Privacy policy

Last updated 7 October 2026

In short: we collect what's needed to coach you (your profile and practice results), we use OpenAI to generate and mark exercises, Stripe handles payments, and we never sell your data. You can delete everything at any time in Settings.

Who we are

ielts.coach is operated by ielts.coach ("we", "us"). We are responsible for the personal data described here. Contact us at support@ielts.coach about anything in this policy.

What we collect

Account: your email address and password. Passwords are stored only as a salted scrypt hash; we can't see them. If you sign in with Google, we receive your email address, first name and a Google account ID from Google, and no password.
Course profile: the name you give us, your goal, target and current band, test date, weak skills, weekly goal and the description of your work, studies and interests.
Practice data: exercises you complete, scores and bands, which question types you missed, writing and speaking criteria scores, speaking speed and filler-word counts, mock test results, your vocabulary list and review history, and your adaptive level for each skill.
Usage data: how many AI generations and chats you use each day, when you last signed in, and session records that keep you logged in.
Payments: if you buy a Test Pass, Stripe processes your payment. We receive a customer reference and which pass you bought, never your card number.

We do not keep the full text of essays you submit for marking, the transcripts of your spoken answers, or your conversations with Pip in our database. They are sent to our AI provider to produce a response. One exception: mock test results are saved with their examiner feedback, which can quote short excerpts of your essay in the corrections.

How we use it

To provide the service: building your course, generating exercises at your level, marking your work and tracking progress.
To personalise coaching: Pip and the session recaps use your practice history to point out patterns and suggest what to practise next.
To run plans and limits: the free trial, Test Passes and daily limits.
To keep the service secure and working, and to answer your support requests.
To understand overall use in aggregate (for example, how many exercises are completed each day).

AI processing (OpenAI)

We use OpenAI's API to generate exercises, mark writing and speaking, and power Pip. When you use these features we send OpenAI the relevant content: for example your essay or spoken answer, the exercise, your question to Pip, and a short summary of your profile, level and recent practice patterns so the response suits you.

OpenAI processes this data on our behalf under its API terms. According to OpenAI's API data policy, data sent through the API is not used to train its models by default. Exercises generated for one learner are saved in a shared library and may be shown to other learners at the same level; we instruct the AI not to include learners' names in that content.

Speech and your browser

Listening audio and the "read aloud" buttons use your browser's built-in speech synthesis. Live transcription in Speaking uses your browser's speech recognition; in some browsers, such as Google Chrome, the audio is sent to the browser maker (for example Google) to be converted to text. We receive only the resulting text, and only when you submit it.

We don't sell your personal data or use it for advertising. We share it only with service providers who help us run ielts.coach:

OpenAI: AI generation, marking and Pip chat (described above).
Stripe: payment processing for Test Passes.
Our hosting provider: our servers and database run on Amazon Web Services.
Google Fonts: the site's fonts are loaded from Google, which receives your IP address when they load.

We may also disclose data if the law requires it, or to protect our rights or users' safety. Some providers are located outside your country; where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards for these transfers.

Cookies and local storage

We use one essential cookie, ic_session, to keep you signed in. Your browser's local storage remembers small preferences, such as whether you've turned Pip's tips off. We don't use advertising or third-party analytics cookies.

How long we keep it

We keep your data while your account exists. When you delete your account in Settings, your profile, practice history, vocabulary, sessions and usage records are deleted immediately. Exercises that were generated while you used the service stay in the shared library without any link to you. Payment records kept by Stripe follow Stripe's retention rules.

Your choices and rights

See and correct your profile at any time in Settings.
Delete your account and data in Settings → Delete account.
Ask us for a copy of your data, or for help with any of the above, at the email below.

Depending on where you live, you may have further rights, such as to object to or restrict processing, or to complain to your local data protection authority. Contact us and we'll respond within a reasonable time.

Security

We protect your data with encrypted connections (HTTPS), hashed passwords, signed session cookies and restricted server access. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong password that you don't use elsewhere.

Children

ielts.coach is not intended for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their data. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we'll delete it.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy we'll update the date at the top, and for significant changes we'll let you know in the app or by email.

Contact

Questions or requests about your data: support@ielts.coach.