This Privacy Policy describes how KOKORO ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and protects information when you use our website at kokoro.cool and our mobile applications, including Tone2Emoji and Orbit (collectively, the "Services"). By using our Services, you agree to the practices described in this policy.
1. Who We Are
Company Name: KOKORO Studio
Business Type: Ontario Business Corporation
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Contact: hello@kokoro.cool
This agreement is between you and KOKORO. Apple Inc. is not a party to this Privacy Policy and has no responsibility for our Services or their content.
2. Information We Collect
We collect only what is necessary to provide our Services:
Account Information
- Email address (when you register or sign up for our newsletter)
- Authentication tokens (when you sign in via email, Sign in with Apple, or Sign in with Google)
- We do not receive your Apple ID password or full name
Device Identifier
- We collect your device's Identifier for Vendor (IDFV) — a non-personal, randomly assigned identifier shared across apps from the same developer on your device
- The IDFV is used solely to track and enforce free plan usage limits at the account level
- It is linked to your account for app functionality purposes only and is not used for advertising or cross-app tracking
Audio and Voice Data (Tone2Emoji App)
- On-device path (primary): Voice audio is processed in real time using Apple's on-device Speech Recognition (SFSpeechRecognizer). In this path, audio is processed in memory and is not uploaded to our servers — your conversations stay on your device
- Cloud fallback path: When on-device recognition is unavailable or reaches Apple's system request limits, audio chunks are uploaded to our secure backend for transcription via OpenAI's Whisper API. These audio files are stored in a private, encrypted cloud storage bucket and are automatically deleted after 7 days (or sooner, based on your retention settings)
- Transcribed text and emotional tone analysis results from your sessions may be stored as part of your session history, subject to your retention settings
- We do not use your voice data to identify you biometrically or to build voice profiles
Astronomical & Preference Data (Orbit App)
- Ephemeris Input (Date of Birth): We collect your date of birth solely to calculate astronomical ephemeris data (planetary alignments) for our curation engine. We do not use this data to identify you
- Streaming Preferences: We store your selected streaming platforms to filter recommendations
- Curation History: We store a private log of the films recommended to you to power the "Archive" feature and prevent algorithmic repetition
Feedback and Correction Data
- Ratings you submit on tone analysis results (correct / wrong / unsure)
- Corrected emotional labels if you choose to override an analysis
- Segment-level tone corrections you submit in the Results view (original prediction, your correction, and timestamp)
- Optional text notes you add to feedback submissions
Usage Data
- Recording minutes used (to track and enforce free plan limits)
- Session timestamps and feature interactions
- Device type, operating system version, and app version (for debugging and compatibility)
Website Data
- Email address submitted via our newsletter form
- Anonymous page-view analytics (no personal identifiers collected)
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
- Provide, maintain, and improve our Services
- Authenticate your account and keep it secure
- Analyze and display emotional tone feedback within the Tone2Emoji app
- Generate personalized cinematic recommendations based on ephemeris calculations within the Orbit app
- Enforce free plan usage limits using your device identifier and account record
- Improve the accuracy of tone analysis using anonymized feedback and correction data you voluntarily submit
- Send you product updates and newsletters (only if you subscribe; you may unsubscribe at any time)
- Respond to your support requests
- Comply with legal obligations
We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.
4. Microphone and Speech Recognition
The Tone2Emoji app requires access to your device's microphone to record audio for emotional tone analysis. The app uses a two-tier processing approach:
- Primary — On-device (Apple SFSpeechRecognizer): Speech is recognized on your device in real time. Audio is processed in memory and discarded immediately. Nothing is uploaded to our servers in this path.
- Fallback — Cloud (OpenAI Whisper API): When on-device recognition is unavailable or Apple's per-app daily request limit is reached, audio is sent to our backend for transcription. Audio is stored temporarily (up to 7 days) and processed solely for app functionality.
