svar service or prevent us from delivering a service you requested.
5. Data Retention
Svar will generally retain your personal information until your account is deleted. However, Svar may retain certain information longer if necessary to provide our Service, defend our legitimate interests or those of third parties, comply with legal requirements, resolve or defend ourselves in disputes, investigate misuse or disruption of the Service, or perform agreements. We may also retain anonymous data indefinitely.
6. Do Not Track
The Service is not designed to respond to “do not track” signals sent by some browsers.
7. Links to Third-Party Websites
The Service may contain links to other websites. Svar is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of other websites, including any personal or financial information collected by third-party payment processors. We encourage users to be aware of the privacy policies of other websites they visit. This Privacy Policy applies only to information collected by Svar. Any time you click on a link (including advertising banners) or submit your personal information to a third-party website, you will be subject to that third party’s privacy policies.
8. Privacy Policy Updates
We may update our Privacy Policy to reflect changes to our information practices. If we do this and the changes are material, we will indicate the date these terms were last revised at the bottom of the Privacy Policy.
9. Data Transfer
is based in the United States and processes data in India, which may not provide equivalent levels of data protection as your home jurisdiction. Svar may transfer the data of users outside India to India.
13. Supplemental Terms in Certain Jurisdictions
In some jurisdictions, the Service may be subject to supplemental privacy policies or local laws. For users in those jurisdictions, the applicable supplemental privacy policies and local laws will take precedence over this Privacy Policy to the extent they conflict.
14. Contact Us
Svar Smart Solutions Pvt. Ltd. is the data controller of your data for the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and any relevant local legislation.
Last revised on June 13, 2024.