Privacy

The short version: without an account we do not know who you are, we do not set cookies on you, and what we count, we count in daily totals. If you sign in, we keep your library — and only that — until you delete it. The exceptions are Meta’s tools for measuring our ads: on the site only when you arrive from Facebook or Instagram, and in the Android app: see “Advertising (Meta)” below; and Google’s tag, only when you arrive from our Google ads: see “Advertising (Google)”; and OpenAI’s pixel, only when you arrive from our ChatGPT ads: see “Advertising (ChatGPT)”.

What we store about you

No account unless you make one. Search and clips work without signing in, and then there is no profile, email address or password on our side. Signing in is optional; what it stores is described under “Your account” below.
Your searches, as totals. A search reaches our server because that is how search works. For each day we keep how many searches there were, which accent filter they used, how many found the exact phrase, and the queries themselves — lowercased, and only if they look like words. Anything with digits or symbols is counted but not written down.
Searches that found little or nothing. These also go on a separate list: the query in lowercase, the accent filter, how many matches there were, how many times it was searched, and the first and last date. That list is how we decide what to add to the index.
Pages and plays, as totals. Each page sends one small request saying which kind of page was opened — the home page, a word page, search — and the player sends one when a clip starts playing: the video and the second it started at. We keep daily totals, not a history. Nothing is sent if your browser has Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track turned on.
How many people came today. To count different visitors without a cookie, the server mixes your IP address and browser name with a random value that exists only in its memory and is thrown away at midnight UTC. Only the number of different visitors that day is written to disk. We cannot tell whether you came back tomorrow, and neither could anyone who got hold of our files. A search from the Chrome extension counts as a search right away; a search on the site counts once a clip for that word started playing, so that bots are not counted — for that, the “clip started” signal also carries the word.
Where visits come from, as totals. On the first page of a visit, that same request also says where you came from: the utm_source tag of the link, or else the name of the site that sent you (only the site, never the page), or else the app whose built-in browser you are in, or else “direct”. We keep how many visitors came from each place per day. Your browser's local storage keeps the first such place for 60 days; it leaves the device only if you create an account, and then the account records where you first came from — one word like “Instagram” or “Google”. Inside an app's built-in browser the address carries that word instead, so it survives opening the page in your real browser.
Clicks between our pages, as totals. Some of our links say where on the site they were clicked (?from=search). We keep how many visitors followed each such link per day. Your browser's local storage keeps the last one for a day; if you create an account within that day, the account records that word.
Clip reports. If you report a clip, we keep the clip, the reason, your search and the note you typed, with the date. Not who sent it. To stop floods, your address is held in memory for a few minutes and then forgotten; it is never written down.
Your last choices. Language, accent and theme are remembered in your browser's local storage. That data never leaves the device and you can clear it with the rest of your site data.
Server logs. Ordinary web server logs, kept short-term for abuse and debugging.

None of the totals above contain an IP address, a browser name or the time of anything you did. We do not set cookies for visitors, with one exception: if you arrive through a partner's link (?ref=…), we set ytg_ref with that partner's name for 60 days, so that if you create an account the partner is credited (visitors from our Facebook or Instagram ads also get Meta’s cookies, described under “Advertising (Meta)”, and visitors from our Google ads get Google’s, described under “Advertising (Google)”; and visitors from our ChatGPT ads get OpenAI’s, described under “Advertising (ChatGPT)”). To count such a visit once per phone rather than once per browser, we keep for one day a scrambled code made from your IP address and your device type (iPhone, Android…), mixed with a secret value; the IP address itself is not stored. Signing in sets one cookie, ytg_sid, that keeps you signed in; the site owner's statistics page has its own.

