TTMIK Stories- Korean Graded Reading (‘https://ttmikstories.app’; hereinafter referred to as “TTMIK Stories’) establishes and discloses the following Privacy Policy to protect users’ personal information and enable prompt and smooth handling of related complaints in accordance with Article 30 of the Personal Information Protection Act.
- This Privacy Policy shall be effective from December 6, 2023
Article 1 (Purpose for Processing Personal Information)
TTMIK Stories will process personal information for the following purposes. The processed personal information will not be used for any purposes other than for the following purposes, and if the purpose of use is changed, necessary measures, such as obtaining separate consent will be taken in accordance with Article 18 of the Personal Information Protection Act.
- Sign-up and Account management
Personal information will be processed for the purposes of confirming intent of signing up for account, verifying and authenticating it’s identity for provision of TTMIK Stories services, maintaining and managing the registered status, preventing wrongful use of services, announcing various notices, and handling user complaints.
- Handling of user complaints
Personal information will be processed for the purposes of verifying the identification of petitioners, confirming details of the matter at issue, contacting and notifying for fact-finding, and notifying results of complaint processing.
- Provision of application and services
Personal information will be processed for the purposes of delivering products, providing services, sending contracts and invoices, providing contents, offering customized services, and processing payments and settlements.
- Utilization for service improvement, marketing, and advertising
The personal information will be processed for the purposes of developing new services (products) and providing customized services, providing information on events and promotional information, offering opportunities of participation, providing services and publishing advertisements based on demographic characteristics, verifying the effectiveness of services, and compiling statistics on access frequency and members’ usage of services.
Article 2 (Period of Processing and Retaining Personal Information)
① TTMIK Stories will process and retain personal information within the period required by law for retaining and using personal information, or within the period of retaining and using personal information consented by users at the time of collecting personal information.
② Period of processing and retaining personal information for each category is as follows:
- Signing up for registration and membership management – Until withdrawal of their registration, except for the following cases, where the processing and retention period shall be until the end of such cases:
- When an investigation or inquiry is in progress due to a violation of relevant laws and regulations: Until the end of such investigation or inquiry
- When there is a remaining obligation or debt related to the use of the application : Until the settlement of such obligation or debt
- Provision of services – Until the completion of provision of services and the completion of payment and settlement, except for the following cases, where the processing and retention period shall be until the end of such cases:
- Records on transactions such as disclosure and advertisement, contract details, and fulfillment in accordance with the Act on the Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, Etc.
- Records on disclosure and advertisement: 6 months
- Records on contract and withdrawal, payment, supply of goods, etc.: 5 years
- Records on consumer complaints and dispute resolution: 3 years
- When retaining communication confirmation data pursuant to the Protection of Communications Secrets Act
- Date of telecommunications by subscribers, commence and end time, subscriber number of the other party, location tracking data of a transmitting base station: 1 year
- Computer communications and internet log records data, location tracking data of connectors: 3 months
Article 3 (Personal Information Items to be Processed)
① TTMIK Stories handles the following personal information items:
- Signing up for membership and account management
- When using an email account: [Required] Email, password, name
- When using a Google account: [Required] Email [Optional] Family name, given name, When using a Facebook account: [Required] Email [Optional] First name, last name, When using an Apple account: [Optional] Email, first name, last name
- When making inquiries to customer service center
- [Required] Email, name
- Purchase and Refund
- [Required] Delivery information - Name, mobile phone number, [Required] Payment information - Name of purchased product, payment amount, card billing address
- [Required] Card information - Name of card company, card number (masked), expiration date, CVC, cardholder name
- [Required] Refund information - Bank name, account holder name, account number
Article 4 (Matters Concerning Processing of Personal Information of a Child Under the Age of 14)
① TTMIK Stories will not process personal information of a child under the age of 14.
Article 5 (Matters Concerning Provision of Personal Information to a Third Party)
① TTMIK Stories will not provide personal information to a third party, and when providing personal information to a third party, it will obtain separate consent before providing it.
Article 6 (Matters Concerning Outsourcing of Personal Information Processing)
① TTMIK Stories outsources personal information processing tasks as follows for smooth processing of personal information:
- Customer consultation service
- Entity outsourced (outsourcee): Freshdesk (Freshworks Inc.)
- Content of outsourced task: Handling customer complaints and inquiries
- Outsourcing period: Until membership withdrawal or termination of outsourcing contract
② When entering into an outsourcing contract, TTMIK Stories specifies in the contract the matters related to responsibilities, such as the prohibition of processing personal information for purposes other than for outsourced purposes, technical and managerial safeguards, restrictions on re-outsourcing, management and supervision of outsourcees, compensation for damages, in accordance with Article 26 of the Personal Information Protection Act, and is monitoring whether the outsourcees are safely processing personal information.
