Privacy Policy

What we collect

We collect three kinds of information: what you tell us, what the app records as you use it, and what your device reports automatically. We do not buy information about you from anyone else.

New accounts and abuse checks

When you create an account we record a random install id, a hashed Android device id (not the Advertising ID), and the network address of the request. After you delete an account we may keep a fingerprint of the email so a later signup can be held for review. We use Google Play Integrity on create, and Google reCAPTCHA when volume from the same phone or network is high. These checks are not advertising. Extra free-tier accounts from one device may get a smaller Aether allowance or wait for a person to approve the signup.

Sign-in with Google, Apple, Facebook, or Microsoft

You can create an account with email and password, or by tapping a provider. We never receive your provider password. We use what they send only to create or link your Any Audio Guide account and, if they send a photo, to show it on your profile. We do not import contacts, calendars, or location from those providers, and we do not post on your behalf.

• Google - name, email, optional profile photo.
• Apple - name if you share it, and email (Apple may give us a Hide My Email relay instead of your real address).
• Facebook - name, email, optional profile photo. Meta may receive limited technical data as described in their policy; we send them the token needed to confirm it is you.
• Microsoft - name, email, optional profile photo (work or personal account).

You can disconnect a provider in Profile after you have a password or another way in. Deleting the Any Audio Guide account does not delete your Google, Apple, Facebook, or Microsoft account.

Location

A guide that does not know where you are cannot tell you what you are looking at. With your permission we read approximate and/or precise location while you use the app (the usual phone permission - we do not ask for “Allow all the time” / background location).

We use location when GPS for guides is on in Settings (it defaults on until you turn it off) and the system has granted location access, and either a tour is active or you have turned on optional live location share. We use it for approach and point-of-interest alerts, to decide which stop you have reached, and for guide context. You can refuse the system permission, turn GPS for guides off, or revoke location in your phone settings; you can still mark stops as arrived manually.

After you open a tour (or enable live share) in Any Audio Guide, a location foreground service may keep reading your position while you switch to navigation, music, messaging, or another app - or with the screen off - only while that tour or live share stays active. You will see an ongoing notification (for example “Tour GPS on”) you can tap to return to the app. When the tour ends, you turn GPS for guides off, or you dismiss that session so the notification is gone, we stop this continuous reading. We do not track you after that.

On a shared or broadcast tour you may optionally share your live location with members of that tour. Sharing is off by default until you allow it; turning it off stops sending updates. That control is separate from GPS for guides.

Voice and recordings

When you speak to your guide, speech is often converted to text on your device. When on-device transcription is not enough, a short audio recording is sent to our speech provider so we can produce text for the guide. We do not use your voice for advertising. Photos and notes you attach to a tour stay in your account and are never used to train models. Optional longer retention of voice clips for product improvement is described under Helping improve the service.

Helping improve the service

If you choose Use my activity to help improve the service at registration or in Settings, we may keep guide voice clips and related request logs longer so we can debug and improve the product (for example speech detection and guide quality). This is separate from Firebase Analytics and from optional marketing email.

• Without this choice - operational request logs are kept up to 14 days. We do not store research voice clips for your account.
• With this choice - we may keep those voice clips and related request logs up to 90 days. Clips marked as internal test clips may be kept longer for lab review.
• Withdraw anytime - turn the switch off in Settings. New research clips stop; we delete your non-test research clips. Request logs then follow the shorter retention.
• We do not sell this data or use it for advertising. Guide chat and voice are not sent to Firebase Analytics.

Broadcasting to friends

Broadcasting sends your guide's audio and chat to people you invite. Hosting a broadcast is a paid feature (Premium or Elite). Listeners you invite can still join by link or code without an account. They can see the tour's stops, the narration playing, and the name on your profile. If you turn on location sharing for that tour, they can also see your live position on the map - you can switch this off anytime in Tour settings. They cannot see your other tours. Ending a broadcast stops the stream immediately.

App analytics (Firebase)

The Android app uses Google Firebase Analytics (Google Analytics for Firebase) so we can see how the product is used. This is separate from optional Google Analytics cookies on this website, and separate from crash reporting (see Crash reporting).

Collection is off by default. It starts only after you sign in and turn on app analytics in Settings (or the optional checkbox at registration). Agreeing to the Terms is not analytics consent. We do not run Firebase Analytics on the login or registration screens. You can withdraw anytime in Settings. Deleting your account also stops new events (Google’s retention for the analytics property then applies to historical events).

We use it to understand product usage - not to sell your data, not for advertising networks, and not to build ads profiles about you.

What Firebase Analytics typically receives

• App and device context - app version, OS version, device model/category, language, and coarse geography (for example country/region), plus a Firebase app-instance identifier.
• Google Advertising ID (Android) - Firebase Analytics may read the device’s Advertising ID (GAID) for measurement (for example sessions and demographic insights Google attaches). We do not show ads, do not run an ads SDK, and do not use that ID for advertising or remarketing we control. Crashlytics and Performance Monitoring do not use it.
• Engagement - session starts and approximate session length, first open after install, and which screens or flows are opened.
• Product events we log - sparse events such as account created, tour created or opened, guide interaction (that a turn happened, not the text of your chat), and similar feature milestones we need to improve the app.

What we do not send to Firebase Analytics

• Your password, payment card details, Play purchase tokens, or full account dump.
• Precise GPS coordinates or continuous location trails (tour location stays with our own service as described under Location).
• The content of guide chat, voice recordings, photos, or notes.
• Data for us to serve ads or for third-party advertising / remarketing campaigns we run (the Advertising ID above is for Firebase measurement only).

