Privacy policy

Last updated: 5 October 2026

Who we are

AccentLab (accentlab.net) gives feedback on pronunciation in foreign languages. It is run by Craig Baker, the controller of your personal data. You can contact us about this policy or your data at phonolab.beta@gmail.com.

What we collect

  • Account details: username, email address, password (stored only as a secure hash), and the optional name and native and other languages you enter.
  • Your recordings: the audio you record while practicing while signed in, the times and practice texts they belong to, and data we compute from them to give you feedback.
  • Shared recordings: which recordings you have chosen to share by link.
  • Mandarin practice without an account: audio is analyzed to give you a result and is not stored.
  • Cookies: a session cookie to keep you signed in, a cookie remembering your interface language, a cookie remembering your analytics choice, and Google Analytics cookies if you allow them.

Why we use it

  • To provide the service (legal basis: performance of our agreement with you): your account and recordings are used to analyze your pronunciation, track your difficulties and show your progress.
  • To improve our speech models (legal basis: your consent): only if the option "Allow AccentLab to use my recordings to improve its speech models" is ticked, when you sign up or in Settings. In the European Union, the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, and wherever we can't tell your location, it starts unticked, so we only use your recordings if you tick it. Elsewhere it starts ticked when you sign up, and you can untick it then. Because recordings of your speech, together with your native language, can say something about your background, you can withdraw this consent in Settings at any time, and we then stop using your recordings for this.
  • To understand how the site is used (legal basis: your consent where it is required): Google Analytics, described below.

Sharing

We don't sell your data or share your recordings with other parties without your explicit consent. If you share a recording, anyone with its link can listen to it and see its feedback; you can stop sharing it in Settings. Service providers process data for us: Google (Google Analytics, if you allow it, and email delivery).

Cookies and analytics

Google Analytics helps us see which pages are used. It sets cookies and sends usage data, including a shortened form of your IP address, to Google, which may process it in the United States. In the European Union, the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland we only load it if you accept it in the cookie banner; we estimate your country from your IP address and ask whenever we can't tell (using IP to Country Lite by DB-IP, licensed under CC BY 4.0).

Storage and retention

Your data is stored on our server in the United States. We keep your account and recordings for as long as your account exists. When you delete your account, your account details, recordings, data computed from them and shared links are deleted immediately.

Your rights

You can access, correct, download and delete your data, object to its use, and withdraw consent at any time:

  • Correct your details and change your model-training choice in Settings.
  • Download your recordings and account details with Download my data in Settings.
  • Delete your account and recordings with Delete my account in Settings.
  • For anything else, contact us at phonolab.beta@gmail.com.

You also have the right to complain to a data protection authority, for example the one in the country where you live.

Children

AccentLab accounts are not intended for children under 16 without the consent of a parent or guardian.

Changes

If we change this policy we will update the date above, and ask for your consent again where the change requires it.