③ In case of a change in the contents of the outsourced task or the outsourcee, TTMIK Stories will promptly disclose it through this Privacy Policy.
Article 7 (Procedure and Method of Personal Information Deletion)
① TTMIK Stories will delete personal information without delay when the personal information becomes unnecessary with the expiration of retention period and achievement of the processing purposes.
② In cases where personal information must be retained in accordance with other laws despite the expiration of the retention period consented by users or the achievement of processing purposes, the relevant personal information will be moved to a separate database (DB) or preserved in a different location.
③ The procedure and method of personal information deletion are as follows:
1. Deletion procedure
TTMIK Stories selects the personal information that needs to be deleted and deletes it with the approval of a privacy officer of TTMIK Stories.
2. Deletion Method
Personal information printed on paper is deleted by shredding or incineration.
Personal information stored in electronic file format is deleted using technical methods that make it impossible to play the record back.
Article 8 (Measures for Deleting Personal Information of Dormant Users)
① TTMIK Stories converts users who have not used the service for 1 year into dormant accounts and stores their personal information separately. The separately stored personal information is deleted without delay after 1 year.
② TTMIK Stories informs users who are expected to become dormant members of the fact that their personal information will be stored separately, the expected date of dormancy, and the personal information items to be stored separately, through email, text message, or other means for notifying users, up to 30 days before the conversion to a dormant account.
③ If users do not want their accounts to be converted to dormant accounts, they can log into the service before the conversion. Additionally, even if the accounts have been converted to the dormant accounts, the dormant accounts can be restored according to the users’ consent when they log in, which will enable the users’ normal use of services.
Article 9 (Matters Concerning Rights and Obligations of Users and Legal Representatives and Exercising Methods)
① Users may, at any time, exercise their rights to access, correct, delete, and suspend processing of personal information against TTMIK Stories .
② The exercise of rights under Paragraph 1 may be made in writing, via email, facsimile transmission (FAX), or other methods prescribed in Article 41(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Personal Information Protection Act, and TTMIK Stories will take measures without delay.
③ The rights under Paragraph 1 may be exercised through a legal representative or a delegate who has been delegated by the user. In this case, the user must submit a power of attorney in accordance with the Appendix Form No.11 of the Public Notice on the Methods of Processing Personal Information (No.2020-7).
④ The right to request an access to and suspension of the processing of personal information may be restricted under Article 35(4) and Article 37(2) of the Personal Information Protection Act.
⑤ The request for correction or deletion of personal information cannot be made if the personal information is specified as an item to be collected under another law.
⑥ TTMIK Stories confirms whether a person who has requested an access, correction, deletion, or suspension of processing of personal information in accordance with user rights is a user or a duly authorized legal representative.
Article 10 (Measures for Ensuring Security of Personal Information)
TTMIK Stories takes the following measures to ensure the security of personal information:
- Managerial measures: establishment and implementation of an internal management plan, operation of an exclusive organization, regular employee training
- Technical measures: access control for personal information processing systems, installation of access control systems, encryption of personal information, installation and renewal of security programs
- Physical measures: access control for computer rooms, data storage rooms, etc.
Article 11 (Matters Concerning Installation, Operation, and Refusal of Devices That Automatically Collect Personal Information)
① TTMIK Stories uses ‘cookies’, which store and periodically retrieve user information to provide customized services to users.
② Cookies are small pieces of information sent by the server (http) that is used for operating the website to the user’s computer browser and can also be stored on the user’s PC hard disk.
A. Purpose of use of cookies: Cookies are used to provide optimized information to users by identifying the type of visit and usage in terms of each service and website used and visited by users, top searched words, and whether or not secure connection was used.
B. Installation, operation, and refusal of cookies: Users may refuse to store cookies by setting the options in the Tools>Internet Options>Privacy menu on the upper part of the web browser.
C. If cookies are refused, it may cause difficulties in using customized services.
Article 12 (Matters Concerning the Collection, Use, Provision, and Refusal of Behavioral Information)
① TTMIK Stories collects and uses behavioral information in order to provide optimized customized services, benefits, and online personalized advertising to users during the process of their use of services.
② TTMIK Stories collects the following behavioral information:
Items of Collected Behavioral Information | Method of Collecting Behavioral Information | Purpose of Collecting Behavioral Information | Retention and Usage Period and Disposal Method |
User’s app browsing history, purchase history | Automatically collected during the user’s visit to or running of the app | Collecting statistics for service improvement | To be deleted 1 year after collection |
③ TTMIK Stories allows online personalized advertising companies to collect and process behavioral information as follows:
- Advertising companies collecting and processing behavioral information: Google, Meta
- Method of collecting behavioral information: Automatically collected and transmitted when the user runs the app
- Items of behavioral information collected and processed: User’s app browsing history, purchase history
- Retention and usage period:
④ TTMIK Stories only collects the minimum level of behavioral information that is necessary for online personalized advertising and does not collect sensitive behavioral information that could clearly infringe upon an individual’s rights, interests, or privacy, such as ideas and beliefs, family and kinship relationships, education and medical history, and other social activity records.
