Privacy Policy
Short version: The Guitar Workbench is offline-first. Your scores, recordings and creative content stay on your device. The app can send limited usage statistics through Google Firebase Analytics to help improve it. In the EEA, the UK, Switzerland and the rest of Europe, this happens only if you agree. Everywhere else, you can turn it off in Settings at any time. We do not sell your data, and we do not show ads.
1. Who we are
This Privacy Policy explains how Francisco Pampulha (“we”, “us”, “the developer”) handles information in connection with The Guitar Workbench (the “App”). For data processed through the App’s analytics, we are the data controller.
Contact for privacy questions: franciscopampulha@gmail.com
2. Scope
This policy covers the Android and iOS versions of The Guitar Workbench. It does not cover third-party websites, the app stores (Google Play / Apple App Store) or other apps, which have their own policies.
3. No account and no cloud sync
The App does not require an account, login or cloud sync. No developer-operated server stores your songs, tabs or practice files. Content you create or import stays on your device, plus anywhere you choose to export or share files yourself.
4. Information stored on your device
Depending on how you use the App, it may store the following locally on your device:
- Scores, tabs, library indexes, backups and related creative files
- Instrument profiles, settings, preferences and practice history
- Audio memos or recordings you choose to make
- Audio files you open for features such as the slow-downer and stem separation
- Temporary audio used by features such as the tuner, transcription and play-along scoring
This information is not uploaded to us. Stem separation and transcription run entirely on your device. If you use the share sheet or export features, you choose where those files go.
5. Microphone
The App asks for microphone permission for features such as tuning, transcription, chord listening, play-along scoring and audio memos.
- Microphone audio is processed only on your device.
- We never upload your performances, transcriptions or recordings, to Firebase or anywhere else.
- Microphone audio is never used for advertising or profiling.
- You can deny or revoke microphone access in your device settings. The related features will not work without it.
6. Usage analytics (optional)
The App uses Google Firebase Analytics (Google Analytics 4) to understand, in aggregate, how the App’s features are used, so we can improve them.
When it is active
- In the EEA, the UK, Switzerland and the rest of Europe, the App asks you on first use. Nothing is collected until you tap “Allow”. If you tap “Don’t allow”, nothing is collected at all. The App works out whether you are in Europe on the device itself, from its time zone, region and language settings and its SIM and network country. None of this is sent anywhere.
- Elsewhere, analytics are on by default, and you can turn them off at any time in Settings.
- You can change your choice at any time with the analytics switch in Settings.
What is collected when analytics are on
- Usage events limited to product categories: screen names, tool names, onboarding choices (experience level, starting point) and similar non-creative action types
- Data Firebase collects automatically: a random app instance ID, device model, operating system and version, app version, language, and approximate country or region. Google derives the region from your IP address and does not store the IP address itself.
What is never collected
- Score IDs or titles, songs, tabs, notes, recordings, transcription output, free text, profile names, file paths or any other creative content
- Advertising identifiers (the Android advertising ID or Apple’s IDFA). Ad storage, ad user data and ad personalisation are disabled.
Withdrawing consent: when you turn analytics off, collection stops at once. The App also deletes analytics data that has not yet been sent and resets its app instance ID, so future data cannot be linked to past data.
Who processes it: Google acts as our processor. For users in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, that is Google Ireland Limited; elsewhere it is Google LLC. Data may be transferred to and processed in the United States. These transfers are covered by the EU–US Data Privacy Framework (and its UK and Swiss extensions) and by the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses. More information: firebase.google.com/support/privacy
7. Crash and diagnostic data
The App does not include a crash-reporting SDK. Your device’s operating system or app store (Google Play / Apple) may collect crash and diagnostic information according to your device settings and their own policies. If we ever add crash reporting, we will update this policy first.
8. Purchases
The App offers optional in-app purchases, such as unlocking Pro features. Purchases are processed entirely by Google Play or the Apple App Store under their terms and privacy policies. We never receive your name, email address or payment details. The App only receives confirmation from the store of which purchases are active on your account, so it can unlock and restore them.
9. Advertising and sale of data
The App does not show advertising. We do not sell or rent your personal information, and we do not share it with data brokers or advertisers.
10. Children
The App is a general music-practice tool and is not directed at children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your country). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child’s data has been collected through analytics, contact us and we will delete what we can.
11. Retention
- On-device content: kept until you delete it or uninstall the App, subject to any device backups you control.
- Analytics: event-level data is kept for 14 months and then deleted automatically. Aggregated reports that cannot identify anyone may be kept longer.
- Purchase records: held by Google Play or the Apple App Store under their policies.
12. Legal bases (EEA, UK and Switzerland)
- Analytics: your consent (GDPR / UK GDPR Article 6(1)(a), and the ePrivacy rules on storing and reading information on your device). You can withdraw it at any time in Settings. Withdrawing does not affect processing that already happened.
- Features you use (on-device processing, purchases): needed to provide the service you asked for (Article 6(1)(b)).
13. Your rights and choices
- Turn analytics on or off with the switch in Settings.
- Revoke microphone and other permissions in your device settings.
- Delete local data by clearing the App’s storage or uninstalling it.
- Export or delete creative files on your device at any time.
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to the processing of your personal data, and to data portability. Analytics data is linked only to a random app instance ID, not to your name or email address. To exercise a right, email us. Including the App’s version and your approximate install date helps us find the data where we can. You also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.
14. Data security
The App is designed so creative content never needs to leave your device for its core features. Analytics data is sent encrypted (HTTPS). No method of storage or transmission is perfectly secure, so protect your device with a passcode or biometrics, and take care when exporting or sharing files.
15. Changes to this policy
We will update this policy when the App’s data practices change, and change the “Last updated” date at the top. If a change affects how analytics data is used, we will ask EEA, UK and Swiss users for consent again where the law requires it.
16. Contact
Privacy questions about The Guitar Workbench:
Email: franciscopampulha@gmail.com
Developer: Francisco Pampulha