Privacy policy

Who is responsible?

Local sounds and device permissions

Your local boards, recordings, imported audio, trims and widget settings are stored in app-owned files and a local database. Ordinary offline playback does not upload recordings or contact YouTube. The microphone is used when you choose Record; recording stops when you leave the app or reach five minutes. File access is through your chosen files. Sharing sends the selected audio or video to the app or recipient you choose, under that service’s terms.

Local data is processed to provide the features you request (GDPR Article 6(1)(b)). Microphone permission is controlled in your device settings. Removing the app removes its local application data; copies you exported or saved elsewhere remain there.

Optional account and cloud backup

If you create or use an account, Firebase Authentication processes your email, display name, account identifier, email/password credentials or Google or Apple sign-in information, and session tokens. Password authentication is handled by Firebase. We use this information to verify identity, protect private data and operate your account.

Sign in with Apple is optional on iOS. Apple verifies your Apple Account and provides an account identifier, a signed authentication token and, when you first authorize access, your chosen email address. You can choose Apple’s private relay address instead of sharing your personal email. We do not request your name from Apple. When you delete an Apple-linked account in the app, we ask you to confirm with Apple again so that we can revoke the authorization before deleting your Soundbites account. See Apple’s Sign in with Apple privacy information.

Cloud backup sends the audio and board/pad information you select, including names, clip references, edits, content hashes and operation identifiers. Data is associated with your account so it can be restored. These functions are provided at your request (Article 6(1)(b)). You can use local soundboards without cloud backup.

Publication, reports and blocking

Publishing sends a separate copy, its display information and usage terms for moderation. An approved pack becomes public and can be copied by others. Reports, moderation decisions and block preferences are processed to operate the service, address abuse and protect users (Articles 6(1)(b) and 6(1)(f)). Public copies already independently saved or exported by others cannot be recalled by deleting your original.

Purchases

Your device’s store processes payment information. Soundbites uses product identifiers and verified purchase/entitlement information to enable Pro and restore access (Article 6(1)(b)). We do not receive your payment-card number through the app’s purchase code. Apple or Google processes store-account and billing information under its own privacy policy. Cancelling a subscription is separate from deleting a Soundbites account.

Optional YouTube playback

In the app, YouTube thumbnails and players stay off until you allow YouTube once on this device. This choice is saved locally and can be withdrawn in Settings → Privacy. Without permission, YouTube playback is unavailable. The app uses YouTube’s privacy-enhanced embedded player in an isolated, non-persistent WebView session, without sharing the app’s cookie store. On this website, demo thumbnails are hosted by Soundbites; clicking a YouTube video loads the embedded player directly. Google states that these embedded views are not used to personalize the YouTube browsing experience or advertising outside this app, and ads shown in this mode are non-personalized.

This does not mean no data is processed. YouTube receives your IP address, device/browser and playback information and may process approximate location, identifiers, interactions, advertising and diagnostic information for playback, security, measurement and non-personalized advertising. This connection is optional and starts with your choice (Article 6(1)(a)); close the player to stop playback and future requests from that player. In the app, turn off YouTube in Settings → Privacy to stop future thumbnail and player loads. Processing already carried out is not undone. See Google’s privacy policy and YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode explanation.

Website, security and providers

If you contact support@soundbites.wtf or privacy@soundbites.wtf, ALL-INKL.COM hosts the mailbox. We process your address, message, attachments and correspondence to answer your request, handle account matters and meet legal obligations (Articles 6(1)(b), 6(1)(c) and 6(1)(f)). Please send only information needed for your request. Correspondence is retained while needed to resolve the matter and satisfy applicable retention obligations. See ALL-INKL.COM’s privacy information.

Vercel hosts the website and API. Google/Firebase provides authentication, database services and historical media storage; Cloudflare R2 stores current private audio objects. The current R2 audio store is in the EU, but this is not a promise that all provider processing takes place only in the EU. Provider affiliates and subprocessors may process information in other countries, including the US, using applicable transfer safeguards such as adequacy decisions and standard contractual clauses.

Requests can produce hosting/security logs with IP address, request and technical diagnostic information. Rate controls use a hashed network identity and counters; a hash is not a guarantee of anonymity. Security records and durable operation proofs prevent abuse and duplicate actions (Article 6(1)(f): protecting users, service availability and costs). Soundbites does not include an advertising SDK or sell your cloud recordings. The optional YouTube player has its own processing described above.

The website and authentication use functional session and local-storage data needed for sign-in and requested features. This site does not add optional marketing analytics. Provider privacy information: Firebase, Cloudflare, Vercel.

Retention and deletion

Cloud account and content data is kept while needed to provide your account and selected backups, until you delete the content/account or a moderation decision requires removal. Request-budget records expire. Compact completion records may remain while needed to prevent duplicate operations; they are capacity limited and are not a second audio archive. Relevant records may be retained where legal obligations, security investigations or legal claims require it, with access limited to those purposes.

Account deletion removes or reconciles the account’s cloud records and objects through a deletion workflow; it does not erase independent copies held by others. Local soundboards remain on your devices. Provider logs, security/recovery copies and records required by law can have different retention periods. Contact us for information about a particular record. We do not automatically delete existing user audio merely because a storage capacity limit is reached.

Your choices and rights

Where GDPR applies, you can request access, correction, deletion, restriction and portability, and object to processing based on legitimate interests. You may withdraw consent for future processing without affecting the lawfulness of earlier processing. Contact privacy@soundbites.wtf; we may need to verify account ownership. You can also complain to a data protection authority, including the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information.

To delete your account, use Account in the app or the account page. You can choose not to use cloud backup or YouTube, revoke device permissions, and manage subscriptions through your store. Soundbites is not directed to children; follow the age rating shown by your store. We do not use your account or audio for automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects.