Last updated: November 6, 2026
Wakaba is developed by Sergio Daniel Xalambri (“I,” “me,” or “my”). This policy explains how information is handled when you use Wakaba on iPhone and iPad, or contact Wakaba support.
Information handled by the app
Wakaba does not require an account and has no sign-in. The app does not send your practice, your progress or any personal information to servers operated by me.
Wakaba does not include advertising, advertising identifiers, tracking, analytics or crash-reporting SDKs, or any third-party code. It offers no in-app purchases.
Information stored on your device
Wakaba stores the following on your device:
Your practice progress: which words you have practised, your answers counted as correct or incorrect, review dates, completed sessions and the days you practised.
Your vocabulary, including words you add or edit.
Your settings, such as speaking practice, the Japanese voice, daily reminders and the reminder time.
Your typed answers, spoken answers and handwriting are checked on the device and are not saved. Only whether an answer was correct is recorded.
Your device’s backup services may include this data according to your Apple settings.
iCloud sync
When you are signed in to iCloud, Wakaba syncs your practice progress through your private iCloud database, using Apple’s CloudKit. This data is stored in your iCloud account and handled by Apple under its privacy policy. I cannot read it.
Only practice progress syncs. Your vocabulary, including words you add, and your settings stay on the device where you created them.
Sync happens automatically whenever iCloud is available. To stop it, turn off iCloud for Wakaba in your device’s iCloud settings.
Speaking practice
Speaking practice is optional and off by default. When you turn it on, Wakaba asks for access to the microphone and to speech recognition.
Wakaba offers speaking practice only on devices that can recognise Japanese on the device itself, and it requires on-device recognition, so your voice is not sent to Apple or anyone else for recognition. Recording stops after a few seconds. The audio is not stored, and the recognised text is used only to check your answer.
Pronunciation
Wakaba pronounces Japanese with the voices installed on your device. It does not use bundled recordings or an external speech service.
Handwriting practice
When you trace kana with your finger or Apple Pencil, each stroke is checked on the device against the expected stroke order. Drawings are not saved or sent anywhere.
Daily reminders
Wakaba can show a daily practice reminder at a time you choose. Reminders are scheduled on your device as local notifications; Wakaba does not use push notifications or any server to send them. Wakaba asks for permission after your first completed session, and you can turn reminders off in Wakaba’s settings, in the Settings app, or in your notification settings.
Widgets
Wakaba’s widgets read a small file the app keeps on your device: your practice days, the number of words you’ve learned, and the words the word of the day is chosen from, which can include words you added. The widgets make no network requests.
Links to other websites
Some screens link to outside resources, such as jisho.org for a kanji or the sources the app’s vocabulary credits. These open in your browser only when you tap them; looking up a kanji on jisho.org sends that kanji to jisho.org.
Backups you create
Wakaba can export your vocabulary and progress to a file in a location you choose, and import such a file later. The file goes only where you put it.
Deleting your data
You can reset your practice progress from Wakaba’s settings in the Settings app. A reset clears your progress on your devices and replaces the progress stored in your iCloud with an empty one. Your vocabulary is kept.
Deleting the app removes the data stored on your device. To remove the data Wakaba keeps in your iCloud, use your device’s iCloud storage settings.
Apple services
Apple distributes Wakaba through the App Store and may process download, diagnostics and usage information under its own privacy policy and your device settings. Apple may make aggregate analytics or diagnostic reports available to me through its developer services. I use any such information to understand app performance and resolve problems.
For details about Apple’s practices, visit apple.com/legal/privacy.
Support requests
If you submit the support form, I receive the information you provide. This may include:
Your name, if provided.
Your email address.
Your request topic and device.
Your iOS or iPadOS and app versions, if provided.
Your message and any other information you choose to include.
I use this information to respond to your request, investigate reported problems, and improve Wakaba. Please do not include passwords, payment details, or other sensitive information.
Support website and service providers
The support website is hosted on Cloudflare, which also delivers support requests to me by email. Cloudflare processes the technical information needed to serve and protect the website, such as your IP address and browser details, under Cloudflare’s privacy policy.
To limit spam, the support form includes hidden fields that automated tools tend to fill in, and it limits how many requests one IP address can send per minute. Each request is also checked automatically for signs of spam, such as many links or a disposable email address; a request that looks like spam may be discarded or marked for review. Your IP address is not included in the support request I receive.
As part of that check, your IP address, email address, and name, if provided, are looked up in StopForumSpam, a public database of addresses reported for sending spam. StopForumSpam receives only those details, not your message, and handles them under its privacy policy.
The website keeps request logs through Cloudflare to diagnose problems. They record details of each request, such as the page requested and the outcome, and do not include the contents of your support request.
The website uses Cloudflare Web Analytics to measure visits, such as which pages are viewed and where visitors come from. Cloudflare Web Analytics does not use cookies or local storage and does not track you across websites. The website does not use advertising cookies.
After you submit the form, the website sets one cookie, r3:session, so the next page can confirm that your request was sent; that cookie expires after one year.
Support information is not sold or used for targeted advertising. Service providers may process it as necessary to provide hosting, email delivery, or security services.
Information may also be disclosed when required by law.
Retention
Data on your device stays until you reset it or delete the app. Progress in your iCloud stays until you reset it or remove it through your iCloud settings.
Support requests are kept in my email inbox until the issue or request is resolved, and then deleted.
Children
Wakaba does not knowingly collect personal information from children. The app collects no personal information, and the support form asks only for what is needed to reply.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted on this page with a new “Last updated” date.
Contact
For questions about this policy, use the Wakaba support form.