Privacy Policy
Sonomètre (Sound Meter: dB & Spectrum) · last updated
1. Summary
Sonomètre (“the app”, listed on Google Play as Sound Meter: dB & Spectrum) is a sound level meter published by Cool App Helpdesk. It reads the microphone to show noise levels, frequency bands and a spectrum, and lets you save measurement sessions and export them as PDF or CSV files.
- Audio is never recorded, stored or sent. Microphone samples are processed in memory to compute levels and are discarded straight away. Only the computed levels (numbers in decibels) are kept, and only when you save a session.
- Your sessions, notes and places are stored only on your device. They leave it only when you export or share a file yourself, or through your own Android backup.
- Your location is read only when you tap “Use my location”, once, to tag a session. It is never sent to the developer.
- The app contains Google’s advertising SDK (AdMob) for a banner on the History screen. Ads are switched off until September 1, 2027: until then the SDK is never started and collects nothing. From that date it may collect the data listed in section 2.
- The only thing that ever reaches the developer is a feedback message you choose to send.
2. Data we collect
The developer does not collect personal data. The Google AdMob SDK included in the app is inactive until September 1, 2027; before that date it is never initialised and nothing below is collected. From that date, when the History screen shows a banner, AdMob may collect:
| Data | Purpose | Collected by |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising ID | Serve and measure ads; personalised ads only where you have consented | Google AdMob |
| Device and app information, ad interactions | Ad delivery, fraud prevention, analytics | Google AdMob |
| IP address (approximate location) | Ad delivery and fraud prevention | Google AdMob |
The developer (Cool App Helpdesk) does not have access to this data. It is handled by Google under Google’s Privacy Policy. Ads are never shown on the measuring screens (Meter, Charts, Spectrum).
3. Data stored on your device
| Item | Where | Sent off device? |
|---|---|---|
| Microphone audio | Memory only, for a fraction of a second | Never — not stored either |
| Saved sessions: levels per channel, statistics, average spectrum, events and markers, name, notes, tags | Local app database | Only if you export or share |
| Places: names, addresses and coordinates you saved | Local app database | Only if you export or share |
| Settings: calibration, weighting, thresholds, chart layouts, theme, language, export options | Local DataStore | Never |
| PDF and CSV exports | Folders you choose, or the app you share them with | Only if you share |
| Feedback: type, subject and message; your email address if you enter it; app version; device model; Android version; app language | Sent to the developer’s feedback service | Only when you tap Send |
Android backup. Settings and saved sessions are included in Android’s own backup, so your history can follow you to a new phone. If backup is turned on in your phone’s settings, Android stores this copy in your Google account; the developer has no access to it. You can turn backup off in Android Settings.
Feedback never includes audio, sessions, places or files.
4. Permissions used
| Permission | Reason | When asked |
|---|---|---|
RECORD_AUDIO | Compute the sound level from the microphone. Audio is processed in memory only and never recorded, stored or sent. | Before the first measurement, after an explanation |
ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION / ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION | Optional: tag a session with where it was measured. One reading, only when you tap “Use my location”. Approximate location is accepted. | The first time you tap “Use my location” |
VIBRATE | Optional threshold alerts | Auto-granted (normal permission) |
INTERNET + ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE | Send feedback you choose to send; load the History banner ad from September 1, 2027 | Auto-granted (normal permission) |
com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID | Lets Google AdMob read the advertising ID once ads are active (from September 1, 2027). Not read before then. | Auto-granted (normal permission) |
The app does not run in the background and does not measure while it is closed or the screen is off.
5. Network activity and third parties
Measuring, analysing, saving and exporting all work offline, on your device.
- Google AdMob — included, but inactive until September 1, 2027: the SDK is not initialised before that date, so it makes no requests and reads no identifiers. From that date it loads a banner on the History screen and may collect the data in section 2. Where required (for example in the EEA and UK), you will be asked for consent before personalised ads are shown.
- Address search and “Use my location” use your phone’s own Android location and geocoding services. Turning coordinates into an address, or an address into coordinates, is done by the geocoding service built into your phone (on most phones, Google’s), under that provider’s privacy policy. The app does not send your location to the developer or to any other service.
- Feedback you send goes over HTTPS to the developer’s own feedback service, hosted on Google Cloud. It is used only to reply to you and improve the app, and is never sold or shared.
- Links in a PDF report to OpenStreetMap open only if you or the reader tap them.
The app contains no analytics SDKs, no crash-reporting SDKs and no social or attribution SDKs. When you share an export through the system share sheet, the file goes to the app you choose; the developer does not see it.
6. Children’s privacy
The app is intended for general audiences and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
7. Data retention and deletion
Sessions and places stay on your device until you delete them in the app (History or Saved places), clear the app’s storage in Android Settings → Apps → Sonomètre → Storage → Clear storage, or uninstall the app. Exported files stay where you saved them until you delete them.
Feedback messages are kept only as long as needed to answer and act on them. To have feedback you sent deleted, email the address below.
8. Security
App data is held in the app’s private storage, protected by Android’s built-in application sandboxing. Feedback is sent over encrypted HTTPS connections. The app is distributed through the Google Play Store, which verifies the developer signing key on every update.
9. Changes to this policy
If any material aspect of how the app handles data ever changes, this page will be updated and the “last updated” date above will be bumped. Continued use after a change constitutes acceptance.
10. Contact
Questions or feedback? Email coolapphelpdesk@gmail.com.