Official Policy

Privacy Policy

Last Updated & Effective Date: November 9, 2026

Welcome to Sound Meter ("we", "our", or "us"). We are committed to safeguarding your privacy and ensuring transparency in how our application functions. This Privacy Policy details the types of information we handle, how your device microphone is utilized, and your rights under global privacy laws including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), and Google Play Developer Policies.

Key Privacy Assurance: Sound Meter processes audio strictly in real-time within volatile device memory (RAM) to calculate decibel levels. We do not record, store, transcribe, or transmit your voice or background audio under any circumstances.

1. Microphone Usage & Audio Data Processing

Sound Meter requires access to your device's microphone (android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO) to function as a sound level meter and acoustic analyzer:

Volatile Memory Only: Audio waveforms are sampled solely to perform Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT) and RMS digital signal processing algorithms to compute sound pressure levels (dB SPL).
No Audio Recording: Raw audio samples are instantly discarded after decibel calculation. No audio files (MP3, WAV, AAC, etc.) are ever created or written to device storage.
Zero Voice or Speech Recognition: We do not analyze speech, spoken words, biometric voiceprints, or conversational context.
No Audio Uploads: No audio data is ever transmitted across the internet to our servers or any third-party infrastructure.

2. Data Stored Locally on Your Device

When you use the app, the following non-audio measurement records are stored locally in an encrypted/sandboxed SQLite (Room) database on your phone:

Acoustic Statistical Metadata: Minimum dB, Average dB, Maximum Peak dB, and Equivalent Continuous Sound Level (Leq).
Session Information: Measurement start time, elapsed duration, and user-defined session titles and notes.
Downsampled Timeline Points: Numerical decibel values over time used to display live charts.
Preferences & Calibration: Calibration offset adjustment, noise warning thresholds, and theme preferences.

You retain 100% control over this data. You can export it as a CSV file or delete all saved measurements at any time directly in the app via Settings → Clear All Saved Measurements.

3. Third-Party Services & Advertising

To support free development and continuous updates, Sound Meter integrates certified third-party advertising and consent management SDKs provided by Google LLC:

Service	Provider	Purpose & Data Collected
Google AdMob	Google LLC	Displays adaptive banners, contextual interstitials, native ads, and opt-in rewarded videos. Collects advertising identifiers (Google Advertising ID / GAID), coarse location / IP address, device specifications, and ad performance metrics.
Google User Messaging Platform (UMP)	Google LLC	Certified Consent Management Platform (CMP) that collects and manages user privacy choices in the European Economic Area (EEA), UK, and applicable US states.

Google's handling of ad data is governed by the Google Privacy & Terms for Advertising and Google Privacy Policy.

4. 24-Hour Ad-Free Pass

Sound Meter offers an optional 24-Hour Ad-Free Pass. By voluntarily viewing a single sponsored video, ad serving is disabled across the entire app for 24 hours. The expiration timestamp is stored exclusively in on-device local storage (Jetpack DataStore) and is not linked to your personal identity.

5. GDPR Compliance (EEA & UK Users)

If you reside in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom, you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including:

Consent Management: You have the right to accept, reject, or customize personalized advertising preferences via the Google UMP consent banner presented upon first launch.
Consent Revocation: You can reset or adjust your advertising consent preferences at any time by clearing the app data or resetting your Google Advertising ID in Android System Settings.
Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): Because all acoustic data is saved locally on your device, deleting sessions inside the app immediately and permanently purges all data.

6. CCPA / CPRA Compliance (California Residents)

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA):

We do not sell your personal information or audio data.
Third-party advertisers (Google AdMob) may collect device identifiers to serve tailored ads, which may be deemed a "sale" or "sharing" under California law. You can opt out of cross-context behavioral advertising through your device's Settings → Google → Ads → Delete advertising ID.

7. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

Sound Meter is a general-audience acoustic utility app and is not directed at children under the age of 13 (or under 16 in the European Union). We do not knowingly collect personal identifiable information from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information to third-party ad networks through our app, please contact us to request prompt removal.

8. Security Safeguards

We prioritize the security of your device. Sound Meter executes audio calculations strictly within the sandboxed Android runtime. We implement industry-standard best practices, minimize third-party dependencies, and avoid external network requests outside of official Google Play Services ad serving and consent management.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy periodically to reflect app enhancements, SDK updates, or statutory requirements. When revisions occur, the updated policy will be posted on this page with a revised "Last Updated" date.

10. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

Developer: Sound Meter Development Team
Email: support@codingmstr.com
Application: Sound Meter (Package: com.codingmstr.soundmeter)