glowbug Privacy Policy

Draft for legal review. Effective 2026-10-17.

Nimonic (니모닉), [주소], is the controller of your personal data. Contact: hello@useglowbug.com. EU representative (GDPR Art. 27): [EU 대리인].

UK representative (UK GDPR Art. 27): [UK representative]. Nimonic (니모닉) is a sole proprietorship registered in the Republic of Korea. This policy covers the glowbug apps, the phone web version and our website, wherever you live. The sections near the end add what particular countries and US states require.

What we process, why, and for how long

DataPurposeLegal basis (GDPR)
One screenshot, your voice, and the question/answer text, only while you hold the shortcut keyAnswer your question and point at things on screenContract
Phone version: the photo you take or pick, your voice, and the question/answer text, only when you askAnswer your question and mark where to pressContract
"Answer when I say glowbug" (off unless you turn it on): short bits of speech (up to 2.5 seconds) that follow a pauseChecking whether you said the nameConsent (you switch it on, and can switch it off any time)
Gifts: the buyer's email, the gift code, and which account used itDelivering the gift, preventing misuseContract
Email, language, country (from your connection), plan; if you sign in with another account (you may choose any of Kakao, Naver, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, LINE, Yahoo! JAPAN, WeChat, VK ID, Yandex, Discord, X, GitHub, LinkedIn or Amazon): only that account's identifier and, if you agree, its email and display name. The link is deleted with your accountSign-in, providing your plan, supportContract
Hashed device identifier, operating systemPreventing abuse of the free plan, device limitsLegitimate interest
Usage counts, costs, timestamps, errorsPlan limits, reliabilityContract / legitimate interest
Guides you saveSharing guidesContract
Payment dataSelling paid plansProcessed by Paddle as an independent controller (merchant of record), not by us. Korean payments (card subscriptions, and one-time passes paid by card, easy-pay, mobile carrier billing, bank transfer or culture gift certificates) are processed for us through PortOne (주식회사 코리아포트원) (Korea) and its partner PGs, such as Toss Payments; we keep only the billing key, card issuer, last 4 digits and payment records. One-time passes can also be paid through PayPro Global, EBANX or NOWPayments (see the table below)
Your age confirmation and acceptance of the terms (version and time)Unlocking the AI features for adults only, proving consentContract; legal obligation
IP address and browser signals for the bot check (Cloudflare Turnstile)Protecting sign-up and the website against bots, abuse and fraudLegitimate interest (security)
Error reports from the apps: error message, technical trace, app version, operating system. Never your screen, audio or what you said or typedFixing bugsLegitimate interest

How long we keep data

DataRetention
Screenshots, photos, voice, name-check speechNot stored by us. Sent to the AI provider only to answer you
Conversation textUp to 10 minutes in server memory, for follow-up questions
Account, sign-in links, plan, consent and age-confirmation recordUntil you delete your account
Hashed device identifierUntil you delete your account; a non-identifying free-quota counter is kept to prevent abuse
Usage counts, costs, timestamps, error reportsUntil you delete your account, max. 1 year
Saved guidesUntil you delete them or your account
Gift recordsUntil the gift is used plus 1 year, or until the receiving account is deleted
Korean payment records5 years (Korean E-Commerce Act)
IP addressIn server memory for rate limits, up to 24 hours; not stored in your account
Language choice and device identifier in your browser (localStorage)Until you clear your browser's site data
Payment data held by Paddle, PayPro Global, EBANX, NOWPaymentsUnder their own policies and the law

Who processes data for us (and international transfers)

RecipientCountryDataPurpose
Anthropic, PBCUSAScreenshot or photo, question/answer textGenerating answers
OpenAI, L.L.C.USAVoice (including the short name checks, if you turn them on), answer textSpeech recognition and voice
Fly.io, Inc.USA (our servers are in Tokyo, Japan)Account, device, usage, guidesHosting and data storage
Cloudflare, Inc.USA (global network)IP address, request data, bot-check signalsWebsite delivery, DDoS protection, bot check (Turnstile)
Resend, Inc.USAEmail addressSending sign-in codes and gift links
[Backup AI provider][Country]Screenshot, voice, question/answer text, only during an outage of the main providersAnswers and speech recognition as a fallback
X.AI LLC (xAI)USAScreenshot or photo, question textFallback answers, only when the main AI provider fails and only if we have switched it on
PayPro Global, Inc.CanadaName, email, country, payment details, IP addressSelling one-time passes as merchant of record (an independent controller under its own privacy policy)
EBANX LTDA. and its group companiesBrazilName, email, tax ID and other details EBANX asks for, payment details, IP addressProcessing one-time pass payments in Latin America (EBANX is also a controller for fraud prevention and legal compliance)
FD Transfers LLC (NOWPayments)Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesOrder number, amount, wallet and transaction data, IP address, your email if you give itProcessing crypto payments for one-time passes

