JPMate helps you navigate life in Japan — visas, taxes, daily admin, and emergencies — with clear, sourced answers. This policy explains what information we collect, why, and the choices you have. We've tried to write it in plain language.
1.Who we are
JPMate (the "App", "we", "us") is operated from Japan. For any privacy question or request, contact privacy@jpmate.app. The operator's name and postal address are available on request and are on file with the app stores.
This policy applies to the JPMate mobile app, this website, and related services (together, the "Services").
2.Information we collect
Information you provide
- Profile details to personalize answers — city/ward, visa or residence status, household makeup, housing, and Japanese-language level. You choose what to enter and can change it anytime.
- Medical or accessibility needs you optionally add so the Emergency Guide can tailor your plan. This is sensitive ("special-category") health information; we collect it only if you choose to provide it, use it solely to personalize emergency guidance, and you can leave it blank or delete it at any time.
- Emergency contacts — if you use Safety Check-in, the name and the details you add for each person (phone, email, relationship, and/or a LINE identifier). You are responsible for having their permission before adding them (see Section 6).
- Questions and messages you send to JPMate.
- Photos you submit to the Mail Decoder (see Section 5).
- Saved answers you bookmark within the App.
- Account information if you create an account — e.g. an email address or a sign-in identifier from Apple or Google.
- Support and feedback you send us, including helpfulness ratings on answers.
Information we generate or infer
- Profile details inferred from your conversations. To save you re-entering things, JPMate may infer profile attributes (such as your ward, household, or status) from what you tell the chat and add them to your profile. You can review, edit, or delete these at any time in the App.
Information collected automatically
- Device & app data — device model, operating system, app version, language setting, and crash/diagnostic logs.
- Usage data — features used and general interaction events, used to improve the Services.
- Location. When you use location-based features and grant permission, we collect your device location. For the Emergency Guide and Safety Check-in, your approximate or precise location (latitude/longitude) and chosen city/ward may be stored on your profile and in your check-in history so the features work and you keep a record. You can delete this at any time (see Section 6 and Section 11).
Information from third parties
- App stores (Apple App Store / Google Play) provide purchase and subscription status; they do not share your payment card details with us.
Our mobile app uses no third-party advertising or analytics SDKs.
Cookies & website analytics
Our website (jpmate.app) uses Google Analytics to understand how visitors find and use the site so we can improve it. We load it only if you accept analytics cookies in the banner shown on your first visit; if you decline, no analytics cookies are set and no analytics data is collected. You can change your choice anytime via "Cookie settings" in the website footer. When enabled, Google Analytics sets cookies and processes data such as a truncated/anonymized IP address, device and browser type, pages viewed, and on-site interactions; we keep IP anonymization on and advertising features off. Google acts as our processor for this, and the data may be processed in the United States (see Section 12). Our legal basis is your consent, which you can withdraw at any time. This applies to the website only — the mobile app does not use Google Analytics.
3.How we use your information
- To provide answers and personalize them to your situation.
- To operate features like the Emergency Guide, Mail Decoder, Safety Check-in, and Saved Answers.
- To maintain, secure, troubleshoot, and improve the Services.
- To process subscriptions and prevent fraud or abuse.
- To respond to your requests and provide support.
- To comply with legal obligations.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use your questions or photos to serve you third-party advertising.
4.AI processing & service providers
JPMate uses AI to interpret your questions, search our sources, and generate answers. Depending on the feature, the content of your request (and relevant profile context) is processed by the following providers, acting as our processors under contract:
- OpenAI — converts your questions into search embeddings, generates answers, and reads Mail Decoder photos (see Section 5).
- Cohere — re-ranks search results; it receives your question together with excerpts of the candidate source documents.
These providers are located outside Japan (primarily the United States), so using JPMate involves an international transfer of your data (see Section 12). Under our providers' API terms, your content is used only to process your request and is not used to train their AI models. Answers may be imperfect; see our Terms of Use for important limitations on relying on them.
5.Photos & the Mail Decoder
When you photograph a letter or choose an image for the Mail Decoder, the image is resized and sent securely to our vision AI provider (see Section 4) to read and interpret it. We process the image only to produce your explanation and do not store the image after processing — it is not saved to your account or to our servers.
Please avoid submitting images that contain information about other people where you don't have the right to share it.
6.Location, emergency features & Safety Check-in
Location
The Emergency Guide can show the nearest rated evacuation shelters and walking routes. To do this we use your device location only with your permission, and only while the relevant feature is in use. To make the Emergency Guide and Safety Check-in work and to keep a useful record, we may store your location (city/ward and latitude/longitude) on your profile and in your Safety Check-in history. You can revoke location access at any time in your device settings and delete stored location in the App; some features may then be limited or fall back to a city you set manually. Emergency reference content is designed to work offline once downloaded to your device.
Safety Check-in
Safety Check-in is an optional feature that lets you tell chosen people you're safe during a disaster. When you use it:
- You select emergency contacts to notify; we store each contact's name and the details you provide (phone, email, relationship, and/or a LINE identifier). You must have each person's permission before adding them and sharing their information with us.
- The check-in you send — your status (e.g. "I'm safe"), the disaster type, and your location (latitude/longitude and/or nearest shelter) — is shared with those contacts.
- We deliver notifications through LINE, operated by LY Corporation, which processes the message and recipient identifier in order to deliver it. LINE's handling of that data is governed by LINE's own privacy policy.
- We keep a record of the check-ins you've sent until you delete them.
7.Legal bases for processing (GDPR/UK GDPR)
Most of our users live in Japan, where the APPI applies. Where the EU/UK GDPR also applies, we rely on these legal bases:
| Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Providing the Services you request | Performance of a contract |
| Personalization, security, and improving the Services | Legitimate interests |
| Using precise location | Your consent |
| Collecting and using health/medical or other sensitive information you provide | Your explicit consent (also "sensitive personal information" requiring prior consent under Japan's APPI) |
| Notifying your chosen contacts via Safety Check-in | Performance of a contract / your consent |
| Meeting legal and tax obligations | Legal obligation |
You can withdraw consent at any time without affecting prior processing.
9.Data retention
We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purposes above. Saved answers, profile data, emergency contacts, and Safety Check-in history are kept until you delete them or close your account. When you delete content or close your account, we delete the associated personal data within 30 days, except where we must keep certain records longer to meet legal obligations. Diagnostic and crash logs are kept for up to 90 days.
10.Security
We use technical and organizational measures — including encryption in transit — to protect your information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
11.Your rights & choices
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, port, or restrict use of your personal information, and to object to certain processing. Specifically:
- Japan (APPI): request disclosure, correction, or deletion of your retained personal data.
- EU/UK (GDPR): the rights listed above, plus the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.
- California (CCPA/CPRA): the right to know, delete, correct, and opt out of "sale"/"sharing" (we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined).
To exercise any right, email privacy@jpmate.app. You can also adjust permissions (location, camera) in your device settings, and edit or delete your profile, emergency contacts, and saved answers in the App.
12.International data transfers
We may process information in countries other than where you live, including the United States, where our AI providers in Section 4 operate. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses, and — for users in Japan — obtain consent or provide the information required under the APPI before transferring personal data outside Japan.
13.Children's privacy
JPMate is intended for adults and is not directed to anyone under 18 (see our Terms of Use). We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe someone under 18 has provided us data, contact us and we will delete it.
14.Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. We'll change the "Last updated" date above and, for material changes, provide a more prominent notice in the App or by email.
15.Contact us
Questions or requests? Email privacy@jpmate.app. A postal address is available on request and is listed with the app stores.
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