Privacy policy

1. Data controller

• Yohann COUSSOT, sole proprietor (SIREN 837 766 526).
• 6 rue des Morands, 71210 Saint-Eusèbe, France.
• Contact: yohann@startfrenchnow.ch.

2. Data we collect

• Account: email address, first and last name, and password (stored only in encrypted form) if you sign up with email.
• Sign in with Google: your email address and name (see section 3).
• Learning: course progress, answers and results in exercises, games and mock exams, lessons and credits purchased, notifications.
• Oral mock exams: audio recordings of your answers and their written transcription.
• Payments: product purchased, amount, date and email address. Card details are entered directly with Stripe: we never see them.
• Newsletter and free guide: your email address, if you subscribe.
• Appointments and private lessons: name, email and chosen time slot when you book through Calendly.
• Contact form: name, email and the content of your message.
• Technical data: pages visited, device and browser type, IP address, and cookies (see section 6).

3. Sign in with Google

If you choose “Continue with Google”, Google only shares your email address and name with us (“openid”, “email” and “profile” permissions). Google never shares your password, and we have no access to any other data in your Google account (emails, files, contacts, etc.).

This information is used only to create your account, identify you when you sign in and send you emails about your account. We do not sell it, do not use it to train artificial intelligence models, and do not share it with third parties for advertising purposes, except for the purchase measurement described in section 6, and only if you have accepted it.

Start French Now's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

You can remove Start French Now's access to your Google account at any time from myaccount.google.com/permissions, and request deletion of your account at yohann@startfrenchnow.ch.

4. Why we use your data

• To provide the services you request (account, courses, exercises, mock exams, private lessons, payments): performance of a contract.
• To automatically grade your mock exam answers: performance of a contract.
• To send you the newsletter and free guide: your consent, which you can withdraw using the unsubscribe link in every email.
• To measure audience and the effectiveness of our ads: your consent to cookies.
• To keep the site secure and prevent fraud: our legitimate interest.
• To keep payment records: legal obligation (accounting).

5. Service providers that process your data

We never sell your data. We use the following providers, only for the purposes indicated:

• Vercel: website hosting.
• Sanity: database (accounts, progress, purchases).
• Amazon Web Services (Paris region): storage of mock exam audio recordings.
• OpenAI: transcription of audio recordings and automatic grading of mock exam answers. This content contains neither your name nor your email.
• Stripe: online payments.
• MailerLite: newsletter and information emails.
• Hostinger: account-related emails (activation, password, purchase confirmation).
• Calendly: booking private lessons.
• Google: Sign in with Google, Google Analytics and Google Ads (the last two only with your consent).
• Meta (Facebook, Instagram): measuring ad effectiveness, only with your consent.
• Microsoft Clarity: anonymous browsing analytics, only with your consent.
• YouTube: playback of videos embedded on the site.

6. Cookies and analytics

On your first visit, a banner lets you accept or refuse non-essential cookies (Google Analytics, Google Ads, Meta pixel, Microsoft Clarity). They are only set if you accept them. You can change your mind at any time using the “Manage cookies” link at the bottom of every page.

If you have accepted the Meta pixel and make a purchase, we send Meta the purchase event together with an irreversibly encrypted (hashed) version of your email address, to measure the effectiveness of our ads. Without your consent, nothing is sent.

Vercel Analytics measures site traffic in aggregate, without cookies.

7. Retention

• Account and progress: as long as your account exists. You can request its deletion at any time.
• Mock exam audio recordings: automatically deleted after 7 days. The written transcription is kept with your results as long as your account exists.
• Payment records: 10 years (accounting obligation).
• Newsletter: until you unsubscribe.
• Contact form messages: 3 years maximum.
• Cookie choices: 12 months.

8. Transfers outside the European Union

Some providers (including Vercel, OpenAI, Stripe, Calendly, Google, Meta and Microsoft) may process data in the United States. These transfers are covered by the EU–US Data Privacy Framework or by the European Commission's standard contractual clauses.

9. Your rights

Under the GDPR and the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP), you can at any time access, correct or delete your data, request a copy, object to its use or withdraw your consent. Email us at yohann@startfrenchnow.ch: we reply within one month.

You can also lodge a complaint with the CNIL (France) or the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) (Switzerland).

10. Security

The site is only available over HTTPS, passwords are stored in encrypted form, and access to data is limited to the people who need it to run the service.

11. Changes

We may update this policy. The date of the last update is shown at the top of this page.