Privacy Policy

1. Scope and contact

This policy applies to the PlateLingo mobile apps and related pages on pixelantrip.cn. The service is provided by 徐州像素蚂蚁网络科技有限公司. Contact 330182696@qq.com with privacy questions.

2. Account information

Before the first translation, you sign in with Apple, Google, or WeChat as offered by your build. We receive a provider subject identifier and may temporarily receive authentication claims such as an email address. Apple or Google may also provide a display name. WeChat sign-in does not request a nickname or profile image. We store a one-way account identifier, account status, trial balance, purchase entitlement, security metadata, locale, platform, and login timestamps. Authentication claims that are not needed for the PlateLingo account are discarded after sign-in verification. We do not receive your Apple, Google, or WeChat password.

The iOS and China Android builds include the WeChat Open SDK from Shenzhen Tencent Computer Systems Company Limited solely to launch authorization after the user chooses WeChat sign-in. It is not registered before the user accepts the privacy notice and selects WeChat sign-in. The app sends the one-time authorization code to the PlateLingo backend, which obtains only an app-scoped openid and does not call WeChat's profile endpoint. The WeChat AppSecret and access token are never embedded in the app or written to app logs. WeChat's handling is also subject to its Privacy Protection Guidelines.

The PlateLingo account namespace is isolated from Backpacker Ledger and our other products. We do not read or combine ledger, membership, shared-book, or transaction data.

3. Camera, photos, OCR, and translation

Camera permission is used for menu capture and live AR translation. The system photo picker is used when you choose an existing image. Images, thumbnails, OCR coordinates, prices, currency settings, and exchange rates remain on your device and are not uploaded to our translation service.

OCR runs on the device. When you request translation, recognized text, source and target language codes, anonymous request identifiers, and integrity metadata are sent over HTTPS to our backend and processed by our cloud translation provider solely to return the requested translation. We do not intentionally write OCR source text or translated text to application logs or account translation history. Backend request state is removed after the short period needed to complete the request and handle delivery retries.

Temporary photos and results are removed when the menu session ends. The encrypted translation cache expires after at most 24 hours and is cleared on sign-out or account deletion. Settings, downloaded OCR packs, and rate cache may remain locally until you clear app data or uninstall the app.

4. Trials and memberships

We store successful job identifiers and count-only cloud-page allowances to prevent duplicate charging, show remaining cloud pages, and route later translations to Windows Hy-MT2 after the cloud allowance is used. Apple App Store or Google Play processes monthly or annual auto-renewing subscriptions and lifetime purchases. We receive product, transaction, purchase-token, verification-status, renewal, expiration, and entitlement data required to verify and restore access. Purchase tokens are encrypted at rest; we never receive payment-card details.

4.1 Translation providers and allocation

When split routing is enabled, the first half of each account's cloud-page allowance uses DeepSeek and the second half uses Alibaba Cloud Qwen-MT. An odd page belongs to the first half; the three-use trial therefore allocates two pages to DeepSeek and one to Qwen. Batches and retries keep their page's provider; existing pages may retain their previous provider. Paid users continue through our Windows Hy-MT2 processing facility after cloud pages run out, where the language is supported. Trial and paid allowances remain separate from our other apps.

DeepSeek is provided by Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Basic Technology Research Co., Ltd.; Qwen-MT is provided by Alibaba Cloud. Our backend sends only OCR text and language parameters with per-request segment identifiers, not account identifiers, images, prices or exchange rates. No DeepSeek SDK is embedded in the app. See the DeepSeek Privacy Policy and Alibaba Cloud privacy notice for their processing and retention terms; we do not promise third-party zero retention. Operational logs contain only provider, token counts, cache-hit counts, timing and error codes, never menu text. Page records retain the provider label and non-reversible identifiers to keep routing and usage consistent.

4.2 Same-page supplementary translation

For allowance-metered photos recognized as the same page, retaining at least 80% of the original text features and adding at most 20%, supplementary translation uses Qwen without another page debit. This does not change the user's allowance phase: a new page or a larger expansion still uses DeepSeek while the charged count remains in the first half. The original page stays the comparison baseline. Free-trial completed-job counting remains separate.

5. Exchange rates and model packs

Rate refreshes and OCR model downloads contact configured HTTPS providers. These providers may receive IP address, request time, user agent, and security logs needed to deliver the requested file or rate. Selected currencies, manual rates, recognized prices, and conversion results remain on-device.

6. Security, retention, and deletion

Network traffic uses HTTPS. Authentication tokens and local cache keys use platform-protected storage. We retain account and purchase records while your account exists and as needed for transaction, fraud-prevention, tax, security, and legal obligations. Operational logs exclude menu text and are retained only for service reliability and abuse prevention.

Use Delete Account in Settings to delete the active PlateLingo account, profile, login tokens, translation-job records, and account-linked purchase-verification records. To prevent repeated deletion from resetting the three-use trial or a paid cloud allowance, we may retain the app-scoped one-way provider identifier, count-only trial and cloud-page usage, keyed non-reversible menu fingerprints, and a token-free binding between a verified store transaction and that one-way identifier. These minimal anti-abuse and transaction-integrity records contain no name, email, image, OCR text, translation, receipt, or purchase token. Deleting your PlateLingo account does not cancel a subscription; subscriptions must be canceled in the Apple or Google store account. Store purchase records may also remain under store policies. Local images and settings can be removed by clearing app data or uninstalling.

7. Sharing and international processing

We use Apple, Google, WeChat, app stores, exchange-rate providers, hosting, and infrastructure providers only to deliver requested features, verify purchases, secure the service, and respond to support. We do not sell personal information or share it for behavioral advertising. Processing may occur outside your country subject to applicable safeguards.

8. Rights, children, and changes

Depending on your location, you may request access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection, or portability by emailing us or using in-app account deletion. The app is a general travel utility and is not directed to children. We will update the effective date and publish material policy changes here.