Your account

You sign in with Google. We receive your Google account ID, email address, name and profile picture — never your password. While you are signed in we keep:

Your library history. When you look up a word with the extension, we save the word, the address and title of the page you were on, and the sentence around the word — also when you selected it in text you were writing, such as a document, a message or a form field (never a password field) — so the library can group words by site. Only lookups you started yourself, never in incognito windows, and never pages you merely visit. A search you make on this site or in the app while signed in goes there too, under youtongue.me: the word you searched, once it found clips, and, when you then get its meaning in one of those clips, that clip’s caption line.
Your folders and the words you saved into them.
Folders you share. Sharing is off until you turn it on for a folder. Then anyone with its link (youtongue.me/f/…) can see the folder’s name, its words with their sentences and the sites they came from, your notes on those words, and your first name with the initial of your last name — never your email or picture. The page always shows the folder as it is now, is hidden from search engines, and we count how many people opened it, practised it or saved a copy. “Stop sharing” kills the link for good; a copy someone already saved to their own library stays theirs.
Your plan. On the site, Pro is sold by Paddle.com, our reseller and Merchant of Record: Paddle handles payment details, invoices and tax. We only receive the subscription status, its renewal date, whether you bought Lifetime (and its transaction ID) and a Paddle customer ID. Pro bought in the Android app is described under “The Android app” below.
Where you first came from — one word such as “Instagram”, “Google” or the name of a site, recorded when the account is created, and the date of your first payment. We use them to see which places bring people who stay.
Which of our links you signed up after — one word such as “search”, if you clicked one of our own links within a day before creating the account.
Your dictations — for each word, whether you got it right and what you typed, and your finished sessions, so you can see your history and progress.
Your shadowing results. When you record yourself saying a line, the recording is sent to our server, scored there and thrown away: it is never written to disk or kept. We keep the score and which sounds were weak.

You can delete single lookups, a site's whole history or a folder at any time in the library. Deleting your account erases all of the above at once. On the Free plan, lookups older than the plan's history window are kept but hidden until you upgrade or delete them.

Meanings in context

When you are signed in, YouTongue shows what a word means in the sentence you met it in — on the site, in the Chrome extension and in the Android app. An AI model writes that meaning: our server sends the word and its sentence to an AI provider, currently OpenAI, and shows you the answer. Signed out, nothing goes to the provider.

What is sent. On the site and in the app, the sentence is the clip’s caption line from our index, with the lines just before and after it; in your library, it is the sentence the library keeps with the word, or the one you write when adding a word. In the extension, it is the sentence around the word you selected, wherever you selected it — on a page or in text you can edit, such as a document, a note, a message you are writing or a form field (never a password field) — or, in the subtitles panel, the line you clicked (both lines, for a phrase you picked across two) with the lines just before and after it. It is sent only when you open a word yourself, never in the background, and nothing is sent from incognito windows. Your name, email address and account ID, and the address and title of the page, are not sent to the provider.
At the provider. OpenAI does not use it to train its models and may keep it for up to 30 days to check for abuse, under its rules for API data.
On our server. A sentence sent to us — from a page, the subtitles panel, your library or one you write — is used only for that answer and is never written to disk or to logs: we keep only a fingerprint of it, with the meaning, so the same word in the same sentence is answered faster the next time anyone asks. The meaning is written for that sentence, so it may say what the word refers to there. None of it is linked to an account. (The sentence your library keeps with a lookup is described under “Your account”.)
What we keep. Which words you got a meaning for, by day — that is how the Free plan’s 5 meanings a day are counted. They are deleted with your account. “Not this meaning?” only adds one to a daily total: the word and the sentence are not kept.
In Tests. To check that a text uses a word you saved in the same sense, our server sends the provider the word, the line and meaning saved with it, and that public text. This happens when you open Tests or a test, not only when you open a word. For the meaning of a gap, it sends the word and its sentence from the text. Your name, email address and account ID are not sent. Your results in Tests are kept with your account and deleted with it.

Advertising (Meta)

On the site: the Meta Pixel

We advertise on Facebook and Instagram. To learn which ads bring people who sign up and buy Pro, the site uses the Meta Pixel — a script from Meta — but only if you came to YouTongue from Facebook or Instagram: the link you opened carried Meta’s click ID (fbclid, which Facebook and Instagram add to links, ours or not) or our ads’ tag (utm_source=facebook, instagram or meta). Your browser’s local storage then remembers that for 30 days, and the pixel stays on for that time. Every other visitor gets no Meta script at all, and nothing is sent to Meta about them. Nothing is sent if your browser has Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track turned on.

