Privacy Policy

The short version

MAHJ has no accounts and no logins, and your lesson progress stays on your device. The only purchase today is a one-time in-app unlock, handled by Apple or Google — we never see your card number. The AI features (the Coach, Hand Analyzer, and Study Plan) ask your permission before they send anything to a third-party AI provider; you can decline, and you can change that answer at any time in Settings › AI features. We don’t sell or rent your data. (A MAHJ shop is planned; when it launches, orders will be handled by Stripe — see the shop sections below.)

Who we are

Welcome2Mahj LLC is a Texas limited liability company, operating welcome2mahj.com and the MAHJ mobile app. (A MAHJ shop is planned but not yet available; the parts below marked “when the shop is available” describe how it will work.) Contact: info@welcome2mahj.com.

What we collect

When you unlock the app, the one-time in-app purchase is processed by Apple (App Store) or Google (Play Store). We receive confirmation that you purchased — not your payment card number.

When the MAHJ shop is available and you place an order, Stripe will collect your name, email, billing address, shipping address, and payment information on our behalf. We would receive everything except your full payment card number — Stripe stores that. (The shop is not currently live.)

When you email us, we receive your email address and whatever you choose to share.

When you use the website or app, our hosting provider (Vercel) logs standard request data: IP address, user agent, page accessed, timestamp. This is used for security and basic operations, not marketing.

On your device, MAHJ saves your lesson progress, quiz scores, streaks, settings, and (for up to 7 days) your recent Coach conversation in your browser’s local storage. This stays on your device: “Reset Progress” clears your progress and Coach conversation, and clearing your browser’s site data removes everything, including your settings.

When you start or join a crew(the “Start a Crew” feature), you choose to share a small progress card with your crewmates so everyone can see who’s ready to play: a nickname you type, your overall progress bar, your rank, how many lessons you’ve finished, your streak, and a “ready” flag. That’s all that leaves your device — never your Coach conversations, email, real name, or per-lesson detail. Crew data is stored (in Vercel KV/Upstash) under an anonymous device id, with no login, and auto-deletes after about six months of inactivity.

When you open a shared table in Host Mode(the “Everyone score together” option, so several phones keep one scoreboard in sync), the table is stored on our backend (Vercel KV/Upstash) rather than only on your phone. What goes with it: the four player names you typed, the running scores, who dealt, the hand number, and the hand-by-hand log. Because you type names for the other three people at the table, this is information about them, not only about you — nicknames or initials work just as well, and we suggest using them. The table is kept under a random six-character code, with no login, so anyone you give the table code or the watch link to can see it — treat those codes as you would the scoreboard itself. A shared table deletes itself about six hours after its last update. Host Mode used on one phone alone does not create or share a table: those scores stay on your device.

To prevent abuse of the features that reach our backend — the AI features, crews, shared Host Mode tables, problem reports and feedback, and (when the shop is available) checkout — we briefly keep a per-IP request count (in Vercel KV/Upstash) that expires within minutes. In the installed app, MAHJ also checks the App Store (itunes.apple.com) for update availability when you open it, which sends your IP address to Apple.

On the website we use privacy-friendly, cookieless analytics (Vercel Web Analytics) to understand which pages and features are used. It sets no cookies, does not collect personal data, and does not track you across other sites. We do not run third-party advertising trackers or social media pixels.

In the installed app (where those website analytics do not run), we log anonymous, aggregate purchase-funnel events — which step of the paywall was reached and whether a purchase or restore completed, plus the platform (iOS, Android, or web) — to our own backend so we can measure how well the paywall converts. These carry no personal data and no per-user identifier.

If you choose to send in-app feedback, any comment you type is stored briefly and anonymously on our backend (no name, email, or per-user identifier — just the words, the platform, and where in the app you were) so we can read it and improve the app. It is kept for a limited time and then deleted automatically. The reason you picked and any comment you wrote are also sent to the support channel we use to review reports (a third-party messaging service — see “Who we share it with” below), so we see feedback as it arrives. If you report a name in a crew or on a shared Host Mode table, the report includes the crew or table code, the name you reported as it appears on your screen, the category you picked, and any note you choose to add — so we can find it and act on it. The reported name is someone’s chosen nickname or the name typed for a player at the table. We don’t attach your name, email, or any per-user identifier to the report, though anything you type into the optional note is sent as you wrote it. Reports reach us the same way other in-app feedback does, including the support channel described below.

Coach and Hand Analyzer

The MAHJ Coach (the chat at /coach) and the strategy advice on the Hand Analyzer (/analyze) generate their answers using third-party AI services. A few other features also send what you enter to third-party AI — the Study Plan on the Lessons page, and, in the shop, the Gift Finder and the custom-tile Designer (each described below).

