Privacy Policy

CHiiKUN AI Travel Helper · Last updated 2026-10-26

1. Who we are

CHiiKUN AI Travel Helper (the "App") is provided by Chiikun Studio ("we", "us"). Questions about this policy: service_app@chiikun.com.

2. What we collect and why

• An anonymous app ID. On first launch the App creates a random ID on your device so you can use it without signing up. We store only a hashed form of it, linked to your in-app data.
• Photos, questions and answers. When you ask about a photo, the photo (or only the area you circled) and your question are sent to our servers and to the AI model that writes the answer. Photos — including receipts and price tags — are deleted automatically within 7 days. Your questions and answers are kept in your History until you delete them or your account.
• Place name, not GPS. If you allow location access, the App turns your position into a place name on your phone (for example "Shinjuku, Tokyo") and sends only that name with a question, to make answers more accurate. If you turn on disaster alerts, we store the prefecture you are in together with your notification token, so we can alert the right area. We do not store your precise coordinates. When you use “Food nearby” or “Find nearby”, your current position is sent to our server and to Hot Pepper Gourmet or OpenStreetMap for that one search and is not stored. In travel mode, the App uses location in the background only on your phone, to notice when you arrive at or leave the stops in your plan; that location is not sent to us.
• Your settings. Nationality or region, home currency, language, and any diet or allergy notes you enter — used to convert prices, show the right embassy, and warn you about ingredients.
• Expenses and trips you record in the travel ledger, including the companions you split with (names you type).
• Favorites and public recommendations. Places you save, and recommendations you choose to publish (your nickname, nationality flag, short text, tags and the place's public details). Published recommendations are visible to other users near that place — never your location. Reported content is reviewed by us. You can delete your recommendations at any time.
• Friends and messages. If you add friends, we store the friend list and the messages you exchange (text and shared places) so they can be delivered. Friends see your nickname, avatar and nationality flag. You can delete single messages or a whole chat on your side; if you remove a friend, the chat is removed on your side and they are told, and their copy stays until they delete it. Reported messages are reviewed by us. Messages are deleted with your account.
• Friend search and moments. Others can find you by your friend code, and by your nickname unless you turn that off (Friends › Add friends). Posts you share in Moments (text, up to 4 photos, a place card, or a summary of a trip plan without times or costs, and optionally the city you are in) are shown to the audience you choose: everyone, friends only, or only you. Comments and likes on friends-only posts are shown only to people who are friends with each other. Posts, photos and comments are checked by our filter and AI moderation before publishing; reported posts are reviewed by us. Moment photos are kept in our database (not deleted after 7 days) until you delete the post or your account. Drafts stay on your phone.
• Questions, lists and travel groups. Questions and answers you post under a place, and lists you make public, can be seen by other users with your nickname; lists set to “friends only” are seen only by your friends. In a travel group, members see each other’s nicknames, the group chat, the costs added to the group ledger, and the trip plan the organizer chooses to share (without home-side stops such as your home address). Group data is deleted when the group is deleted; if you leave, the costs you added stay in that group’s ledger.
• City shown to friends (optional). If you turn on “Show friends which city I’m in”, the App sends the name of the prefecture you are in (for example Tokyo) — never coordinates — and we show it only to friends who have turned it on too. It is hidden after 12 hours without an update and cleared when you turn it off.
• Your profile. A nickname (unique in the App), an avatar — one of our pictures, or a photo you upload, which is first checked by an AI model and then stored in our database and shown to other users — and, if you fill them in, age range, gender, eating habits and accommodation preferences. The last four are used only to plan your trips (they are sent to the AI model that writes the plan) and are never shown to others.
• Translations you ask for. When you tap “Translate” under a post, comment, review or message, that text is sent to our server and an AI model to translate it. Translations are cached by text (not linked to your account) for up to 30 days so repeat requests are fast.
• Weather. To show the weather on the home screen, the App sends your approximate position (rounded to about 100 m) to our server, which looks up the Japan Meteorological Agency forecast for that area. It is used only for that lookup and is not saved — our server logs leave coordinates out. Weather for a trip is looked up from the places in that trip.
• Feedback and crash reports. If you send feedback, we receive your text, an optional screenshot, and the App version, iPhone model, iOS version, language and the screen you were on. If the App crashes, it sends Apple's technical crash report (MetricKit) with the same device details the next time you open it, so we can fix the problem.
• Sign-in details, if you choose to sign in. With Sign in with Apple we receive a stable Apple user identifier (and a token used to revoke access when you delete your account). With email sign-in we store your email address and send you one-time codes.
• Sign-in for social features. Asking questions, planning trips and the tools work without signing in. Friends, chat, moments, travel groups, and publishing recommendations, questions, answers, lists, a nickname or an avatar require Sign in with Apple or email sign-in.
• Notification token, if you allow notifications, to send disaster alerts, messages from friends and reminders.
• App integrity check. We use Apple's App Attest to confirm requests come from a genuine copy of the App, which protects the free service from abuse. It does not contain personal information.
• Usage records. How many questions you ask each day, which features and AI models were used, and their cost — to apply daily limits, keep the service running and fix problems.
• Purchases. If paid plans are offered, Apple processes payment. We receive only the subscription status and transaction identifiers, never your card details.

We do not collect your contacts, photo library (only photos you choose to send), advertising identifier, or browsing activity. The App contains no third-party advertising or analytics SDKs, and we do not sell or share your personal information for advertising.

3. Processed on your device

• Speech recognition and read-aloud use Apple's speech features; Apple may process audio according to its own privacy policy.
• Offline reader and live translate use Apple's on-device text recognition and translation; that content is not sent to us.
• When you sign in with Apple, Face ID or your passcode is checked by iOS. We never receive biometric data.
• Medicine reminders and moment drafts are saved only on your phone. Medicine reminders are also removed when you delete your account in the App.
• Arrival info you type for Visit Japan Web (name, passport number, date of birth and so on) is saved only in your phone's Keychain and is never sent to us. Packing lists and trip reminders also stay on your phone.
• The emergency page, phrasebook and disaster guides are stored in the App and work offline.

4. Who processes data for us

• Alibaba Cloud — our servers, database and photo storage in Tokyo, Japan; AI models (Model Studio) in Tokyo, Japan and Singapore; email delivery for sign-in codes from Singapore.
• Apple — Sign in with Apple, push notifications, App Attest and in-app purchases.
• Japan Meteorological Agency public feeds are used to create disaster alerts; no personal data is sent to them.
• Recruit (Hot Pepper Gourmet), Rakuten Travel and OpenStreetMap — when you plan a trip, our server looks up restaurants, hotels, place names and nearby train stations with them. We send only the place or area being searched and your travel dates, never your identity.

These providers process data only to provide their services to us. We do not currently send your requests to servers in mainland China; if that changes we will update this policy first.

5. How long we keep data

• Photos you ask about (including receipts and price tags): deleted automatically within 7 days. Avatars and moment photos you publish: until you change or delete them, or delete your account.
• Accounts that are not signed in, have no purchases, points or unfinished trips, and have not been opened for 90 days are deleted automatically; we send a reminder 14 days and 3 days before.
• Feedback and crash reports: until the problem is handled, and always deleted with your account.
• History, expenses, trips and settings: until you delete them or your account.
• Usage and cost statistics: kept for up to 400 days, in aggregate form for operating the service.
• When you delete your account, your account and all associated data are removed from our database immediately, and your Sign in with Apple authorization is revoked.

6. Your choices

• Delete single conversations, expenses or trips in the App, or delete your whole account in Settings → Account.
• Sign out in Settings → Account; your data stays with your account and comes back when you sign in again with the same Apple ID or email.
• Turn location, camera, microphone, photos and notifications on or off at any time in iOS Settings.
• Contact us to ask for a copy of your data or a correction. We will respond within 30 days.

7. Children

The App is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information.

8. International transfer and security

Your data is stored and processed in Japan and Singapore. We use encrypted connections (HTTPS), private storage with time-limited access links, and access controls on our servers. No method is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information.

9. Changes

If we change this policy, we will update the date above and, for significant changes, tell you in the App.

10. Contact

Chiikun Studio · service_app@chiikun.com