⑤ TTMIK Stories does not collect behavioral information for personalized advertising purposes from online services that are primarily used by children under the age of 14 or identified to be under the age of 14, and does not provide personalized advertising to children identified to be under the age of 14.
⑥ TTMIK Stories collects and uses identifiers for advertisers for online personalized advertising in the mobile app. Users can block or allow personalized advertising in the app by changing the settings on their mobile devices.
- Blocking/allowing identifiers for advertisers on smartphones
- (Android) ① Settings → ② Privacy → ③ Ads → ③ Reset advertising ID or delete advertising ID
- (iPhone) ① Settings → ② Privacy → ③ Tracking → ④ Turn off ‘Allow Apps to Request to Track’
※ The menu and method may slightly vary depending on the mobile OS version.
⑦ Users can block or allow online personalized advertising in a lump by changing their web browser’s cookie settings. However, change of cookie settings may affect the use of some services, such as automatic login to the website.
- Blocking/allowing personalized ads through a web browser
1. Internet Explorer (Internet Explorer for Windows 10)
- Select the Tools button in Internet Explorer and select Internet Options.
- Select the Privacy tab, select Advanced in Settings, and then Select Block or Allow Cookies.
2. Microsoft Edge
- Click the ‘…’ icon on the top right corner of Edge and select Settings.
- Click the ‘Privacy, Search and Services’ on the left side of the Settings page and select the option and level of ‘tracking prevention’ in the [Tracking Prevention] section.
- Choose whether to always use “Strict” tracking prevention when searching with InPrivate.
- Select whether to send a “Do Not Track” request in the ‘Privacy’ section below.
3. Google Chrome
- Click the ‘⋮’ icon (Customize and control Google Chrome) on the top right corner of Chrome and select Settings.
- Click ‘Advanced’ at the bottom of the Settings page and click ‘Content settings’ in the [Privacy] section.
- Check the box for ‘Block third-party cookies and site data’ in the Cookies section.
⑧ Users can contact the following information for inquiries about behavioral information, the exercise of refusal rights, and reporting of damages related to personalized advertising.
- Personal information protection department
Department name: Customer Support Team
Person in charge: Customer Support Team
Contact: help@talktomeinkorean.com
Article 13 (Matters Concerning a Privacy Officer)
① TTMIK Stories has a designated privacy officer as follows, who will take responsibility for overall management of personal information processing and handle user complaints and damage relief related to the processing of personal information:
- ▶ Privacy Officer
- Name: Hyunwoo Sun
- Position: CEO
- Contact:02-326-5946, help@talktomeinkorean.com
※ You will be connected to the personal information protection department.
- ▶ Personal information protection department
- Department name: Customer Support Team
- Person in charge: Customer Support Team
- Contact : help@talktomeinkorean.com
② Users may contact the privacy officer or related department regarding any inquiries, complaints, or damage relief related to personal information protection that arise while using the services (or businesses) of TTMIK Stories . TTMIK Stories will promptly respond to the users’ inquiries.
Article 14 (Department for Receiving and Processing Requests for Access to Personal Information)
Users may make requests for access to personal information in accordance with Article 35 of the Personal Information Protection Act to the following department:
TTMIK Stories will make efforts to ensure that users’ requests for access to personal information are promptly processed.
- ▶ Department for receiving and processing requests for access to personal information
- Department name: Customer Support Team
- Person in charge: Customer Support Team
- Contact: help@talktomeinkorean.com
Article 15 (Remedies for Infringement of User’s Rights)
Users may apply for dispute resolution or consultation with the Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee, Korea Internet & Security Agency Personal Information Infringement Report Center, and other institutions to receive remedies for privacy infringement. For reporting or consulting on other privacy infringement, please contact the following institutions:
1. Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee: (without area code) 1833-6972 (www.kopico.go.kr)
2. Personal Information Infringement Report Center: (without area code) 118 (privacy.kisa.or.kr)
3. Supreme Prosecutors’ Office: (without area code) 1301 (www.spo.go.kr)
4. Korean National Police Agency: (without area code) 182 (ecrm.cyber.go.kr)
If a person who has suffered infringement of his/her rights or interests due to a disposition or omission made by the head of a public agency in response to his/her request made under Article 35 (Access to Personal Information), Article 36 (Rectification or Erasure of Personal Information), or Article 37 (Suspension of Processing of Personal Information), the user may file an administrative appeal pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative Appeals Act.
※ For more information on administrative appeals, please refer to the website of the Central Administrative Appeals Commission (www.simpan.go.kr).
Article 16 (Amendment to the Privacy Policy)
① This Privacy Policy shall be effective from December 6, 2023