What goes to Meta. The pages you open on the site; that you created an account (sent once, on the first sign-in in that browser after the ad); and that you started the free trial or bought Pro, with the price and currency. With them, Meta’s script sends the click ID and its own cookies, _fbp and _fbc, which it sets on this site, and what any web request carries — your IP address and browser.
What does not. Your name, email address, account ID, payment details or anything you type: we do not pass them to Meta, and the pixel’s automatic matching is off.
At Meta. Meta handles this under its own privacy policy, which we do not control, and may link it to your Facebook or Instagram account.
Opting out. Turn on Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track, or use an ad or tracker blocker; clearing this site’s data removes the 30-day mark and Meta’s cookies; and in Meta’s ad settings you can turn off ads based on activity from other sites.

In the Android app: Meta’s SDK

We also advertise the Android app on Facebook and Instagram, and to see which ads lead to installs, sign-ups and Pro, the app includes Meta’s app-events SDK. Unlike the site’s pixel, it runs on every install of the app, whether or not you came from an ad: an install can be matched to an ad only before anything about it is known.

What goes to Meta. That the app was installed and opened; that you signed in (sent once, on the first sign-in on that install); and that you started a free trial or bought Pro in Google Play, with the price, the currency and which Pro product it was. With them, the SDK sends your device’s advertising ID, an anonymous ID of its own, basic device and app information (model, Android and app version) and what any request carries — your IP address. It also sends its own crash and error reports to Meta.
What does not. Your name, email address, YouTongue account ID, the words you search or save, your dictations and recordings.
What it is for. Meta uses it to measure our ads and for analytics, under its own privacy policy, and may link it to your Facebook or Instagram account.
Opting out. Reset or delete your advertising ID in Android Settings → Google → Ads (after deleting it, apps receive no advertising ID); in Meta’s ad settings, turn off ads based on activity from other apps; or uninstall the app, which stops it.

Advertising (Google)

We also advertise in Google Search. To learn which ads bring people who start the free trial, the site loads Google’s tag — a script from Google — but only if you came to YouTongue from one of those ads: the link you opened carried Google’s click ID (gclid, gbraid or wbraid) or our ads’ tag (utm_source=googleads). Your browser’s local storage then remembers that for 30 days, and the tag stays on for that time. Every other visitor gets no Google tag, and nothing is sent to Google Ads about them. Nothing is sent if your browser has Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track turned on.

What goes to Google. The pages you open on the site; and that you started the free trial, with the price and currency and the payment’s reference number. With them, the tag sends the click ID and its own cookies, which it sets on this site, and what any web request carries — your IP address and browser.
What does not. Your name, email address, account ID, payment details or anything you type: we do not pass them to Google Ads. Google signals and ad personalization are turned off in the tag.
At Google. Google handles this under its own privacy policy, which we do not control.
Opting out. Turn on Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track, or use an ad or tracker blocker; clearing this site’s data removes the 30-day mark and Google’s cookies; and in your Google ad settings you can manage how ads are shown to you.

Advertising (ChatGPT)

We also advertise in ChatGPT. To learn which ads bring people who sign up and start the free trial, the site loads OpenAI’s pixel — a script from OpenAI — but only if you came to YouTongue from one of those ads: the link you opened carried OpenAI’s click reference (oppref) or our ads’ tag (utm_source=chatgptads). Your browser’s local storage then remembers that for 30 days, and the pixel stays on for that time. Every other visitor gets no OpenAI script, and nothing is sent to OpenAI about them. Nothing is sent if your browser has Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track turned on.

What goes to OpenAI. The pages you open on the site; that you signed up, started the free trial or paid, with the price, currency and the payment’s reference number. With them, the click reference, the pixel’s cookies (__oppref for 30 days, __obref for a year), and what any web request carries — your IP address and browser. Our server also sends OpenAI the same sign-up, trial and first payment, with the click reference.
What the pixel finds on the page. OpenAI’s automatic matching looks for an email address, phone number and name on the pages you open, including your name and email address when you are signed in, and sends them to OpenAI scrambled (hashed) in your browser, so that OpenAI can match the visit to an account. We cannot turn this off.
What does not. Your payment details: checkout runs in Paddle’s own frame. Our server does not send your name, email address, account ID or IP address to OpenAI.
At OpenAI. OpenAI handles this under its own privacy policy, which we do not control.
Opting out. Turn on Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track, or use an ad or tracker blocker; clearing this site’s data removes the 30-day mark and the pixel’s cookies.

