Privacy Policy
Hanzi Pen · Last updated 18 May 2026
Short version: Hanzi Pen does not collect, transmit, or sell any of your personal data. The app has no accounts, no analytics, no ads, and no third-party tracking. The only data leaving your device is the SwiftData record that syncs through your own private iCloud account — only you can read it.
What data the app stores
Hanzi Pen stores the following information on your device:
- Spaced-repetition state for the characters and words you practise (review counts, due dates, mastery score)
- Vocabulary lists you create and the characters / words you add to them
- Practice history (per-character accuracy, retries, time spent)
- Recently viewed dictionary entries
- App settings (HSK level filter, daily review limit, writing direction, etc.)
- Your profile customisation (display name, avatar glyph, accent colour)
- Optional custom word entries you supply
How that data is synced
If you are signed into iCloud on your device, the data above is mirrored to your private CloudKit database so it can sync to your other Apple devices signed into the same Apple ID. This uses Apple's standard CloudKit service. The data lives in iCloud storage that only you can access. The developer of Hanzi Pen cannot read your private records.
If you are not signed into iCloud, all data stays on the device. Nothing is transmitted anywhere.
What is not collected
- No personal information (name, email, phone) — except whatever you type into the profile display name field, which is stored only in your private iCloud space
- No location data
- No advertising identifiers
- No usage analytics (no Firebase, no Mixpanel, no third-party SDKs of any kind)
- No crash reports beyond what Apple's standard system crash reporter offers you the choice to share — and that data goes to Apple, not to the developer
Handwriting recognition
The handwriting search feature uses Apple's on-device Vision framework (VNRecognizeTextRequest) to recognise characters you draw on the canvas. Recognition happens entirely on your device. The drawing is never uploaded, never sent to a server, and is discarded as soon as the recognition result is returned.
Text-to-speech
Tapping the speaker icon next to a character or sentence uses Apple's built-in AVSpeechSynthesizer to speak the text out loud. This is an on-device synthesis service provided by iOS. Nothing is sent to the developer.
Third-party content sources
Hanzi Pen bundles open-data dictionaries, sentence corpora, and stroke graphics for offline use. These are static files; they do not contact any server. They are:
- CC-CEDICT — multi-character word entries (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Tatoeba — example sentences (CC-BY 2.0 FR)
- Make-Me-a-Hanzi — stroke graphics (LGPL / Arphic Public License)
- chinese-lexicon by Peter Olson — per-character definitions and etymology (ISC)
- Dong Chinese wiki content — etymology prose (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Your rights
Because no data is collected by the developer, there is nothing for the developer to delete on your behalf. To erase your local + iCloud data:
- Open Profile → Your Library → Reset Learning Data in the app to wipe all stored progress on the device.
- To purge the iCloud copy as well, sign out of iCloud or delete the app — iOS removes the associated CloudKit zone automatically.
Children
Hanzi Pen is suitable for users aged 12 and up. The app does not knowingly collect any data from any user, including children.
Changes to this policy
This policy may be updated in the future as features evolve. Material changes will be noted by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.
Contact
For questions about privacy or the app in general: