Privacy Policy

1. An overview of data protection

General information

The following information will provide you with an easy to navigate overview of what will happen with your personal data when you visit this website or use the uplang Chrome browser extension and the uplang web application (collectively, the “Services”). The term “personal data” comprises all data that can be used to personally identify you. For detailed information about the subject matter of data protection, please consult our Data Protection Declaration, which we have included beneath this copy.

Data recording on this website and in our Services

Who is the responsible party for the recording of data on this website (i.e., the “controller”)?

The data on this website and in our Services is processed by the operator of the website, whose contact information is available under section “Information about the responsible party (referred to as the “controller” in the GDPR)” in this Privacy Policy.

How do we record your data?

We collect your data as a result of your sharing of your data with us. This may, for instance, be information you enter into our contact form, when you create an account for the uplang web application or the uplang Chrome extension, or when you interactively look up subtitle text inside the extension.

Other data shall be recorded by our IT systems automatically or after you consent to its recording during your website visit. This data comprises primarily technical information (e.g., web browser, operating system, or time the site was accessed). This information is recorded automatically when you access this website or use the Services.

What are the purposes we use your data for?

A portion of the information is generated to guarantee the error-free provision of the website and of the Services. Other data may be used to analyze your user patterns. If contracts can be concluded or initiated via the website or the Services (e.g., a paid subscription to uplang Pro), the transmitted data will also be processed for contract offers, orders, order enquiries, and subscription billing.

What rights do you have as far as your information is concerned?

You have the right to receive information about the source, recipients, and purposes of your archived personal data at any time without having to pay a fee for such disclosures. You also have the right to demand that your data are rectified or eradicated. If you have consented to data processing, you have the option to revoke this consent at any time, which shall affect all future data processing. Moreover, you have the right to demand that the processing of your data be restricted under certain circumstances. Furthermore, you have the right to log a complaint with the competent supervising agency.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at any time if you have questions about this or any other data protection related issues.

2. Hosting

We are hosting the content of our website at the following provider:

Hetzner

The provider is the Hetzner Online GmbH, Industriestr. 25, 91710 Gunzenhausen, Germany (hereinafter referred to as Hetzner).

For details, please view the data privacy policy of Hetzner: https://www.hetzner.com/de/legal/privacy-policy/.

We use Hetzner on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. We have a legitimate interest in the most reliable depiction of our website possible. If appropriate consent has been obtained, the processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and § 25 (1) TDDDG, insofar the consent includes the storage of cookies or the access to information in the user's end device (e.g., device fingerprinting) within the meaning of the TDDDG. This consent can be revoked at any time.

Data processing

We have concluded a data processing agreement (DPA) for the use of the above-mentioned service. This is a contract mandated by data privacy laws that guarantees that they process personal data of our website visitors only based on our instructions and in compliance with the GDPR.

3. General information and mandatory information

Data protection

The operators of this website and its pages take the protection of your personal data very seriously. Hence, we handle your personal data as confidential information and in compliance with the statutory data protection regulations and this Data Protection Declaration.

Whenever you use this website or the Services, a variety of personal information will be collected. Personal data comprises data that can be used to personally identify you. This Data Protection Declaration explains which data we collect as well as the purposes we use this data for. It also explains how, and for which purpose the information is collected.

We herewith advise you that the transmission of data via the Internet (i.e., through e-mail communications) may be prone to security gaps. It is not possible to completely protect data against third-party access.

Information about the responsible party (referred to as the “controller” in the GDPR)

The data processing controller on this website is:

PLATZDORSCH Softwareentwicklung GmbH & Co. KG
Hansestraße 21
18182 Bentwisch
Germany

Phone: +49 381 21086912
E-mail: mail@platzdorsch.de

The controller is the natural person or legal entity that single-handedly or jointly with others makes decisions as to the purposes of and resources for the processing of personal data (e.g., names, e-mail addresses, etc.).

Storage duration

Unless a more specific storage period has been specified in this privacy policy, your personal data will remain with us until the purpose for which it was collected no longer applies. If you assert a justified request for deletion or revoke your consent to data processing, your data will be deleted, unless we have other legally permissible reasons for storing your personal data (e.g., tax or commercial law retention periods); in the latter case, the deletion will take place after these reasons cease to apply.

General information on the legal basis for the data processing on this website

If you have consented to data processing, we process your personal data on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR or Art. 9 (2)(a) GDPR, if special categories of data are processed according to Art. 9 (1) DSGVO. In the case of explicit consent to the transfer of personal data to third countries, the data processing is also based on Art. 49 (1)(a) GDPR. If you have consented to the storage of cookies or to the access to information in your end device (e.g., via device fingerprinting), the data processing is additionally based on § 25 (1) TDDDG. The consent can be revoked at any time. If your data is required for the fulfillment of a contract or for the implementation of pre-contractual measures, we process your data on the basis of Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR. Furthermore, if your data is required for the fulfillment of a legal obligation, we process it on the basis of Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR. Furthermore, the data processing may be carried out on the basis of our legitimate interest according to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Information on the relevant legal basis in each individual case is provided in the following paragraphs of this privacy policy.

Recipients of personal data

In the scope of our business activities, we cooperate with various external parties. In some cases, this also requires the transfer of personal data to these external parties. We only disclose personal data to external parties if this is required as part of the fulfillment of a contract, if we are legally obligated to do so (e.g., disclosure of data to tax authorities), if we have a legitimate interest in the disclosure pursuant to Art. 6 (1)(f) GDPR, or if another legal basis permits the disclosure of this data. When using processors, we only disclose personal data of our customers on the basis of a valid contract on data processing. In the case of joint processing, a joint processing agreement is concluded.

Revocation of your consent to the processing of data

A wide range of data processing transactions are possible only subject to your express consent. You can also revoke at any time any consent you have already given us. This shall be without prejudice to the lawfulness of any data collection that occurred prior to your revocation.

Right to object to the collection of data in special cases; right to object to direct advertising (Art. 21 GDPR)

IN THE EVENT THAT DATA ARE PROCESSED ON THE BASIS OF ART. 6(1)(E) OR (F) GDPR, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO AT ANY TIME OBJECT TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA BASED ON GROUNDS ARISING FROM YOUR UNIQUE SITUATION. THIS ALSO APPLIES TO ANY PROFILING BASED ON THESE PROVISIONS. TO DETERMINE THE LEGAL BASIS, ON WHICH ANY PROCESSING OF DATA IS BASED, PLEASE CONSULT THIS DATA PROTECTION DECLARATION. IF YOU LOG AN OBJECTION, WE WILL NO LONGER PROCESS YOUR AFFECTED PERSONAL DATA, UNLESS WE ARE IN A POSITION TO PRESENT COMPELLING PROTECTION WORTHY GROUNDS FOR THE PROCESSING OF YOUR DATA, THAT OUTWEIGH YOUR INTERESTS, RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OR IF THE PURPOSE OF THE PROCESSING IS THE CLAIMING, EXERCISING OR DEFENCE OF LEGAL ENTITLEMENTS (OBJECTION PURSUANT TO ART. 21(1) GDPR).

IF YOUR PERSONAL DATA IS BEING PROCESSED IN ORDER TO ENGAGE IN DIRECT ADVERTISING, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR AFFECTED PERSONAL DATA FOR THE PURPOSES OF SUCH ADVERTISING AT ANY TIME. THIS ALSO APPLIES TO PROFILING TO THE EXTENT THAT IT IS AFFILIATED WITH SUCH DIRECT ADVERTISING. IF YOU OBJECT, YOUR PERSONAL DATA WILL SUBSEQUENTLY NO LONGER BE USED FOR DIRECT ADVERTISING PURPOSES (OBJECTION PURSUANT TO ART. 21(2) GDPR).

