PRIVACY POLICY — SOUND METER
Effective date: November 2, 2026
App: Sound Meter (com.tahatec.soundmeter)
Developer: Tahatec
Contact:
support@tahatec.com
SUMMARY
Sound Meter uses your phone's microphone to measure the sound level around
you in decibels. The sound is analysed on your device as it arrives and is
immediately discarded: the app never records, stores, plays back or uploads
audio. The app has no accounts, no sign-in and no servers of its own; the
levels you measure, the sessions you save and the labels you give them stay
on your device. The network is used only for advertising, for the optional
push notifications, and for the anonymous usage and crash reports described
below.
1. MICROPHONE
- The app asks for the microphone permission (RECORD_AUDIO) because a sound
level meter cannot work without it. You can refuse it; the meter then
stays off.
- While the meter is on screen, the app reads short blocks of audio (a tenth
of a second each) and turns them into numbers: sound level, average,
maximum, peak and noise dose. Only these numbers are kept. The audio
itself is never written to storage, never sent anywhere and cannot be
listened to.
- The microphone is released whenever the app leaves the screen. The app
does not listen in the background, and the home-screen widget only shows
the last saved session; it never uses the microphone.
The app does not use the camera or your location.
2. INFORMATION THE APP STORES
Only on your device: the sessions you choose to save (sound levels, duration,
time, a level-over-time chart and an optional label), your calibration
offset, and your preferences (weighting, response time, exposure standard,
theme, language, keep-screen-on, notification choice). Exporting sessions as
CSV is always started by you and goes through the apps you choose; we never
receive a copy. Uninstalling the app deletes everything it stored.
3. ADVERTISING
The app shows ads served by Google AdMob, which may also use certified
mediation partners such as Meta Audience Network. When requesting and
showing ads, these partners may collect and process data on their own
behalf, such as your advertising ID, IP address, coarse location derived
from it, and device and diagnostic information. This is standard for
ad-supported apps and is governed by the partners' own policies:
- Google:
https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites
- Meta Audience Network:
https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy
Ad partners never receive microphone audio or your sound measurements.
In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and other regulated
regions, the app shows a consent form (Google's User Messaging Platform)
before any ad request is made, and you can change your choice at any time
under Settings → Privacy options inside the app. You can also reset your
advertising ID or opt out of ad personalisation in your device's Google
settings.
4. USAGE ANALYTICS AND CRASH REPORTS
The app uses Google Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics to learn
which features are used (for example that a session was saved, how long a
measurement ran, or which weighting was chosen) and to receive reports when
the app crashes. When you calibrate, the size of the correction (in dB,
rounded to a tenth) is reported, because it describes the phone's
microphone. These reports contain device and app information (model, OS
version, app version, a random installation identifier) but never audio, a
measured sound level, a saved session, a label or anything you typed.
Firebase's handling of this data is described at
https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy.
5. PUSH NOTIFICATIONS
If you allow notifications, the app registers with Firebase Cloud Messaging
so we can send occasional tips and update announcements. Registration
creates a device token held by Google; it is not linked to your identity and
we store no list of recipients. You can turn notifications off at any time
in your device's app settings. The prompt is shown only after you first
save a session, never on launch.
6. PERMISSIONS AT A GLANCE
- Microphone: to measure sound levels, as described in section 1.
- Internet: used by the advertising, consent form, analytics and
notifications described above. The app itself sends none of your
measurements anywhere.
- Notifications (Android 13 and later): requested only if you choose to
enable notifications.
- Keep screen on (wake lock): keeps the display awake while a measurement is
running, if you leave that setting on.
7. ACCURACY
Readings are estimates from a phone microphone and are not a substitute for
a calibrated sound level meter or for professional hearing-protection
advice.
8. CHILDREN
The app is a measurement utility, is not directed at children under 13, and
we knowingly collect no personal information from anyone, including children.
9. DATA DELETION
We hold no data about you, so there is nothing for us to delete: uninstalling
the app removes everything it stored on your device. Analytics and crash
data are held by Firebase under the policy linked in section 4, and
advertising data by the partners in section 3.
10. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
If this policy changes, the updated version will be published at the same
address with a new effective date. Material changes will be reflected in the
app's store listing.
11. CONTACT
Questions about this policy or the app:
support@tahatec.com