We ask your age once. Before the AI features are available, MAHJ asks how old you are. Your answer decides whether you can use them, but the number itself is never stored, sent to MAHJ, logged, or passed to analytics — only the resulting eligibility outcome is kept, and only on your device.

We ask first. Before the Coach, the Hand Analyzer, or the Study Plan sends anything to a third-party AI provider, MAHJ asks your permission once, and nothing is sent unless you allow it. You can say no — the rest of the app is unaffected — and you can change your answer at any time under Settings › AI features › Third-party AI sharing. Turning it off stops further sending immediately and deletes nothing you already have. This choice is stored on your device, so it is made per device and is not carried by an account. “Reset Progress” deliberately leaves it alone; clearing your browser’s site data clears it, and MAHJ will ask again.

When you ask the Coach, we send your question, the recent conversation (up to 20 most recent turns), a short summary of your learning — which lessons you’ve completed, where you are in the course, and the areas you’ve been shaky on — and, when you have a practice hand in play, that hand: its tiles, the hand you’re building toward, your exposures, and the last few discards on the table. This goes to OpenAI, which generates the answer. No other AI provider receives it.

When you use the Hand Analyzer’s strategy advice, a description of the tiles you’ve assembled, a computed summary (such as suit counts, joker count, and observed patterns), and the practice patterns it most closely matches may be sent to OpenAI. We do not send your name, email, or any device identifier.

When you generate a Study Plan (on the Lessons page), a snapshot of your progress — which lessons you’ve completed, which you’re on, your low quiz scores, the tiles you miss most, and how many tiles you’ve mastered — may be sent to OpenAI so it can suggest what to study next.

In the shop, the Gift Finder sends the recipient, occasion, and style you describe, and the custom-tile Designer sends the short description you type, to Groq or Google (Gemini) — the shop’s own AI providers, not the ones described above. We don’t attach your name, email, or any device identifier — but the text you type into these features is sent to the AI provider. (The shop is not currently live. These two are separate from the Coach, Hand Analyzer, and Study Plan permission described above.)

We don’t keep your coach conversations or analyzer queries as history on our own servers — answering a question doesn’t save it. One exception: if you use the feedback link under a Coach answer (“Still confused or something missing?”), the question that answer replied to is included in that feedback report, so it is stored and sent to our support channel like any other in-app feedback (see “Who we share it with” below). The AI providers may retain inputs for their own service operation per their policies (linked below). For that reason, avoid typing sensitive personal information (real names, addresses, payment details) into the Coach, Hand Analyzer, Study Plan, Gift Finder, or Designer.

The lessons, glossary, calculator, cheatsheet, and all other features of the Service work fully without the AI features. If you prefer not to interact with the AI providers, decline when MAHJ asks — or turn off Settings › AI features › Third-party AI sharing — and don’t use /coach, /analyze, or the Study Plan generator on the Lessons page.

How we use it

• To deliver the app and its features (including the AI Coach, Hand Analyzer, and Study Plan)
• To respond to your questions
• To resolve issues, prevent fraud, and meet legal obligations
• To improve the Service (in aggregate, not individually)
• When the MAHJ shop is available: to process and fulfill your orders and send order confirmations

We don’t send marketing emails. If we ever start a newsletter, it will be opt-in.

Who we share it with

We share data only with the providers needed to run the shop and the Service:

• Stripe — payment processing and order receipts (Stripe’s privacy policy).
• Printful — printing and shipping; receives your name, shipping address, and order details (Printful’s privacy policy).
• Printify — printing and shipping for some apparel and drinkware; receives your name, shipping address, and order details (Printify’s privacy policy).
• Gelato — printing and shipping for cards and stationery; receives your name, shipping address, and the design (for custom cards, this includes any message you typed) (Gelato’s privacy policy).
• Art of Where — a planned printing and shipping provider for pouches; if used to fulfill an order, it may receive your name, shipping address, and order details (Art of Where’s privacy policy).
• OpenAI— powers the Coach, the Hand Analyzer’s strategy advice, and the Study Plan using their AI models; receives your Coach question and recent conversation, a short summary of your lesson progress and weak spots, your practice or analyzer hand and its computed summary, and your Study Plan progress. In the shop, OpenAI also screens the text you type into custom tile and card designs for policy violations before it’s printed (OpenAI’s privacy policy).
• Vercel — website hosting; standard request logs.
• Google — in the shop, can power the Gift Finder and the custom-tile Designer using their Gemini AI models; receives your Gift Finder request or Designer description (Google’s privacy policy).
• Groq — in the shop, can power the Gift Finder and the custom-tile Designer, running the AI models they host; receives your Gift Finder request or Designer description (Groq’s privacy policy).
• Apple — if you downloaded the iOS app, Apple handles app distribution under their own privacy policy.
• RevenueCat— in the installed app (not the website), RevenueCat initializes when you open the app to manage entitlements; it assigns an anonymous app-user identifier and receives basic device information. If you buy the one-time in-app unlock, Apple (App Store) or Google (Play) processes the payment (we never see your card details) and RevenueCat verifies the purchase so the app knows you’ve unlocked (RevenueCat’s privacy policy).
• Our support channel (Discord / Slack)— three kinds of report reach this channel (a third-party messaging service) so we can find and fix problems. First, when you use “Report a problem” in the app, the message you type along with your browser/device info, the page URL, and the current game state are delivered — only when you choose to send a report. Second, if the app hits an unexpected error or crash, a brief automatic diagnostic goes to MAHJ’s backend and may be forwarded to this channel: the error message, a technical stack trace, where in the app the error came from, the page address, and your browser/device info. Third, when you send in-app feedback, the reason you picked and any optional comment you wrote are sent, along with the platform you were on. None of the three attach your name, email, or a per-user identifier. Crash diagnostics are technical only: we don’t attach your lessons, progress, or game state to them, though an error message or page address can occasionally reveal a small detail of what you were doing, such as which lesson was open.

