Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 18, 2026

Calm Wave ("we", "our", "the app") is a voice journaling application designed for stress relief and personal well-being. We are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information.

1. Information We Collect

The app collects the following types of data:

• Audio recordings — voice journal entries you create within the app. These are stored locally on your device.
• Mood data — mood selections you make after each recording, stored locally on your device.
• App usage data — basic analytics such as session duration, feature usage, and crash reports to help us improve the app.

2. Microphone Access

The app requires access to your device's microphone to record voice journal entries. Microphone access is used solely for this purpose. We do not record audio in the background or without your explicit action (pressing the record button).

3. Data Storage

All personal data, including audio recordings and mood entries, is stored locally on your device. We do not upload your recordings to external servers unless you explicitly opt in to AI-powered features (see below).

4. AI-Powered Features (Optional)

The app may offer optional AI-powered features, such as transcription and personalized insights. If you choose to use these features:

• Your audio may be processed by third-party AI services (such as OpenAI) to generate transcriptions and insights.
• We will always ask for your explicit consent before processing any audio through third-party services.
• Processed data is not stored by third-party services beyond what is necessary to complete the request.

5. Subscriptions and Payments

The app offers premium subscription plans. All payments are processed through Apple App Store or Google Play Store. We do not collect or store any payment information directly.

6. Third-Party Services

The app may use the following third-party services:

• RevenueCat — for subscription management. RevenueCat may collect anonymous purchase data. See RevenueCat Privacy Policy.
• OpenAI — for optional AI features (transcription and insights). See OpenAI Privacy Policy.
• Google AdMob — for displaying advertisements to non-premium users. See Google Privacy Policy.

7. Advertising

For users on the free (non-premium) version, the app displays advertisements through Google AdMob. To serve, personalize, and measure ads, AdMob and its advertising partners may collect and process the following data:

• Advertising identifiers — IDFA on iOS, Android Advertising ID on Android.
• Device information — device model, operating system, language, time zone, and approximate IP-based location (country / city level).
• App interaction data — ad impressions, clicks, and basic in-app events used for frequency capping and attribution.

Premium subscribers do not see advertisements, and no advertising identifier or ad-related interaction data is collected from premium users.

7.1 Ad-Tech Partners

We work with Google as our primary ad-tech vendor. Google AdMob, in turn, works with a large set of additional ad partners (advertisers, measurement and verification providers). The current list of Google's ad technology providers is available here: Google's ad technology providers. For users in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, the IAB Europe Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF) vendor list is available here: IAB Europe vendor list.

7.2 GDPR Consent (EEA, UK, Switzerland)

If you are located in the EEA, the UK, or Switzerland, the first time you open the app we will display a consent dialog (powered by Google's User Messaging Platform) asking you to choose whether you allow personalized advertising, only non-personalized advertising, or no data sharing with ad partners beyond what is strictly necessary. We will respect your choice on every device on which the app is installed.

You can change or withdraw your consent at any time inside the app at Settings → Privacy → Manage privacy choices. Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before withdrawal.

7.3 Apple App Tracking Transparency (iOS)

On iOS 14.5 and later, before the app or any of its partners can use your IDFA for cross-app tracking, iOS will show a system dialog asking whether you allow tracking. You can change this choice at any time in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking → Calm Wave. If you deny tracking, ads will still be shown but will be non-personalized.

7.4 Opting out of Personalized Ads at the Device Level

• iOS: Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Advertising → turn off "Personalized Ads"; and Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking → disable for Calm Wave.
• Android: Settings → Google → Ads → enable "Opt out of Ads Personalization" and use "Reset advertising ID".

For more details on how Google uses advertising data, see the Google Advertising Policy and the Google Partner Sites Policy.

8. Data Sharing

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We only share data with third-party services as described above, and only with your explicit consent.

9. Data Retention and Deletion

Your data is stored locally on your device. You can delete any recording at any time within the app. Uninstalling the app will remove all locally stored data. If you have used AI features, you can request deletion of any processed data by contacting us.

10. Children's Privacy

The app is not intended for children under the age of 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in the relevant jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children, and our ad requests are configured so that AdMob does not treat traffic from this app as directed to children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, contact us at the email address below and we will delete it.

11. Your Rights under GDPR (EEA, UK, Switzerland)

If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

• Right of access — request a copy of personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification — request that inaccurate data be corrected.
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten") — request that we delete your personal data.
• Right to restrict processing — request that we limit how we process your data.
• Right to data portability — receive your data in a portable format.
• Right to object — object to processing of your data, including for advertising purposes.
• Right to withdraw consent — withdraw any consent you have previously given, at any time.
• Right to lodge a complaint — file a complaint with your local data-protection supervisory authority.

The legal bases on which we rely are: your consent (for personalized advertising and optional AI features), the performance of a contract (for subscriptions), and our legitimate interests (basic analytics, crash reporting, fraud prevention).

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the email address in section 13. We will respond within 30 days.

12. Data Retention

Audio recordings and mood entries remain on your device until you delete them in the app or uninstall the app. Advertising identifiers and ad-related event data are retained by Google and its partners according to their own retention policies (typically 14 months for measurement data, see Google Advertising Policy). RevenueCat retains anonymous purchase records for the lifetime of the subscription plus a limited period for accounting and fraud prevention.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy within the app or on our website.