Privacy Policy

Words. Rooted., formerly named Trace the Word (“the app”, “we”, “us”), is a word-exploration app that shows the definitions, etymology, pronunciation and related words of English words. This policy explains what information the app handles, why, and the choices you have. It applies to the Words. Rooted. app for iPhone and Android, including versions published as Trace the Word, and to this website.

The short version

• You can use Words. Rooted. without an account.
• If you create an optional account, we store your email address, a password credential and the Words and Trails you choose to save.
• We do not use advertising or tracking tools, we do not sell your information, and we do not share it for advertising.
• If you buy Words. Rooted. Gold, Apple or Google handles the payment, and our subscription service provider, RevenueCat, receives an anonymous app identifier and your purchase status so the app can unlock Gold. We never see your card details, and your Gold subscription is not linked to your Words. Rooted. account.
• You can delete your account and saved data at any time from inside the app, or by request on our account deletion page.

Information we collect

1. If you use the app without an account

When you look up a word, the app sends that word to our database service to retrieve its entry. We do not save your lookups to a profile or history. Like nearly all internet services, our hosting provider keeps short-lived technical request logs (which can include your IP address, the request made and basic device/app information) for security and to keep the service running.

2. If you create an account

• Email address — used to create and sign in to your account and to send you a password-reset code when you ask for one.
• Password — handled by our authentication provider and stored only in hashed form. We never see your password.
• Account identifier — a random ID that links your saved items to your account.
• Saved Words (“My Forest”) — the words you choose to save.
• Saved Trails — a word together with the research lens, any search text you typed into the trail, the sort/evidence options you chose and the time you saved it.
• Authentication records — our authentication provider keeps sign-in and security records (for example time of sign-in and IP address) to protect accounts.

3. If you subscribe to Words. Rooted. Gold

Gold is an optional subscription bought through the App Store or Google Play. You do not need an account to buy it.

• Payment. Apple or Google processes your payment. We never receive your card or other payment details.
• Confirming your subscription. To find out whether Gold is active, the app uses RevenueCat, a subscription-management service provider. When the app starts it sets up RevenueCat without telling it who you are, so RevenueCat’s software creates a random anonymous app user identifier, which is kept on your device. The app does not send RevenueCat your Words. Rooted. account identifier, email address or name, and does not link your RevenueCat record to your account.
• What RevenueCat receives. That anonymous identifier; purchase information from the store (such as the purchase receipt or token, the product you bought, and whether the subscription is active, in a trial or introductory period, or has ended); and technical information such as your device type and operating system and the country and currency of your store account. Like any internet service, RevenueCat’s servers receive your IP address when the app contacts them, and RevenueCat may use it to work out your country. RevenueCat processes this information on our behalf to provide the subscription service to us. See RevenueCat’s privacy policy.
• What this means for you. Gold is tied to your Apple ID or Google account, not to your Words. Rooted. account. If you delete and reinstall the app, or use a new device, RevenueCat’s software creates a new anonymous identifier and Gold may not show as active until you choose Restore purchases in the app while signed in to the same Apple ID or Google account. We do not promise that Gold is restored automatically; restoring depends on Apple or Google and RevenueCat confirming your purchase.

4. Information stored only on your device

The app stores a small number of items on your device: a display-theme preference; if you start saving a Trail before signing in, that pending Trail so it can be saved once you sign in; the anonymous RevenueCat identifier and the most recent subscription status described above; and, to apply the free allowance of three deeper word journeys per day, the words whose deeper journey you opened today (the count resets at midnight UTC). This information stays on your device and is removed if you delete the app.

What we do not collect

The app does not request your device location or collect contacts, photos, camera, microphone, health information or payment card details. It contains no advertising SDKs and no third-party analytics or crash-reporting SDKs; for subscriptions it uses RevenueCat’s software, described above. It does not track you across other companies’ apps or websites.

