TapSay — Privacy Policy

Last updated: 15 September 2026

TapSay is a tap-to-speak phrasebook for iPhone. It is built to work offline, and it is built to need as little information about you as possible. There is no account, no login, no advertising, and no sale of data. This page explains exactly what the app does and does not send to us.

The app works offline

Speaking phrases, browsing the phrasebook, the numeric keypad for prices, and Manual two-way mode all run on your device. Speech synthesis and, where your device and language support it, speech recognition and translation are performed by iOS on the device itself. TapSay does not need an internet connection to do its job, and the text of what you speak is not sent to us.

What our server receives

TapSay has a small backend used to understand which phrases are useful and to review phrases that people offer to share. It receives only the following:

• An anonymous install identifier. A random identifier generated on your device when the app is first installed. It is not your name, your email, your Apple Account, your phone number, your advertising identifier, or any device identifier issued by Apple. It lets us count installs and group usage counts without knowing who you are. It is reset if you delete and reinstall the app.
• Phrase usage counts. Aggregate counts of how often phrases and app features are used, along with the app version and the language pair you have selected. This tells us which phrases to improve and which to add. It does not include the text you type, dictate, or speak.
• Custom phrases you explicitly submit for review. If you choose to submit a phrase you have written so that it can be considered for the shared phrasebook, the text of that phrase is sent to us and reviewed by a person. Only phrases you deliberately submit are sent. Custom phrases you keep to yourself stay on your device. Please do not include personal or sensitive information in a phrase you submit.

What we never collect

• No account, name, email address, or phone number.
• No contacts, photos, calendar, health, or financial information.
• No location data.
• No advertising identifier, and no advertising of any kind.
• No microphone audio. The microphone is used only while you hold or tap the mic button in Manual mode, and the audio is processed by iOS for dictation. Recordings are not stored by TapSay and are never uploaded to us.

Tracking

TapSay does not track you. We do not link any data to your identity, and we do not share any data with data brokers, advertising networks, or other third parties for advertising or measurement purposes.

Purchases

The one-time Unlimited unlock and the Merchant subscription are sold through Apple's In-App Purchase system. Apple processes the payment; we never see your payment details. Your purchase status is validated on your device through the App Store.

How the data is used and kept

Usage counts are used only in aggregate, to decide which phrases and features to improve. Submitted phrases are used only to review and possibly add content to the shared phrasebook. Data is stored on servers operated by our hosting provider and is retained only as long as it is useful for these purposes. We do not sell data, and we do not use it to build a profile of you.

Children

TapSay is a general-audience travel and communication tool. It does not knowingly collect personal information from children, because it does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone.

Your choices

You can use every core feature of TapSay with no network connection at all. Deleting the app removes the custom phrases and settings stored on your device and retires the anonymous install identifier. If you would like a phrase you submitted removed, contact us and we will remove it.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted on this page with a new date above.

Contact

Questions about privacy, or a request to remove something you submitted: ptrinh@me.com