The Chrome extension

Out of the box the YouTongue extension does nothing until you ask it to: you pick “Hear … on YouTongue” from the right-click menu or press its shortcut. Only then does it read the text you selected in that one tab — on the page or in text you are writing, never in a password field — and send that text to youtongue.me to search — exactly as if you had typed it on this site, so everything above applies to it too. If you sign in from the extension, each lookup also sends the page address, title and the sentence around the word to your library, as described under “Your account”, and the word with that sentence for its meaning, as described under “Meanings in context”; signed out, it sends nothing else.

Two features are off until you turn them on, and Chrome asks for your permission first (once for both on the welcome page after installing, or one at a time in the toolbar popup): the Hear button next to a selection, and the subtitles side panel. With that permission the extension runs on the pages you open. The Hear button only watches for a selection — on the page or in text you are writing, never in a password field — and sends nothing until you click it. The subtitles panel looks for English subtitles of the video on the page — the subtitle track or file the video’s own player loads — and reads them inside your browser; the track itself is never uploaded. When you look up a word in the panel, it sends that word, and, if you are signed in, the page address, title and the subtitle line it came from to your library, like any other lookup, and that line with the lines just before and after it for the word’s meaning (see “Meanings in context”). Turn either feature off in the toolbar popup at any time.

The accent you picked, your sign-in token, your choice of features and the words you saved from the subtitles panel (with their line and time) are kept in the extension’s storage on your device.

The Android app

The YouTongue app for Android (me.youtongue.app, from Google Play) is this site in an app, and everything above applies to it too: it sends your searches, the clips you play and your clip reports the same way, and, when you are signed in, your library, your dictation answers and your shadowing recordings — scored and thrown away, as on the site. In addition:

Words from other apps. When you pick “Hear on YouTongue” for text selected in another app, or share text to YouTongue, and you are signed in, the word and the name of that app go to your library history, like a lookup with the extension. The app never reads anything you did not select or share.
App opens and screens, as totals. The app tells us when it is opened and which screen you are on (search, dictations, library…). We keep how many opens and how many views of each screen there were per day.
A random install ID. On first launch the app makes up a random ID that is not linked to you, your Google account or your phone. It is sent with each request only so we can count how many different people used the app today: like a visitor on the site, it is mixed with a value thrown away at midnight UTC, and only the day's number is written down. Uninstalling the app or clearing its data makes a new one.
Which app and version. Each request says it comes from the Android app and which version, so that the app's numbers are counted apart from the site's.
Signing in. You sign in with Google in your browser, on our page, not inside the app; the app then receives its own sign-in token, kept on your phone until you sign out. An account created this way, with no other source known, records “Android app” as where you first came from.
Buying Pro in the app. In the app, Pro is sold through Google Play: Google handles the payment under its privacy policy, and we never see your card. Purchases are checked by RevenueCat, which receives your YouTongue account number (not your name or email) and your Google Play purchase records, under its own privacy policy. From RevenueCat we receive which plan you bought, when it renews or ends, the price and whether it was refunded.
Meta’s SDK. The app reports installs, opens, sign-ins and purchases to Meta with your advertising ID, as described under “Advertising (Meta)”.

YouTube

Playback happens inside an embedded YouTube player, which is Google's code running on our page. Google may set cookies and collect data under its own privacy policy, which we do not control. We use the privacy-enhanced embed domain, which delays that until you actually start a video — but it does not eliminate it.

What we do not do

No ads shown in the site or the app, no third-party analytics apart from Meta’s tools described under “Advertising (Meta)” — on the site, only for visitors from Facebook and Instagram — and Google’s tag described under “Advertising (Google)”, only for visitors from our Google ads, and no selling of anything to anyone.

Last updated: 2026-11-02