Privacy Policy

Who we are

CongDan.us (Công Dân Mỹ) is a free bilingual Vietnamese and English study site for the U.S. citizenship test. It is operated by Pacific Pulse Growth Lab LLC, a limited liability company based in Honolulu, Hawaii ("we", "us", "our").

This policy covers our website, the free study tools, the contact form, our email list, paid purchases, and the voice practice interview. It does not cover other websites that we link to.

Information we collect

We collect only what we need for each feature. We do not require an account to use the free study tools.

• Contact form: your name, email address, and the message you write. We use it to reply to you.
• Email sign-up (optional, coming soon): your email address, and your name if the form asks for it, plus a record of when and how you agreed to receive email. You get a free study PDF and a short study series of five emails.
• Purchases: when you buy Premium or Family/Gift, payment is handled by Stripe. We receive your email address, the product you bought, the amount, the date, and a confirmation of payment. We never see or store your full card number.
• Analytics and advertising: Google Analytics (GA4) and Google AdSense run on the site. They use cookies and similar technology to collect information such as pages viewed, time on page, browser and device type, approximate location based on your IP address, and advertising identifiers.
• Study progress on your device: your scores, flashcard progress, and language choice are saved in your browser's local storage. This stays on your device. We do not receive it, and clearing your browser data erases it.
• Technical logs: our hosting provider may keep basic server logs, such as IP address, browser type, and the time of each request, for security and reliability.

How we use information

We use the information above to:

• answer your messages and support requests;
• send the emails you asked for, and send purchase receipts and access details if you buy;
• process payments, prevent fraud, and keep records the law requires us to keep;
• understand how the site is used so we can improve it;
• show advertising that helps keep the free study tools free;
• keep the site secure and working.

Voice practice interview

The voice practice interview uses the speech recognition built into your browser or device. When you speak, your browser or operating system may send the audio to its own speech service, for example one run by Google, Apple, or Microsoft, so it can turn your speech into text. That processing is governed by that company's privacy policy, not ours.

We do not record your voice, and we do not store your audio or the text of your answers on our servers. The microphone is used only while you are in a practice session, and only after your browser asks for and receives your permission. You can turn the microphone off in your browser settings at any time, and you can use the typed practice instead.

Email marketing and consent

We send study emails only to people who sign up for them. By submitting the sign-up form you agree to receive the free study PDF and the five-email study series, and later occasional emails about CongDan.us. You can withdraw consent at any time.

Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link. Click it and we stop sending. You can also email aloha@pacificpulseai.com and ask us to remove you. Emails that are not marketing, such as a purchase receipt or a reply to your message, are separate and may still be sent.

We use Resend to store our email list and deliver our emails. We do not sell or rent our email list.

Cookies, analytics, and advertising

We use a small cookie to remember your language choice. Google Analytics uses cookies to measure how the site is used. Google AdSense uses cookies and similar technology, including advertising identifiers, to show ads, which may be based on your past visits to this and other websites.

We do not sell your personal information. Under some state laws, the use of advertising cookies may be called "sharing" or "targeted advertising". You can opt out as described below.

• Manage Google ad personalization at adssettings.google.com.
• Install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
• Opt out of interest-based ads from many companies at optout.aboutads.info.
• Block or delete cookies in your browser settings. The site still works, but some features, such as remembering your language, may not.
• To learn how Google uses data from sites that use its services, see policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

Who we share information with

We share information only with service providers who help us run CongDan.us, and only as needed for the service they provide:

• Stripe, to process payments;
• Resend, to store our email list and send email, including replies from the contact form;
• Google, for analytics and advertising;
• our website hosting provider.
• We may also disclose information if the law requires it, to protect our rights or the safety of others, or as part of a sale or reorganization of our business, in which case we will tell you if your information is affected.

How long we keep information

We keep information only as long as we need it for the reasons above.

• Contact messages: up to 24 months after we answer you, unless we need them longer to resolve a dispute.
• Email list: until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete you. After you unsubscribe we keep your address on a suppression list so we do not email you again.
• Purchase records: for as long as tax, accounting, and fraud-prevention rules require, generally up to seven years. Stripe keeps its own records under its policy.
• Analytics and advertising data: according to the retention settings of Google Analytics and Google AdSense.
• Study progress on your device: until you clear your browser data.

Security

The site uses HTTPS to encrypt data between your device and our servers. Payments are handled by Stripe, which is certified to the PCI DSS payment security standard. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, so we cannot promise absolute security.

Children

CongDan.us is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you are under 18, please ask a parent or guardian before you contact us, sign up, or buy anything. If you believe a child under 13 has given us personal information, write to aloha@pacificpulseai.com and we will delete it.

Your choices and rights

You can ask us to tell you what personal information we hold about you, to correct it, or to delete it. Write to aloha@pacificpulseai.com from the email address in question. We may need to confirm it is really you, and we will answer within a reasonable time, generally within 45 days. You do not have to pay anything to make a request, and we will not treat you worse for making one.

You can also unsubscribe from our emails at any time, opt out of ad personalization and analytics as described above, clear your study progress by clearing your browser data, and turn off the microphone in your browser.

Where your information is processed

We operate from the United States, and the service providers named above may process information in the United States and other countries. By using the site you understand that your information may be transferred to and processed in those places.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will change the effective date at the top of the page, and for significant changes we will take extra steps, such as a notice on the site or an email to people on our list. Using the site after a change means you accept the updated policy.

Contact us

Pacific Pulse Growth Lab LLC, operator of CongDan.us (Công Dân Mỹ), Honolulu, Hawaii. Email: aloha@pacificpulseai.com. You can also use the contact form on the site.