How we use information

• To show word entries you look up.
• To create, secure and maintain your account, and to keep your saved Words and Trails in sync.
• To send password-reset codes you request. We do not send marketing email.
• To confirm whether your Gold subscription is active, unlock Gold features and apply the free daily allowance.
• To keep the service secure and working (for example, investigating abuse or errors).

Service providers and outside content

We use a small number of providers who process information on our behalf. We do not sell or rent personal information.

• Supabase — hosts our database, application programming interface and account authentication. Your account details and saved items are stored there.
• RevenueCat — confirms whether your Gold subscription is active, using the anonymous identifier and purchase information described above. RevenueCat stores this information on cloud servers in the United States.
• Resend — delivers password-reset emails to the address you enter.
• Wikimedia Commons — when you tap to play a pronunciation, the audio is streamed directly from Wikimedia’s servers, which receive your IP address as part of that request. See the Wikimedia privacy policy.
• Google Fonts — the app may download a typeface file from Google Fonts, which receives your IP address as part of that request. No account information is sent. See the Google privacy policy.
• External source links — if you tap a source link (for example to Wiktionary, Kaikki or WordNet), it opens in your web browser and that site’s own privacy policy applies.
• Apple and Google — app downloads, updates, subscription purchases and billing are handled by the App Store and Google Play under their own privacy policies.

We may also disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights, safety and security of our users and the service.

Dictionary content

Word entries come from public reference sources: English Wiktionary (via Wiktextract/Kaikki, licensed CC BY-SA) and Princeton WordNet 3.0. These entries are reference content, not personal information.

How long we keep information

• Account information and saved Words/Trails — kept until you delete them or delete your account.
• When you delete your account — your account, email address, password credential and all saved Words and Trails are removed from our live systems immediately. Copies may remain in our hosting provider’s routine backups for up to 7 days before being overwritten.
• Subscription records at RevenueCat — kept by RevenueCat for as long as it needs them to provide the subscription service to us or the law requires; RevenueCat does not publish a fixed period for this data. Deleting your Words. Rooted. account does not delete this record, because it is not linked to your account. Neither deleting the record nor deleting your account cancels a subscription; cancel through Apple or Google.
• Technical and security logs — kept for a limited period, typically no longer than 30 days, unless needed to investigate a security issue.

Your choices and rights

• Use without an account. Accounts are optional.
• Remove saved items. Un-save any Word or Trail in the app at any time.
• Delete your account in the app. Open any word, tap You in the bottom bar, then Delete Account and confirm.
• Request deletion without the app. Use our account deletion page.
• Access or correction. Email us at legal@sequoyahinstitutefortechnology.com to request a copy of your account data or to correct it.
• Subscription information. Because RevenueCat holds this under an anonymous identifier, we need your help to find it. Email us and we will work with you to locate your record, for example using details of your purchase, and ask RevenueCat to delete it or provide its contents. Deleting the record does not cancel your subscription, which you manage in the App Store or Google Play, and Gold may need to be restored afterwards using Restore purchases, as described above.

Depending on where you live (for example in the EU/UK or California), you may have additional rights to access, correct, delete or object to processing of your personal information. We honor these requests as described above and will not discriminate against you for exercising them. Where the GDPR applies, we process account and subscription-status data to provide the service you asked for (performance of a contract) and security/log data for our legitimate interest in keeping the service secure.

Security

Information is sent between the app and our services over encrypted (HTTPS) connections. Access to account data is restricted so that each signed-in user can reach only their own saved items. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information.

Children

Words. Rooted. is a general-audience reference app and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

International users

Our service providers may process and store information in countries other than your own. RevenueCat stores subscription information in the United States. Where required, appropriate safeguards are used for such transfers.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will update the effective date above, and for significant changes we will provide notice in the app or on this page.

Contact

Sequoyah Institute for Technology LLC
Email: legal@sequoyahinstitutefortechnology.com
6545 Market Ave. North, Ste 100
Canton, Ohio 44721, U.S.A.