Privacy Policy

Layers is a software tool for teachers, presenters, and business professionals, built and maintained by Peter Hoang, based in Japan. It consists of three products: the Layers Windows app (a floating toolbar for teachers), the Layers Student Chrome Extension (a browser toolbar for students), and Layers Talk SOHO (a two-way translation tool for in-person business meetings, also a Windows app).

If you have any questions about this policy, you can reach us at [email protected].

The Layers Windows app runs entirely on your own computer. It does not create an account, does not require a login, and does not send personal information to any server.

The only data it stores is saved locally on your own device:

• Room codes you've saved for quick access to your classroom connection
• Your class lists (student names or numbers you enter for the random picker)
• A PIN code if you choose to set one — stored only on your device
• Your toolbar size and language settings

License verification. When you activate Layers with your Gumroad license key, the app sends your license key and a hashed machine fingerprint (a SHA-256 hash derived from your Windows MachineGuid — not your name, email, or any personal detail) to Gumroad's API to confirm the key is valid. This fingerprint is used only to bind the license to your device. It is stored locally alongside your license key and is never shared further.

When you use the classroom connection feature (Sync), the app communicates with a secure cloud service to send instructions to connected students. This connection uses a room code — no names, email addresses, or personal details are ever sent. See Section 4 for more details on this.

When you use the speech translation feature, your microphone audio is processed by Google's speech recognition service. Audio is sent to Google's servers to be converted to text — it is not stored or recorded by Layers. Please refer to Google's Privacy Policy for details on how Google handles speech data.

When you use the dictionary or synonym panel, the word or phrase you type is sent to the Free Dictionary API (dictionaryapi.dev) to retrieve definitions. Layers does not store these requests.

Layers Talk SOHO is the most private product in the Layers family. It runs entirely offline except for the speech recognition and translation services it uses in real time.

Here is what SOHO does during a meeting:

• Microphone audio from both participants is sent to Google's speech recognition service to convert speech to text — one phrase at a time, only while the talk button is held
• The recognised text is sent to Google Translate to produce a translation — also one phrase at a time
• A transcript of the conversation (original speech + translation, with timestamps) is kept in memory only for the duration of the session

Audio is not recorded or stored by Layers. It is processed in real time, converted to text, and discarded. Please refer to Google's Privacy Policy for details on how Google handles speech and translation data.

No settings, no files, and no user data are written to disk by Layers Talk SOHO unless you explicitly export a transcript.

The Layers Student Extension is designed to be as private as possible. It does not require an account, does not track browsing history, and does not collect any personally identifiable information.

Here is what the extension does and doesn't do:

• It saves your language preferences locally in your browser — these never leave your device
• Your notepad content is saved locally in your browser — it is never uploaded anywhere
• If you join a teacher's classroom, the extension sends a small anonymous heartbeat signal every 15 seconds so the teacher can see how many students are connected. This signal contains no name, no account, and no personal information — just a random session ID
• If your teacher activates Focus Mode or blocks sites, the extension receives those instructions via your room code connection

When you use the translation or dictionary feature, the text you highlight is sent to Google Translate to fetch a translation. This is the same service you use when you visit translate.google.com. Layers does not store or log these requests. Please refer to Google's Privacy Policy for details.

The classroom connection feature allows a teacher's Windows app to send instructions — such as Focus Mode on/off, blocked sites, a PIN, or a link to open — to connected student extensions in real time.

This works through a secure cloud database (Google Firebase), hosted in Asia. Here is exactly what is stored there, and for how long:

• A room entry identified only by the room code — no names attached
• The room's display name and a hashed password (written once when the room is created, and retained permanently so the room code can be reused across lessons)
• The current state of Focus Mode (on or off)
• The list of blocked sites the teacher has set
• A hashed (scrambled) version of the PIN, if one is set — the actual PIN is never stored
• A count of connected students, using anonymous session IDs only
• URLs the teacher pushes to students — stored temporarily so all connected students can receive them

The teacher's active session closes automatically after 45 minutes of inactivity. Student session data expires when they leave the room or close their browser. If you want a room permanently deleted from Firebase, contact us and we will remove it promptly.

Layers uses the following third-party services. Each has its own privacy policy:

• Google Speech Recognition — used for live speech-to-text in the teacher app and Layers Talk SOHO. Google Privacy Policy →
• Google Translate — used to translate text in all three products. Google Privacy Policy →
• Google Firebase Realtime Database — used for the classroom connection feature (teacher app and student extension only; Layers Talk SOHO does not use Firebase). Data is stored in the Asia Southeast region. Firebase Privacy Policy →
• Gumroad — used to sell and verify licenses for the teacher app. When you purchase or activate a license, Gumroad receives your payment and contact details. Layers only contacts Gumroad to verify your license key — it does not share any student or classroom data with Gumroad. Gumroad Privacy Policy →
• Free Dictionary API (dictionaryapi.dev) — used in the teacher app's dictionary and synonym panel. Words you look up are sent to this service to retrieve definitions. dictionaryapi.dev →

Layers does not use any advertising networks, analytics platforms, or tracking services. No data is ever sold to third parties.

Layers is designed for use in educational settings and may be used by students of all ages, including children under 13.

We take this seriously. The student extension does not collect names, email addresses, photos, or any personally identifiable information from students of any age. Students do not create accounts. The only data associated with a student session is an anonymous, randomly generated ID that exists only for the duration of the classroom session.

If you are a parent or school administrator with questions or concerns about how Layers handles student data, please contact us at [email protected].

The Layers Student Extension requests the following browser permissions, and here is exactly why each one is needed:

• Read and change data on websites you visit — this is required to inject the toolbar onto the page and to enable translation of page content. The extension does not read, log, or transmit the content of pages you visit.
• Storage — used to save your language preferences and notepad content locally in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server.
• Microphone (optional) — only requested if you use the push-to-talk translation feature in the student toolbar. Audio is processed by Google Speech Recognition and is not stored by Layers.

Because Layers does not collect personal information, there is very little data to manage. However, you have full control over anything stored locally:

• Your notepad, language preferences, and saved room codes can be cleared at any time from within the app or by uninstalling it
• Class lists stored on the teacher's PC can be deleted at any time from within the app
• Uninstalling the Windows app removes all locally stored data
• Removing the Chrome extension clears all locally stored extension data

If you believe any data related to you is held somewhere and would like it removed, contact us at [email protected] and we will address it promptly.

If this policy changes in a meaningful way, the updated version will be posted at this URL with a new "last updated" date at the top. We will not reduce your privacy protections without clear notice.

For significant changes — particularly any that affect how student data is handled — we will make reasonable efforts to notify users directly.