Right to log a complaint with the competent supervisory agency

In the event of violations of the GDPR, data subjects are entitled to log a complaint with a supervisory agency, in particular in the member state where they usually maintain their domicile, place of work or at the place where the alleged violation occurred. The right to log a complaint is in effect regardless of any other administrative or court proceedings available as legal recourses.

Right to data portability

You have the right to have data that we process automatically on the basis of your consent or in fulfillment of a contract handed over to you or to a third party in a common, machine-readable format. If you should demand the direct transfer of the data to another controller, this will be done only if it is technically feasible.

Information about, rectification and eradication of data

Within the scope of the applicable statutory provisions, you have the right to demand information about your archived personal data, their source and recipients as well as the purpose of the processing of your data at any time. You may also have a right to have your data rectified or eradicated. If you have questions about this subject matter or any other questions about personal data, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.

Right to demand processing restrictions

You have the right to demand the imposition of restrictions as far as the processing of your personal data is concerned. To do so, you may contact us at any time. The right to demand restriction of processing applies in the following cases:

• In the event that you should dispute the correctness of your data archived by us, we will usually need some time to verify this claim. During the time that this investigation is ongoing, you have the right to demand that we restrict the processing of your personal data.
• If the processing of your personal data was/is conducted in an unlawful manner, you have the option to demand the restriction of the processing of your data instead of demanding the eradication of this data.
• If we do not need your personal data any longer and you need it to exercise, defend or claim legal entitlements, you have the right to demand the restriction of the processing of your personal data instead of its eradication.
• If you have raised an objection pursuant to Art. 21(1) GDPR, your rights and our rights will have to be weighed against each other. As long as it has not been determined whose interests prevail, you have the right to demand a restriction of the processing of your personal data.

If you have restricted the processing of your personal data, these data – with the exception of their archiving – may be processed only subject to your consent or to claim, exercise or defend legal entitlements or to protect the rights of other natural persons or legal entities or for important public interest reasons cited by the European Union or a member state of the EU.

SSL and/or TLS encryption

For security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as purchase orders or inquiries you submit to us as the website operator, this website uses either an SSL or a TLS encryption program. You can recognize an encrypted connection by checking whether the address line of the browser switches from “http://” to “https://” and also by the appearance of the lock icon in the browser line.

If the SSL or TLS encryption is activated, data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.

Encrypted payment transactions on this website

If you are under an obligation to share your payment information (e.g. account number if you give us the authority to debit your bank account) with us after you have entered into a fee-based contract with us, this information is required to process payments.

Payment transactions using common modes of paying (Visa/MasterCard, debit to your bank account) are processed exclusively via encrypted SSL or TLS connections. You can recognize an encrypted connection by checking whether the address line of the browser switches from “http://” to “https://” and also by the appearance of the lock icon in the browser line.

If the communication with us is encrypted, third parties will not be able to read the payment information you share with us.

4. Recording of data on this website

Cookies

Our websites and pages use what the industry refers to as “cookies.” Cookies are small data packages that do not cause any damage to your device. They are either stored temporarily for the duration of a session (session cookies) or they are permanently archived on your device (permanent cookies). Session cookies are automatically deleted once you terminate your visit. Permanent cookies remain archived on your device until you actively delete them, or they are automatically eradicated by your web browser.

Cookies can be issued by us (first-party cookies) or by third-party companies (so-called third-party cookies). Third-party cookies enable the integration of certain services of third-party companies into websites (e.g., cookies for handling payment services).

Cookies have a variety of functions. Many cookies are technically essential since certain website functions would not work in the absence of these cookies (e.g., the shopping cart function or the display of videos). Other cookies may be used to analyze user behavior or for promotional purposes.

Cookies, which are required for the performance of electronic communication transactions, for the provision of certain functions you want to use (e.g., for the shopping cart function) or those that are necessary for the optimization (required cookies) of the website (e.g., cookies that provide measurable insights into the web audience), shall be stored on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, unless a different legal basis is cited. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in the storage of required cookies to ensure the technically error-free and optimized provision of the operator's services. If your consent to the storage of the cookies and similar recognition technologies has been requested, the processing occurs exclusively on the basis of the consent obtained (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and § 25 (1) TDDDG); this consent may be revoked at any time.