For data from the EU, transfers to Korea rely on the EU adequacy decision for the Republic of Korea. Onward transfers to the USA rely on the providers' data processing agreements with Standard Contractual Clauses or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, where certified.

Our data is stored on servers in Japan (Tokyo), which also has an EU adequacy decision. From the UK, transfers to Korea and Japan rely on UK adequacy regulations, and onward transfers to the USA on the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework or the UK Addendum to the Standard Contractual Clauses. You can ask us for a copy of these safeguards at hello@useglowbug.com.

Legal bases (GDPR and UK GDPR)

We rely on these legal bases under Article 6 of the GDPR and UK GDPR:

Your rights

Under the GDPR and UK GDPR you have the right to:

How to exercise them:

We reply within one month. If a request is complex or there are many, we may extend this by up to two more months; we'll tell you why within the first month.

You also have the right to complain to a data protection supervisory authority, in particular in the EU country where you live, work or where the issue happened, or to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in the UK. EU representative: [EU 대리인]. UK representative: [UK representative].

United States

This section applies to residents of California (CCPA as amended by the CPRA) and of other US states with comprehensive privacy laws, such as Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Texas and Oregon.

What we collect, by category (now and in the last 12 months):

Sources: you, your device, the sign-in provider you choose, and payment providers. We use this information for the purposes in the table above, disclose it only to the service providers and contractors listed above for those purposes, and keep it for the periods above.

We do not sell or share personal information, including for cross-context behavioural or targeted advertising, and have not done so in the last 12 months. We show no ads. We use sensitive personal information only to provide the service you ask for. We treat a Global Privacy Control signal as a valid opt-out request.

Your rights: to know and access what we collect, use and disclose; to delete it; to correct it; to opt out of sale, sharing, targeted advertising and profiling (we do none of these); and to limit the use of sensitive personal information. We won't discriminate against you for using these rights: no different prices, quality or denial of service.

How to make a request: use Account → download my data or delete my account, or email hello@useglowbug.com with the subject "US privacy request". We verify a request by confirming control of the email address on your account. An authorized agent may make a request for you with your signed permission; we may ask you to confirm your identity with us directly. We respond within 45 days (extendable once by 45 days, with notice). If we refuse, you can appeal by replying to our answer; we decide within the time your state's law sets, and if you disagree you can contact your state attorney general.

Republic of Korea

If you live in the Republic of Korea, the Korean version of this policy (개인정보 처리방침) applies. It covers the Personal Information Protection Act in detail: the overseas transfer table, processors, destruction, safety measures, our privacy officer ([개인정보 보호책임자]) and where to seek remedies. We act on requests from Korea within 10 days.

If you live in Brazil, Japan, India, Canada or Australia

Children

glowbug is for people aged 18 and over (19 in the Republic of Korea), and the AI features unlock only after you confirm your age. glowbug is not directed to children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from them (US COPPA) or from anyone under our minimum age. If we find that we have, we delete it. If you think a child has given us data, email hello@useglowbug.com.

Security

If a breach happens: where the GDPR or UK GDPR requires, we report it to the supervisory authority within 72 hours of becoming aware of it, and tell you without undue delay if it is likely to put your rights at high risk. For users in Korea, we notify you and report to the authorities within 72 hours, as the Personal Information Protection Act requires. In the US and elsewhere, we notify you and the authorities as local law requires.

Cookies and similar technologies

We use no tracking or advertising cookies, no analytics and no ad pixels. We only use:

Because these are all strictly necessary, they don't need your consent and we show no cookie banner. You can clear them at any time in your browser settings.

AI transparency

Changes

We'll announce changes in the app and on our website in advance. Material changes require your renewed consent.