We may also disclose information when required by law (e.g., valid subpoena) or to protect our rights or the safety of others.

Affiliate links

Some pages (such as the Gear Guide) contain Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Clicking a link takes you to Amazon, where your activity is governed by Amazon’s own privacy policy; we receive only anonymized commission reporting, never your Amazon order details.

Data retention

We keep order records for as long as needed to fulfill the order and meet applicable tax, accounting, fraud-prevention, and legal obligations. Email correspondence is kept for as long as needed to provide support, then deleted.

Custom print files (for example, a card with your typed message) are generated when you order and kept only as long as needed to produce and ship your order — at most 90 days — then automatically deleted.

International users and data transfers

MAHJ is operated from the United States, and our service providers (hosting, payment, print, and the AI providers named above) process data in the United States. If you use MAHJ from the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, or elsewhere outside the US, the information you provide — including anything you type into the AI features — is transferred to and processed in the United States by those providers (such as OpenAI, Groq, and Google).

For users in the EEA and UK, our lawful bases for processing are your consent (given when you choose to use a feature that sends data off your device, such as the Coach), performanceof the service you’ve asked for, and our legitimate interestin operating and securing the app. You can withdraw consent at any time by not using those features — and, for the AI features, by turning off Settings › AI features › Third-party AI sharing — and you have the rights described in “Your rights” below. Because MAHJ has no accounts and keeps your progress on your own device, we hold very little personal data about you.

Data deletion requests

To request deletion of information MAHJ holds that can be identified as yours, email info@welcome2mahj.com with the subject “Delete my data.” MAHJ does not currently use accounts, so please include enough information for us to locate the data — for example, a Crew or table code, or the approximate date and text of a feedback or problem report.

Data on your device. You can clear your learning progress with Settings › Reset progress. Deleting the app or clearing its site data removes the remaining MAHJ data stored on that device, including local settings and your AI-sharing choice.

Shared and support data. If we can identify data you ask us to remove, such as a Crew record, shared Host Mode table, feedback, or support report, we will delete the MAHJ-held copy where reasonably possible. Some data also expires automatically, including Host Mode tables after about 6 hours and inactive Crew data after about 6 months.

Purchases and third-party processors. Apple and Google control their own store purchase records. If we can identify a RevenueCat customer record associated with a request, we can delete that RevenueCat record; this does not cancel or erase the underlying App Store or Google Play purchase. Data processed by our AI and other service providers may be subject to their own retention practices; requests involving provider-held data may also depend on that provider’s deletion and retention rules.

We may retain information when required for legal, security, fraud-prevention, or similar legitimate purposes.

Your rights

You can ask us to:

• Tell you what information we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate information
• Delete your information (subject to legal retention requirements)
• Stop processing your information for non-essential purposes

California residents have additional rights under the CCPA; EU/UK residents have additional rights under GDPR. To exercise any of these, email info@welcome2mahj.com. We’ll respond within the time required by applicable law.

Cookies

The site uses minimal cookies — we don’t use advertising or analytics cookies. The Stripe checkout flow may set cookies on stripe.com (their domain) for fraud prevention; those are governed by Stripe’s policies.

Children

The Service is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us information, please email us and we’ll delete it.

Security

We use industry-standard practices: HTTPS everywhere, payment processing through Stripe (PCI-DSS Level 1), no storage of payment card data on our servers. No system is perfectly secure, but we keep our footprint small for that reason.

Changes

We’ll update this policy if our practices change. The “last updated” date at the top reflects the most recent change.

Contact

Welcome2Mahj LLC
info@welcome2mahj.com