Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 2026

1. Who we are

Portable English is an online English language learning platform operated as a sole trader business. Our website is at portableenglish.com. For any privacy-related questions, contact us at hello@portableenglish.co.

2. What data we collect

Account data. When you register, we collect your name, email address, and a hashed (one-way encrypted) password. We never store your password in plain text. If you sign up via Google, we receive your name and email from Google — no password is stored.

Learning activity. We store the lessons you access, vocabulary words and phrases you save, pronunciation entries, flashcard review ratings, quiz results, and the dates of your activity (used to calculate your streak).

Subscription data. If you subscribe, we store your Stripe customer ID and subscription status. We do not store full payment card details — these are held solely by Stripe.

Technical data. We log your IP address at login and signup for fraud prevention. We store a record of your browser's user agent string.

Cookies and local storage. We use browser localStorage to store your authentication token, basic profile information (name, email, premium status), and your cookie consent preferences. See section 7 for full details.

3. Why we collect it — legal basis

We collect and process your data on the following legal bases under the UK GDPR:

  • Contract performance — to create and manage your account, deliver the service, and process subscription payments.
  • Legitimate interests — to prevent fraud, maintain security, and improve the platform. We have balanced these interests against your rights and concluded they do not override your privacy interests.
  • Consent — for analytics and marketing cookies (Google Analytics via GTM). You can withdraw consent at any time from the Cookie Preferences link in our footer.
  • Legal obligation — to comply with applicable law where required.

4. How long we keep it

Your data is retained for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account from the Settings page, all your personal data — including your saved vocabulary, pronunciation entries, progress records, and activity logs — is permanently and immediately deleted from our database. We do not retain backups of deleted accounts beyond 30 days.

Where we have a legal obligation to retain certain data (for example, financial records), we retain only the minimum required and for the minimum period required by law.

5. Third parties

Stripe processes subscription payments. When you subscribe, Stripe stores your payment card details under their own privacy policy. We share only the information necessary to create a customer record and manage your subscription. Stripe is certified to PCI DSS Level 1. Stripe Privacy Policy.

Google (GTM / Analytics) may receive analytics data if you consent to analytics cookies. Google Tag Manager is loaded on all pages; Google Analytics only fires when consent is granted. Google Privacy Policy.

ElevenLabs generates audio for lessons and vocabulary. Text strings are sent to ElevenLabs for synthesis; we cache the resulting audio files to minimise repeated requests. ElevenLabs does not receive any identifying information about you. ElevenLabs Privacy Policy.

Resend delivers transactional emails (account verification, password reset, billing notifications). Your email address is shared with Resend for this purpose only. Resend Privacy Policy.

We do not sell your data. We do not share your data with any third parties other than those described above.

6. Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

  • Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
  • Erasure — request deletion of your account and all associated data. You can do this immediately from the Settings page, or by emailing us.
  • Restriction — ask us to stop processing your data in certain circumstances.
  • Portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
  • Object — object to processing based on legitimate interests.
  • Withdraw consent — withdraw cookie consent at any time via the Cookie Preferences link in the footer.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at hello@portableenglish.co. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

7. Cookies and local storage

We use browser localStorage (not cookies) to store your authentication token and session data. This is essential for the service to function and cannot be disabled without breaking login.

We use Google Tag Manager on all pages. Through GTM, we may load:

  • Analytics cookies (Google Analytics) — only if you consent. These measure page views and traffic patterns.
  • Marketing/advertising tags — only if you consent. These enable conversion tracking and retargeting.

You can change your cookie preferences at any time via the Cookie Preferences link in the page footer. If you do not consent, only essential functionality runs and no analytics or advertising data is collected.

8. Contact

For any privacy questions or to exercise your rights, email us at hello@portableenglish.co. We aim to respond within 5 business days.

9. Governing law

This policy is governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by email or a notice on the platform. Continued use of the service after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.