You may revoke microphone and speech recognition permissions at any time through your device's Settings. Doing so will prevent core app features from functioning.
5. Third-Party Services
We use the following third-party services to operate our Services. Each has its own privacy policy:
- Supabase — Authentication, database hosting, and private audio storage. Stores account credentials, session data, transcripts, inference results, and usage records. (Privacy Policy)
- OpenAI — Whisper — Audio transcription (cloud fallback). Audio chunks may be sent to OpenAI's servers when on-device recognition is unavailable. (Privacy Policy)
- OpenAI — GPT-4o-mini — Emotional tone and social nuance inference. Transcribed text is analyzed to generate tone labels and contextual suggestions. No raw audio is sent in this step. (Privacy Policy)
- Vercel — Backend API hosting and deployment. (Privacy Policy)
- Google — Sign in with Google authentication. (Privacy Policy)
- Apple — Sign in with Apple authentication. (Privacy Policy)
- Formspree — Newsletter form submissions on our website. (Privacy Policy)
- Google Analytics — Anonymous website traffic analytics on our website. (Privacy Policy)
We do not use any advertising SDKs or tracking frameworks. We do not request access to the Advertising Identifier (IDFA).
6. Data Retention and Deletion
We retain your data only for as long as necessary to provide our Services or as required by law.
- Audio data (on-device path): Processed in memory and discarded immediately — never uploaded or stored on our servers
- Audio data (cloud fallback path): Stored in private cloud storage for up to 7 days, then automatically deleted
- Session history (transcripts and tone results): Retained according to your auto-delete settings. The default is 7 days. You can change this in the app's Settings to 1 day, 7 days, 30 days, or no auto-deletion
- Account data: Retained until you request deletion
- Feedback and correction data: Retained to improve our Services; you may request deletion at any time
- Consent records: Retained for legal compliance purposes
- Newsletter: Retained until you unsubscribe
Account Deletion: You may delete your account and all associated data at any time directly within our apps (e.g., via Settings → Delete Account). This action is immediate and irreversible. All your data, including session history, feedback, correction records, preferences, curation history, and usage records, will be permanently erased from our systems via a cascading deletion process.
You may also request deletion by emailing hello@kokoro.cool. We will process your request within 30 days.
7. Your Privacy Rights
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights:
- Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
- Correction: Request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete data
- Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data
- Portability: Request your data in a structured, machine-readable format
- Withdrawal of Consent: Withdraw consent for data processing at any time
- Opt-Out: Unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@kokoro.cool. We will respond within 30 days. We do not discriminate against users who exercise their privacy rights.
8. Data Security
We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information, including:
- Encrypted data transmission (HTTPS/TLS) for all network requests
- Authentication tokens stored securely in your device's Keychain
- Row-Level Security (RLS) enforced at the database level — users can only access their own data
- Private, access-controlled cloud storage for audio files
- Access to personal data restricted to authorized personnel only
While we take reasonable precautions, no method of electronic storage or transmission is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.
9. Children's Privacy
Our Services are not directed to children under the age of 13 (or 16 in the European Economic Area). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child without verified parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.
If you believe we may have collected information from a child, please contact us at hello@kokoro.cool.
10. International Data Transfers
KOKORO is based in Canada. Our third-party service providers may process and store data in the United States and other countries. By using our Services, you consent to the transfer of your information to these countries, which may have different data protection laws than your jurisdiction.
We ensure that any international transfers are conducted under appropriate safeguards, including standard contractual clauses where required.
11. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)
If you are a California resident, you have the right to know what personal information we collect, disclose, or sell; the right to delete your personal information; and the right to non-discrimination for exercising these rights. We do not sell personal information. To exercise your rights, contact us at hello@kokoro.cool.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we will notify you via email (if subscribed) or through a notice in our app. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Your continued use of our Services after changes become effective constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
13. Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us:
KOKORO Studio
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
hello@kokoro.cool