Privacy Policy

Microphone and tuner

The app asks for microphone permission only when you open the tuner. To measure the pitch of your kalimba, the tuner processes very short slices of microphone sound (about a tenth of a second) on the device and discards them right away. Sound is never recorded or kept in files or logs, and it is never sent anywhere, including to ads or usage statistics. The microphone turns off as soon as you leave the tuner or the screen turns off. Without the permission you can still tune by ear with reference tones.

Your tabs

Tabs you create (title, tempo, notes and beats, and when they were created or edited) are stored only in the app's storage on this device and never sent to a server.

Saving and sharing tabs, backup files

When you save or share a tab as an image or PDF, or make a backup file, you choose where it goes; the app never sends it anywhere itself. Images and PDFs are kept briefly in the app cache and deleted the next time you open the app. Importing a backup only reads the file you pick on the device and sends nothing.

What stays on your device

Besides your tabs, the app stores settings such as the number of keys, notation and sound pack, the sound packs you unlocked, which keys you have tuned, a draft of the tab you are editing, and the dates and count of full-screen ads shown.

Android backup

So they follow you to a new device, your tabs and settings are included in Android Auto Backup. If device backup is on, they are stored encrypted in your Google account and we cannot see them. You can turn this off in Android Settings > Google > Backup.

Accounts

There are no accounts. We never ask for an email address or phone number, and there is no sign-in or sign-up. There is no payment feature in the app, and every included song is free.

Ads

This app is supported by ads served by Google AdMob. In the process, Google collects your advertising ID (AAID), IP address, device information, and ad-related usage (how often ads were shown or tapped). Your IP address may be used to estimate a rough, country-level location. Microphone sound and your tabs are never used for ads or sent to Google. Ads are limited to the Teen (T) content rating. See Google's policy at policies.google.com/technologies/ads.

When you see ads

Playing, the tuner, viewing and listening to tabs, playing along and making your own tabs have no ads. A full-screen ad may appear when you go back to the list after playing a song all the way through; once shown it will not appear again for 3 minutes, and no more than 4 times a day. One ad is shown when you save or share a tab as an image or PDF, and you are told before you tap. If the ad cannot load or you skip waiting, you continue without it. A sound pack stays unlocked on this device after you watch one ad to the end; if the ad cannot load, you can unlock it later. A small banner sits below the song list only, never on the play, tuner or settings screens.

Turning off personalized ads

In Android Settings > Privacy > Ads you can delete your advertising ID or turn off personalization. Ads will still appear, but they will not be personalized.

Permissions

The app uses the microphone (tuner only), the internet connection and the advertising ID. Internet and the advertising ID are used to load ads and send usage statistics. It does not ask for camera, photo, storage, contacts, location or notification access. Tab images, PDFs and backup files are written only where you choose in the Android save dialog.

Usage statistics

To improve the app and place ads sensibly, we collect usage statistics with Google Analytics for Firebase: how often and how long the app is used, which features are used (for example, playing, tuning a key, listening to or playing along with a song, making or saving a tab, unlocking a sound pack), whether microphone permission was declined, whether an ad notice was shown and the ad watched to the end, ad impressions, device model, OS version, app version, country and language, plus a random per-install identifier and your advertising ID. Sound, pitch values, and the content or titles of your tabs are not sent. We also use Firebase Remote Config to change ad settings without an app update, which sends the app version, OS version, country and language. In the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland, nothing that identifies your device is stored unless you consent.

Third parties

Apart from Google AdMob and Google Analytics for Firebase (see Usage statistics) we use no other analytics or crash reporting, and no external service can hear the microphone or see your tabs.

Children

Kalimba Tuner & Tabs is not directed at children under 13, because Google AdMob collects an advertising ID, IP address and device information when ads are shown. Ads are limited to the Teen (T) rating.

Included songs

Included songs are public-domain melodies or traditional folk songs that we transcribed for the kalimba ourselves. No lyrics are included.

Deleting your data

You can delete your tabs one by one in the app. Uninstalling removes tabs, settings and cache. Copies in Auto Backup can be deleted in Android Settings > Google > Backup. Backup files, images and PDFs you saved must be deleted where you saved them. We keep no copy on our servers (an Android Auto Backup copy may remain in your Google account). You can delete your advertising ID yourself in Android Settings > Privacy > Ads.

There is nothing for us to delete

This app has no server holding your data. Tabs on your device disappear when you delete them in the app or uninstall, and backups and your advertising ID are held by Google, so we can neither look them up nor delete them. Questions: dev@indieway.xyz

Changes and contact

If this policy changes we will update this page with a new date. Contact: dev@indieway.xyz