Effective April 2026
What SoundSense does with audio
SoundSense listens to audio only while it is running and only to classify sounds for you. Your phone captures short audio buffers in memory, runs them through an on-device sound classifier, and then discards the audio.
We do not record audio to disk. We do not upload audio to any server. We do not include audio in crash reports. You can verify this by putting your phone in airplane mode. SoundSense keeps working.
The machine learning model ships with the app. It never needs the network to do its job.
What we collect
Only what is needed to make the app work for you.
- Your email and account info: when you sign up, we store your email and optional display name so you can use the app and restore your setup on a new phone. We use it to keep your account working. We do not sell it. We do not share it with advertisers.
- Your sound settings: the names and urgency levels of the sounds you configure back up to your account so you do not lose them if you switch devices. Your audio and the patterns used to recognize your custom sounds stay on your phone.
- Crash reports: opt-in. If you turn this on, we receive anonymized technical information about crashes so we can fix bugs. No audio, no transcripts.
- Anonymous usage metrics: opt-in. Counts of how many times the app was opened, which screens were viewed. No individually identifying data, no content.
That is the full list. No advertising profiles, no tracking identifiers, no audio, no transcripts.
What we do not collect
- Audio, ever, for any reason
- Transcripts or text derived from audio
- Sound fingerprints you train. Those stay on your device
- Your location, unless you explicitly enable the optional context mode that uses it for home vs. city classification
- Your contacts, your calendar, your photos, your health data
- Tracking identifiers shared with advertisers. We have no advertisers
Third parties
There are very few.
- Apple: the app lives on the App Store and uses standard iOS services. Apple's privacy policy applies to those interactions.
- Authentication and account hosting: we use a reputable provider to handle sign-in and store your account and sound settings. They never receive audio. For the full vendor list, email privacy@soundsense.app and we will send the current legal privacy policy.
- Analytics and crash-reporting: only if you opt in, and only to receive the non-identifying data described above.
We do not sell, rent, or share your data with advertisers, data brokers, or marketing partners. We do not have any.
Your rights
You can ask us what we have about you, correct it, or ask us to delete it. Because we collect so little, the answer is usually "almost nothing" or "only your email, which we will delete." Either way, email privacy@soundsense.app and we will handle it within 30 days.
If you are in the EU, UK, California, or another jurisdiction with additional privacy rights, those rights apply to your interaction with SoundSense. Email us to exercise them.
Children
SoundSense is rated 4+. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child under 13 has created an account, email us and we will delete it. Crash reports and usage metrics are opt-in for every user.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy in a way that meaningfully affects your data, we will email you if we have your email, update the effective date above, and post a summary of what changed. Ongoing use after a material change means you accept the updated policy.
Contact
Questions, corrections, deletion requests, or a curious "wait, really?":
Your audio stays on your device. Your account stores your email and the names of your sounds so the app works across phones. We do not sell data. We do not show ads. Email us to see, export, or delete anything we have.