Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 19, 2026
pitamaru。JP (“pitamaru”, at pitamaru-jp.com) is a small, independent Japanese-learning site run by Yawney Hawn (“I”, “me”). I try to collect as little about you as possible. This page explains exactly what is kept and why.
In short
- You can use pitamaru without an account. Your progress then stays in your own browser.
- If you sign in with Google, I do not receive your email address, name or photo — only an anonymous account number, which I scramble before saving.
- No advertising, no tracking or analytics cookies, and I never sell or share your data.
1. Using pitamaru without an account
Your progress (words you've learned, quiz results, review schedule, reading position, settings) is saved only in your browser's local storage on your device. It is not sent to me. Clearing your browser data deletes it.
2. Signing in with Google
Sign-in asks Google only to confirm who you are (the “openid” scope). From Google I receive a unique account number for pitamaru. I do not ask for, and do not receive, your email address, name or profile picture.
Before saving it, that number is converted with a secret key into a pseudonymous ID, so the database cannot be traced back to your Google account. For a signed-in user I store:
- the pseudonymous ID and a short support code you can quote if you contact me;
- your plan (free or a paid membership, if offered), and when the account was created and last signed in;
- your learning record: learned words and forms, quiz results and review schedule, which story sentences you learned words in, daily quiz counts for your progress charts, and your ex-libris seal settings (see below).
This lets you continue on any device. It is used only to run pitamaru.
3. The ex-libris seal (蔵書印)
If you set a name for your seal, that name and your seal style are saved with your learning record, so the same seal appears on your other devices. It is used only to draw your seal. It doesn't need to be your real name.
4. Reporting a mistake
Mistake reports are anonymous. I store only the kind of mistake, which story and sentence it is about, your message, and the time. I don't store your account, IP address or email with it. Please don't put personal information in the message.
5. Cookies
pitamaru uses only the cookies sign-in needs: one that keeps you signed in (up to 30 days), and a temporary one used only while you are signing in.
There are no advertising, analytics or tracking cookies.
6. Services pitamaru relies on
- Cloudflare hosts the site and the database. Like any web host, Cloudflare processes technical data such as IP addresses to deliver and protect the site.
- Google provides sign-in, and the web fonts are loaded from Google Fonts, which means Google can see your IP address when the fonts load.
- Some stories may include a YouTube video. When you play one, YouTube's own privacy policy applies.
- If a paid membership is offered, payments are handled by a third-party payment provider. I never receive your card details.
7. Keeping and deleting your data
Your account and learning record are kept until you ask me to delete them. To delete them, email [email protected] with your support code (Account, top right). I'll delete them within 30 days. Data in your own browser is yours to clear at any time.
8. Children
pitamaru is not directed at children under 13, and I don't knowingly collect data from them.
9. Changes
If this policy changes, I'll update this page and the date at the top.