Jon&Coo ("we", "us", or "the Company") respects the privacy of users ("you") of the J-Times media platform ("the Service"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information in compliance with Japan's Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI), the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and other applicable laws.
1. Data Controller
Company: Jon&Coo
Address: Shinjuku Park Tower 30F, 3-7-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan
Email: office@jonandcoo.org
Phone: +81-80-5060-5588 (Weekdays 9:00â18:00 JST)
2. Scope
This Policy applies to all services provided through the J-Times website (j-times.org) and the J-Times iOS app, including article reading, podcast listening, video viewing, bookmarks, likes, comments (website), premium content (website), and the MTC reward system. Where something applies only to the website or only to the app, the relevant section says so.
3. Information We Collect
3.1 Information You Provide
- Account Information: Name, email address, password (stored as a hash), profile image. When you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive your name, email address (including Apple's "Hide My Email" relay address), and an account identifier from that provider.
- Content Activity: Bookmarks, likes, playback position, viewing history
- Voice Search (iOS app): Only while you hold the microphone button, your speech is converted to text and used as a search query. Recognition is performed by Apple's speech recognition; we do not store recordings.
- Payment Information (website only): Payment method for premium plans, billing address (card numbers are never stored on our servers)
- Communications: Inquiries, feedback
3.2 Information Collected Automatically
- Technical Data: IP address, browser or app version, OS, device model
- Usage Data: Article views, podcast play time, video watch time, access timestamps
- Location Data: Approximate location derived from IP address (we do not use device GPS)
- Cookies & Identifiers: Session cookies (website), authentication tokens, and a push notification device token (iOS app, only if you allow notifications). We do not collect advertising identifiers such as the IDFA.
- Crash & Error Reports (iOS app): When the app hits an error, it sends the error type, where it occurred, and the app version to our own servers. Article content and anything you type are not included.
4. Purposes of Processing
- Content delivery, personalization, and recommendations
- Account management and authentication
- Premium plan management (website only)
- Podcast/video playback progress, bookmarks, and likes
- MTC reward system operation (points based on listening completion rate)
- Push notifications about new content (you can turn these off in your OS settings at any time)
- Customer support and inquiry handling
- Service improvement, usage analysis, and feature development
- Fraud detection, prevention, and security
- Legal compliance, exercise or defense of legal rights
We do not use personal information for advertising and do not share it with advertisers.
5. Legal Basis (for EEA/UK Users)
- Performance of Contract: Content delivery, premium service provision (website)
- Legitimate Interests: Service improvement, fraud prevention, recommendations
- Legal Obligation: Tax and accounting compliance
- Consent: Marketing notifications, push notifications, non-essential cookies (website)
6. Payment Processing
Premium plan payments on the website are processed by Stripe, Inc. Sensitive payment data is never stored on our servers; we only receive transaction results.
The J-Times iOS app contains no paid items, subscriptions, or in-app purchases.
7. Third-Party Sharing
- Payment Processing (website only): Stripe
- Cloud Infrastructure: Railway (servers), Vercel (frontend)
- Media Delivery: Cloudinary (image/video optimization)
- Article Narration: ElevenLabs (generates spoken audio of articles; only the article text is sent, never personal data)
- Sign-In: Apple (Sign in with Apple), Google (Google Sign-In)
- Push Notifications & Speech Recognition (iOS app): Apple
- Analytics (website only): Google Analytics (anonymized). The iOS app does not send data to Google Analytics or any third-party analytics service.
- Email Delivery: Mailgun
- Legal Requests: Court orders, lawful government requests
8. International Data Transfers
Your data may be processed outside Japan (e.g., United States). We implement appropriate safeguards (Standard Contractual Clauses, etc.).
9. Data Retention
- Account Data: Deleted when you delete your account; backups are purged within 30 days
- Transaction Records (website): Up to 7 years as required by law
- Content Usage Logs: Up to 24 months
- Access Logs: Up to 12 months
10. Security
- Encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+)
- Password hashing
- HttpOnly / Secure / SameSite cookie management (website); authentication tokens kept in the iOS Keychain (app)
- Role-based access control (minimum privilege)
- Regular vulnerability assessments
11. Cookies & Tracking
11.1 Essential Cookies (website)
Required for authentication and service operation. Cannot be disabled.
11.2 Analytics Cookies (website)
Used for anonymous usage analysis via Google Analytics. Can be disabled via browser settings.
11.3 iOS App
The J-Times iOS app does not track you, does not collect the advertising identifier (IDFA), and shows no ads, so it never asks for App Tracking Transparency (ATT) permission. In-app activity logs stay on your device and are not sent to third parties.
12. Your Rights
- Right of Access: Request disclosure of your personal data
- Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate data
- Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your data
- Right to Restriction: Request limitation of processing
- Right to Data Portability: Receive data in machine-readable format
- Right to Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
- Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent at any time
Account deletion is available to you at any time from the iOS app (Profile âş Account Management âş Delete Account) or from the website settings. If you signed in with Apple or Google, no password is required.
For any other request, contact office@jonandcoo.org. We respond within 30 days.
13. Children's Privacy
The Service is not intended for children under 16. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 16, we will promptly delete it.
14. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Policy. Material changes will be communicated through the Service or email.
15. Contact Us
Jon&Coo â Privacy Office (Responsible Person: Ko Takahashi)
Shinjuku Park Tower 30F, 3-7-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan
Email: office@jonandcoo.org
Phone: +81-80-5060-5588 (Weekdays 9:00â18:00 JST)