You have the option to set up your browser in such a manner that you will be notified any time cookies are placed and to permit the acceptance of cookies only in specific cases. You may also exclude the acceptance of cookies in certain cases or in general or activate the delete-function for the automatic eradication of cookies when the browser closes. If cookies are deactivated, the functions of this website may be limited.

If other cookies and services are used on this website, you can find this information in this privacy policy.

Server log files

The provider of this website and its pages automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser communicates to us automatically. The information comprises:

• The type and version of browser used
• The used operating system
• Referrer URL
• The hostname of the accessing computer
• The time of the server inquiry
• The IP address

This data is not merged with other data sources.

This data is recorded on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in the technically error-free depiction and the optimization of the operator's website. In order to achieve this, server log files must be recorded.

Request by e-mail, telephone, or fax

If you contact us by e-mail, telephone or fax, your request, including all resulting personal data (name, request) will be stored and processed by us for the purpose of processing your request. We do not pass these data on without your consent.

These data are processed on the basis of Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR if your inquiry is related to the fulfillment of a contract or is required for the performance of pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, the data are processed on the basis of our legitimate interest in the effective handling of inquiries submitted to us (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) or on the basis of your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) if it has been obtained; the consent can be revoked at any time.

The data sent by you to us via contact requests remain with us until you request us to delete, revoke your consent to the storage or the purpose for the data storage lapses (e.g. after completion of your request). Mandatory statutory provisions – in particular statutory retention periods – remain unaffected.

5. eCommerce and payment service providers

Processing of Customer and Contract Data

We collect, process, and use personal customer and contract data for the establishment, content arrangement and modification of our contractual relationships. Data with personal references to the use of this website (usage data) will be collected, processed, and used only if this is necessary to enable the user to use our services or required for billing purposes. The legal basis for these processes is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

The collected customer data shall be deleted upon completion of the order or termination of the business relationship and upon expiration of any existing statutory archiving periods. This shall be without prejudice to any statutory archiving periods.

Data transfer upon closing of contracts for services and digital content

We share personal data with third parties only if this is necessary in conjunction with the handling of the contract; for instance, with the financial institution tasked with the processing of payments.

Any further transfer of data shall not occur or shall only occur if you have expressly consented to the transfer. Any sharing of your data with third parties in the absence of your express consent, for instance for advertising purposes, shall not occur.

The basis for the processing of data is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, which permits the processing of data for the fulfilment of a contract or for pre-contractual actions.

Payment services

We integrate payment services of third-party companies on our website and in our Services. When you make a purchase from us, your payment data (e.g. name, payment amount, bank account details, credit card number) are processed by the payment service provider for the purpose of payment processing. For these transactions, the respective contractual and data protection provisions of the respective providers apply. The use of the payment service providers is based on Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (contract processing) and in the interest of a smooth, convenient, and secure payment transaction (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Insofar as your consent is requested for certain actions, Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR is the legal basis for data processing; consent may be revoked at any time for the future.

We use the following payment services / payment service providers within the scope of this website:

Stripe

The provider for customers within the EU is Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd., 1 Grand Canal Street Lower, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin, Ireland (hereinafter “Stripe”).

Data transmission to the US is based on the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) of the European Commission. Details can be found here: https://stripe.com/de/privacy and https://stripe.com/de/guides/general-data-protection-regulation.

Details can be found in Stripe's Privacy Policy at the following link: https://stripe.com/de/privacy.

