Privacy Policy

Using NearWord offline

No account is needed for dictionary lookup. Text recognition and installed dictionaries work on your device. NearWord captures one frame when you trigger a lookup. It does not record your screen in the background.

Local history & settings

Your words, answers, lookup screenshots, settings and dictionaries are stored on your device. They let you revisit lookups and keep your preferences. They remain until you remove them, and uninstalling the app may leave them behind.

You can export or clear your history, or follow the reset and uninstall steps to remove local app data.

Dictionary downloads and app updates need internet access. These requests fetch files, not your lookup text or screenshots.

When checking for app updates, NearWord sends its app version and platform/architecture. We count these requests by UTC day, app version, platform and release offered to understand update traffic. These statistics contain no account or installation ID, IP address, lookup text or screenshots. We retain only daily aggregate counts, not individual check records; these aggregates have no fixed expiry. Checks do not tell us how many people use the app.

Using AI Context

AI Context is optional. When enabled, it sends information to explain the meaning of what you are reading:

• The word or phrase and nearby recognized text.
• Your reading and translation languages.
• The app name, when available, to help understand the context.

A cropped image of the lookup area is included automatically only if local text recognition fails. With AI Context off, no AI request is sent.

Processing & retention

We process this context to provide the AI feature you choose to use. AI runs on NearWord’s servers, with third-party models as an optional fallback. Neither NearWord nor its AI fallback services store your lookup content or use it to train models.

Answers saved in your local history are separate from server processing. To use only offline dictionaries, turn off AI Context in Lookup.

Your account & subscription

Account information

We use your email to manage your account. Sign-in, subscription and usage records keep you signed in, connect your purchase to Pro and apply usage limits. These records do not include your lookup text, images or AI answers.

We also summarize account registrations and existing AI usage records to understand first use, repeat use, reliability and operating costs. These summaries do not measure offline dictionary use and do not require an additional device identifier.

Session records can include your IP address and device or browser details so you can recognize sign-ins. If you connect a sign-in provider, we keep the account link needed for that sign-in.

We process these records to provide your account and subscription under our agreement with you, and for our legitimate interest in keeping the service secure.

Technical logs

We keep technical logs for up to 7 days to diagnose faults and prevent misuse. They do not contain lookup text, screenshots or AI answers.

Payments through Paddle

Paddle is our merchant of record. It handles checkout, payments and applicable sales taxes under its own Privacy Policy and Checkout Buyer Terms. NearWord does not receive your full payment card details. We send your name, email and account identifier to Paddle when you start checkout, not when you register.

Keeping or deleting your account

We keep account records until you delete your account. You can update your email, review sessions or request deletion in account settings. Confirmed deletion cancels active subscriptions, archives your Paddle billing profile, removes the account from our active systems and removes your linked waitlist entry.

Deleted records may remain in recovery backups for up to 30 days. Paddle may retain payment records for tax and accounting purposes under its own policy.

Deleting your account ends account access and stops subscription renewals. It does not erase your local history or automatically request a refund. Uninstalling the app does not delete your account or cancel Pro. Subscription & cancellation terms.

Website, waitlist & support

Cookies & browser storage

We do not use advertising or analytics trackers. Sign-in cookies maintain your session, and browser storage remembers your theme. You can clear both in your browser settings. Blocking sign-in cookies may prevent you from staying signed in.

Release notifications

We use your email and chosen platform to send the release notice you request. Joining gives us consent for that notice, not an ongoing marketing mailing list. You can withdraw at any time by contacting us.

We remove the waitlist entry after sending the notice or when you withdraw. Where required by law, we keep a separate consent record for one year after the notice or withdrawal.

Support & feedback

We use your message to answer questions and investigate problems. App details, your last lookup or a screenshot are included only if you choose to send them. Messages and attachments are removed within 90 days after the request is resolved. You can ask us to delete them sooner.

Service providers

Hosting and email services process the information needed to deliver the website, downloads and account messages. Payment and AI processing are described above. We do not sell your data. We may disclose records we hold when required by law.

Where processing happens

Our servers may process data in the United States, Germany or Hong Kong. Service providers may process data in other countries where they operate.

Your rights

You can request access, correction or deletion of personal information held by NearWord. Include your account email, if you have one, and what you would like us to do. We may need to verify that the request is yours.

Depending on the law that applies to you, your rights may also include data portability, restriction of processing, objection, withdrawal of consent and a complaint to your data protection authority. Withdrawing consent does not change the lawfulness of earlier processing. Any legal limits on a request will be explained in our response.

If a record is needed to meet a legal obligation or resolve a dispute, we retain only what is needed, for as long as that purpose requires.

Data stored only on your device is under your control. See History & export for the available options.

About this policy

Age requirements

Accounts and online features are for people aged 16 or over. If you believe someone under 16 has provided personal information through these features, contact us so we can remove it.

Policy changes

We update this page and its date when the policy changes. For significant changes, we notify you through the app or account email.

Privacy questions or requests: support@nearword.app.