Google processes these events as our analytics provider under its terms for Firebase / Google Analytics. Events are retained according to the retention settings on our Google Analytics property.

Crash reporting (Crashlytics)

The Android app uses Google Firebase Crashlytics so we can see when the app crashes or becomes unstable and fix those bugs. This is separate from Firebase Analytics.

Crashlytics may run for all app installs, including before you create an account and on the login or registration screens. There is no Settings switch to turn it off. We use it only to keep the app reliable - not for advertising.

What Crashlytics typically receives

• Crash and error reports - stack traces, fatal and (where we enable them) non-fatal errors, and related diagnostic breadcrumbs.
• Device and app context - device model, OS version, app version, locale, and similar technical state around the time of a crash.
• Identifiers - a Crashlytics / Firebase installation identifier; while you are signed in we attach your opaque internal account id (numeric server user id, not your email) so we can see whether a crash affects a specific account without sending your password or chat content. That account id is cleared from Crashlytics when you sign out.

What we do not send via Crashlytics

• Your password or payment card details.
• Precise GPS trails, guide chat text, voice recordings, photos, or notes (unless a crash dump accidentally includes a fragment of on-screen text in a stack or log we have not stripped - we design not to log those).
• Data for advertising or remarketing.

Google processes these reports as our crash-reporting provider under its terms for Firebase Crashlytics. We aim to keep crash and diagnostic data for about 90 days; Google’s product retention settings may also apply.

Performance Monitoring

The Android app uses Google Firebase Performance Monitoring so we can see how fast the app starts, how screens render, and how long HTTPS calls to our API and other endpoints take. This is separate from Analytics and Crashlytics.

Performance Monitoring may run for all app installs, including before you create an account. There is no Settings switch to turn it off. We use it only to keep the app responsive - not for advertising.

What Performance Monitoring typically receives

• Timing traces - app start, screen rendering, and similar lifecycle durations.
• Network traces - URL host/path patterns, response codes, and latency/payload size for HTTPS requests the app makes (for example to our API).
• Device and app context - app version, OS version, device model/category, and similar technical state.

What we do not send via Performance Monitoring

• Your password, payment card details, or account dump.
• Guide chat text, voice recordings, photos, or notes as performance payloads.
• Data for advertising or remarketing.

Google processes these metrics as our performance provider under its terms for Firebase Performance Monitoring.

Who we share with

We use a small number of processors to run the service. Each is bound to use your data only on our instructions.

We disclose data to authorities only where the law compels it, and we will tell you unless prohibited.

Cookies and website analytics

This marketing and legal site may use cookies or similar technology:

• Essential - needed for the site to work (for example storing your cookie choice in a cookie, local storage, or similar technology, and remembering a language preference you set for up to 12 months). These do not require analytics consent.
• Analytics (optional) - Google Analytics (measurement ID used on this site) to understand which pages are used. These load only after you choose Accept analytics on the cookie bar.

You can refuse analytics and still browse. Change your mind anytime via the Cookies link in the footer (or clear site data for anyaudioguide.com). The mobile app’s Firebase Analytics is separate and is governed by the in-app Settings switch - not by this website cookie bar.

Email lists (waitlists and news)

You may join optional email lists on this site or in the app:

• Google Play waitlist - used before the Play listing went live; existing subscribers may still receive a one-time notice.
• App Store waitlist - one message when the iOS app is live.
• Occasional news - product and guides updates (footer signup, optional checkbox in the Get the app modal, or marketing opt-in at app registration).

Website list joins use double opt-in (confirm link). We store the marketing language you used when you signed up, and a consent record with time and IP. Every marketing email includes links to unsubscribe, change list preferences, or change marketing language. App marketing opt-in follows your account language preference until you change it.

How long we keep it

Website analytics events follow Google Analytics retention settings for our property and stop for your browser when you withdraw cookie consent (new visits are not measured until you accept again). App Firebase Analytics events follow the same Google Analytics retention settings for our property; new collection stops when you turn the Settings switch off or delete your account. Crashlytics and Performance Monitoring collection are not tied to having an account; see Crash reporting and Performance Monitoring. Product-improvement logging is described under Helping improve the service.

Your rights

Under UK and EU data protection law you can ask for a copy of your data, correct it, delete it, restrict how we use it, or object to a particular use. Most of this you can do yourself in the app (for example delete the account). To receive a copy of your data, email privacy@anyaudioguide.com from the address on your account - we prepare it on request. That copy includes an append-only log of optional app consents (terms, marketing, analytics, product improvement) with time, source (registration, Settings, or an unsubscribe link), and IP; turning a switch off does not erase earlier grants. On this website you can refuse or withdraw analytics cookies via the cookie bar or footer. App Firebase Analytics is optional in Settings (see App analytics); turning the switch off or deleting the account ends new analytics collection. Optional product-improvement logging can be turned off in Settings (see Helping improve the service). Crash reporting and Performance Monitoring are described under Crashlytics and Performance Monitoring. If we get something wrong, you can complain to the ICO in the UK or your local supervisory authority in the EU.

Children

The app is not intended for children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their data. Children can listen alongside an adult's account. If you believe a child has created an account, tell us and we will remove it.

Changes

When we change this policy in a way that affects you, we will email you at least 30 days before it takes effect. Every previous version stays available on request.

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