6. uplang Chrome browser extension

Limited use of data (Chrome Web Store User Data Policy)

The use of information received from the Chrome Web Store and from Google APIs by the Extension will adhere to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. In particular:

• We use data obtained through the Extension only to provide and improve the Services described on the store listing and in this Privacy Policy.
• We do not sell your data, use it for advertising (including retargeting, personalized, or interest-based advertising), or transfer it for purposes unrelated to the Services.
• We do not use your data to train, build, or improve generalized or third-party machine-learning or artificial-intelligence models.
• No human reads your data, except (a) with your explicit consent, (b) when strictly necessary to investigate abuse, security incidents, or technical problems, (c) to comply with applicable law, or (d) when the data has been aggregated and anonymized.

Single purpose of the Extension

The single purpose of the Extension is to overlay interactive language-learning tools on subtitles shown on supported streaming platforms (currently Netflix) and to provide related features such as tokenization, word lookups, AI-assisted explanations, and optional synchronization with the user's local Anki flashcard application.

Data processed by the Extension

(a) Data stored locally on your device

The following data is stored locally in your browser via chrome.storage.local and is not transmitted to our servers unless explicitly described below. You can clear this data at any time by removing the Extension from your browser:

• User preferences and settings (e.g. study language, secondary subtitle language, furigana display mode, subtitle display modes, keyboard-shortcut behavior, font sizing and overlay offsets, selected AI explanation defaults, Anki integration settings).
• Your authentication token (JWT) and the e-mail address of your uplang account, used to keep you signed in to the Extension.
• Your personal vocabulary map (words you have added to Anki, together with familiarity buckets such as known, fragile, and new), fetched from our backend and cached locally to enable offline familiarity highlighting.
• Subscription status (active / trialing / canceled, plan name, period end) as returned by our billing system.
• Non-persistent caches of tokenized subtitle lines and AI explanations for the show or session you are currently watching, in order to avoid repeated server requests.

(b) Data transmitted to our backend

The Extension communicates with our backend at https://api.uplang.io (operated by the controller named above and hosted on Hetzner infrastructure in Germany) for the following purposes:

• Account authentication. When you sign in through the Extension popup, your e-mail address and password are transmitted to our backend over TLS in order to authenticate you and issue a JWT. We never store your password in plain text.
• Subtitle tokenization. When a subtitle track is detected on a supported streaming platform, the textual content of subtitle lines of the current episode (not audio, not video, not images) is transmitted to our backend together with the selected study and definitions languages, so that it can be tokenized with our NLP pipeline (e.g. Sudachi for Japanese) and enriched with dictionary data (JMdict and equivalents) for display as interactive word cards.
• AI explanations. If you actively request an AI explanation by clicking on a word or selecting a phrase, the selected span and the surrounding subtitle line are transmitted to our backend as context, in order to generate a contextual explanation. AI inference runs on an LLM endpoint operated under the controller's control and located within the EU; no third-party consumer LLM provider receives your request content.
• User vocabulary sync. If you enable the Anki integration, the Extension may upload your local Anki deck metadata (deck name, note IDs and fields such as expression, reading, meaning, tags, plus card scheduling information such as interval, ease factor, reps, lapses, and queue) to our backend. This data is used to calculate your familiarity map and to power the vocabulary-aware highlighting and explanations. No audio, no media attachments, and no unrelated Anki decks are transmitted.
• Subscription and billing. When you start a subscription or manage your subscription from the Extension popup, your request is forwarded to our backend, which creates a Stripe Checkout or Stripe Customer Portal session on your behalf. Your payment details (card number, bank account data) are entered directly on Stripe's infrastructure and are never transmitted to, or stored by, us or by the Extension. See the “Stripe” section above for details.
• Operational telemetry. Requests to our backend are logged in server-side log files as described in the “Server log files” section above. This includes your IP address, request timestamp, request path, and technical metadata. Logs are used solely to operate, secure, and debug the Services, and are rotated and deleted on a short retention schedule.

(c) Data not collected

The Extension does not collect, access, or transmit:

• Your Netflix account credentials, session cookies, or viewing history outside of the current page's subtitle text.
• Video or audio content from Netflix or any other site.
• Your browsing activity or page content on any site other than the supported streaming platforms declared in the manifest.
• Clipboard contents, form inputs, or passwords entered on other sites.
• Location data, device identifiers, or biometric data.
• Analytics data for the purpose of advertising, ad personalization, or sale to third parties.

