Privacy Policy

Overview

Sound Cottage is a soundboard app for iPhone and Mac. It works entirely on your device: there are no accounts to create, no developer-run servers, and no third-party services. The only systems the app ever talks to are Apple's — for purchases you make and, only if you turn it on, your own iCloud. This policy explains, plainly, what that means for your data.

Information the developer collects

None. Sound Cottage contains no analytics, no tracking, no advertising, and no developer-operated backend. The developer has no way to see who uses the app, what anyone plays, records, or imports, or any other personal information. The app's App Store privacy label is "Data Not Collected."

Microphone and your recordings

The app asks for microphone access only when you first tap record, and uses it only while you are recording a sound. Recordings are saved on your device and never leave it unless you share them or turn on iCloud sync (both described below). Denying microphone access disables recording; the rest of the app works normally.

Imported files

Audio files you import — and, with Pro, video files you extract audio from — are processed entirely on your device. The original file is not uploaded anywhere; the resulting sound is stored locally like a recording.

iCloud sync (optional, Pro)

If you enable the iCloud sync toggle, your own sounds are synced across your devices through your personal iCloud account, using Apple's CloudKit private database. That data is visible only to your Apple Account — never to the developer, and never to other users. It counts against your own iCloud storage. Sync is off by default; turning it off stops syncing, and sounds you delete in the app are removed from your iCloud copy as well. How Apple handles iCloud data is described in Apple's privacy policy.

Purchases

Sound Cottage Pro is bought through Apple's App Store (StoreKit). Apple processes the payment and manages subscriptions and trials; the developer never receives your name, payment details, or Apple Account information. The app only checks, on the device, whether a valid purchase exists so it can unlock Pro features.

Notifications

Break reminders are optional and off by default. If you enable them, the app asks for notification permission and schedules local notifications on your device. There is no push server — nothing about your notifications ever travels over the network.

Sharing sounds

Sharing uses the standard system share sheet and happens only when you choose it. A shared sound is an ordinary audio file that goes directly to the person or app you pick — it is not routed through any service of the developer's.

Data stored on your device

Sound Cottage keeps its data locally so everything works offline:

• Your sound library — recordings, imports, and received sounds
• App settings (theme, sleep-timer and break-reminder preferences, favorites, sound order)
• Small housekeeping counters, such as how often the app may ask you for a rating

This data is protected by the device's built-in encryption at rest and is removed when you delete the app. If you used iCloud sync, your synced sounds also live in your private iCloud until you delete them in the app or remove the app's data in your iCloud settings.

Third parties

Sound Cottage contains no third-party code at all — no analytics or advertising SDKs, no data brokers, no "partners." Apart from Apple's own system services (the App Store and your iCloud), it makes no network connections.

Children's privacy

Sound Cottage is not directed at children under 13 and collects no personal information from anyone, children included.

Changes to this policy

If this policy ever changes — for example, if a future feature works differently — the update will be published on this page and the "last updated" date above will change.

Contact

Questions about privacy, or anything else? Email soundcottage@snate.art.