Terms of Service

Last updated: March 12, 2026

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing and using HangeulMate ("the Service"), operated by CREAV ("we", "us", or "our"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use the Service.

2. Description of Service

HangeulMate is an AI-powered Korean language learning platform that provides interactive lessons, conversation practice, pronunciation evaluation, spaced repetition review, handwriting and typing practice, and K-content (K-pop/K-drama) expression learning. The Service is available as a web application at hangeulmate.com.

Key features include:

  • Structured Korean lessons (Hangul through advanced conversation)
  • AI conversation tutor and voice chat for speaking practice
  • Pronunciation evaluation with speech recognition
  • Handwriting practice with stroke-order guidance
  • Korean typing game
  • K-pop and K-drama expression learning with quizzes
  • Drama quote study and AI scene practice (roleplay)
  • Spaced repetition review system

3. User Accounts

You may create an account using Google OAuth or email/password registration. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials. You must be at least 13 years of age to use the Service.

4. Subscriptions and Payments

HangeulMate offers free and paid subscription tiers. Paid subscriptions are processed through our payment processor, Polar.sh. By subscribing, you authorize recurring charges at the selected billing interval. Pricing, billing intervals, and feature availability are subject to change; current pricing is displayed at the time of purchase.

  • Free: Limited features at no cost
  • Pro: Full access to lessons, dialogues, K-content, and premium audio
  • Premium AI: All Pro features plus AI conversation tutor and voice chat

You may cancel your subscription at any time. Upon cancellation, you will retain access to paid features until the end of your current billing period. Refunds are handled on a case-by-case basis.

5. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

  • Use the Service for any unlawful purpose
  • Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service or its systems
  • Reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from our content
  • Use automated tools to scrape or collect data from the Service
  • Interfere with or disrupt the Service or its infrastructure
  • Use the AI tutor or voice chat to generate harmful, abusive, or inappropriate content

6. Intellectual Property

All content on HangeulMate, including but not limited to lessons, audio recordings, dialogue scripts, K-pop/K-drama expression data, drama quotes, and visual materials, is owned by CREAV and protected by copyright law. Your subscription grants you a personal, non-transferable license to access and use the content for learning purposes only.

7. AI Features & Content Disclaimer

HangeulMate uses AI technology for conversation practice, voice chat, pronunciation evaluation, lesson content generation, text-to-speech (TTS) audio, scene practice (roleplay), and quiz question creation. You acknowledge and agree that:

  • AI-generated lesson content, audio, translations, and quiz questions are for educational purposes and may contain inaccuracies or imperfections
  • Speech recognition accuracy depends on your browser, device, microphone quality, ambient noise, and network conditions — results may vary
  • Pronunciation evaluation scores are approximate assessments, not certified linguistic evaluations, and should be used as general guidance only
  • AI conversation tutor and voice chat responses are generated dynamically and may occasionally produce unexpected, incomplete, or imprecise answers
  • Voice chat uses voice activity detection (VAD) and automatic speech recognition; audio is processed in real-time and is not stored permanently
  • AI features are subject to daily usage limits that may change without notice
  • We do not guarantee that AI-generated content will be free from errors, and recommend consulting qualified language instructors for critical or professional language needs

8. Voice & Audio Features

The Service includes features that access your device's microphone for pronunciation practice, speech recognition, and voice chat. By using these features, you consent to:

  • Temporary audio capture for real-time speech recognition and pronunciation scoring
  • Transmission of audio data to third-party speech processing services (OpenAI Whisper) for Premium AI users
  • Browser-based speech recognition processing for free and Pro users

Audio recordings are processed transiently and are not permanently stored on our servers. You may revoke microphone access at any time through your browser settings.

9. Handwriting & Canvas Data

The handwriting practice feature uses an HTML canvas element to capture your pen/finger strokes for character recognition. Canvas drawing data is processed locally in your browser for scoring purposes and is not transmitted to external servers.

10. Service Availability & Third-Party Dependencies

The Service depends on third-party services and technologies, including but not limited to cloud infrastructure providers, AI model APIs, payment processors, and browser-native speech APIs. You acknowledge that:

  • Service availability, performance, and features may be affected by third-party service outages, rate limits, or changes beyond our control
  • Audio playback, AI chat, voice chat, pronunciation evaluation, and voice input features require stable network connectivity and may not function reliably under poor network conditions
  • Browser-based features (speech recognition, audio playback, canvas drawing) may behave differently across browsers, devices, and operating systems
  • We may modify, suspend, or discontinue any feature at any time without prior notice

11. Learning Outcomes & Limitation of Liability

HangeulMate is a supplementary language learning tool. We do not guarantee specific learning outcomes, proficiency levels, or test scores (including TOPIK). Individual results depend on personal effort, consistency, and prior knowledge. Any references to CEFR or TOPIK levels are approximate benchmarks, not certifications.

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. CREAV shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of or inability to use the Service, including but not limited to loss of data, learning progress, or subscription fees due to service interruptions. Our total liability shall not exceed the amount paid by you in the twelve months preceding the claim.

12. Modifications

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will make reasonable efforts to notify users of material changes by posting a notice within the Service or updating the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

13. Contact

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us at support@hangeulmate.com.