Host permissions requested by the Extension and their purposes

• https://*.netflix.com/* — required to inject the content script that reads the DOM subtitle elements of the Netflix player, overlay interactive subtitle cards, and observe subtitle changes. This host permission is used solely for the single purpose described above.
• https://api.uplang.io/* — required to communicate with our backend (authentication, tokenization, AI explanations, vocabulary sync, billing sessions).
• http://127.0.0.1:8765/* and http://localhost:8765/* — required to communicate with AnkiConnect, a local add-on running inside the Anki Desktop application on your own computer, in order to create, read, and update flashcards. No data is transmitted over the public internet on these connections; traffic never leaves your device.

Chrome permissions requested by the Extension

• storage — to persist the settings, authentication token, vocabulary map, and caches described above in chrome.storage.local.

The Extension requests no other Chrome API permissions. In particular, the Extension does not request activeTab, tabs, history, bookmarks, cookies, clipboardRead, webRequest, or any permission that would grant access to pages, tabs, or browsing data outside the host permissions listed above.

Third parties involved in providing the Extension

• Hetzner Online GmbH, Gunzenhausen, Germany — hosts our backend and database. Data processing agreement in place. See “Hosting” above.
• Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd., Dublin, Ireland — processes subscription payments initiated from the Extension. See “Stripe” above.
• Google LLC / Google Ireland Ltd. — operates the Chrome Web Store from which the Extension is distributed and updated. We receive aggregated installation and usage statistics from Google regarding the Extension's store listing, but no personally identifying information.
• Ankitects Pty Ltd. / AnkiConnect — the Extension integrates with the AnkiConnect add-on running on your own device. No data is transmitted to Ankitects by the Extension; we are not affiliated with or endorsed by Ankitects Pty Ltd.

Legal basis for processing within the Extension

• Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (performance of a contract). Account authentication, subscription handling, vocabulary synchronization, and tokenization / AI explanations for signed-in Pro users are processed on the basis of the contractual relationship established by your uplang account and subscription (including the Terms of Service).
• Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest). Operational server logs, security monitoring, abuse prevention, and error-free delivery of the Services are processed on the basis of our legitimate interest in running a secure and reliable product. You can object at any time as described above.
• Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR (consent). Optional features such as uploading your Anki deck data for familiarity sync are only activated when you enable them in the Extension. You can revoke this consent at any time by disabling the respective feature in the Extension settings, logging out, or uninstalling the Extension.

Data retention for the Extension

Subtitle text submitted for tokenization and AI explanation is processed only to generate the response and is not retained in a user-identifiable form beyond short-lived caches required for operation and debugging. Server logs are rotated and deleted on a short retention schedule. Account data (e-mail address, hashed password, subscription state, synchronized vocabulary and deck data) is retained for as long as your account exists. If you delete your account, the associated personal data is deleted or anonymized, unless longer retention is required by statutory provisions (e.g. tax or commercial-law retention periods).

Your controls

• You can sign out of the Extension at any time via the popup, which removes the authentication token and cached vocabulary data from your device.
• You can uninstall the Extension at any time via chrome://extensions; this removes all data stored via chrome.storage.local.
• You can request deletion of your uplang account, including all associated data on our servers, by contacting mail@platzdorsch.de.
• You can disable the Anki integration (and therefore stop any synchronization of Anki deck data) from the Extension settings at any time.

International data transfers

The backend infrastructure of the Extension is operated within the European Union (Germany). Where data transfers to third countries occur in the course of payment processing via Stripe, these are safeguarded by the Standard Contractual Clauses of the European Commission as set out in the “Stripe” section above.

Contact for Extension-specific privacy inquiries

For questions regarding the processing of your personal data in the Extension, or to exercise any of your rights under the GDPR, please contact us at mail@platzdorsch.de.