FallingPrivacy — Pluckwise - Guitar Tuner
This Privacy Policy applies to the app "Pluckwise" (the "App"), a paid guitar tuner for Android and Windows provided by FallingBit through Google Play and the Microsoft Store, and explains how data is handled when you use it, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and applicable Italian law.
In short: Pluckwise uses the microphone only to detect notes while you tune. The sound is analysed on your device and discarded straight away: it is never recorded, stored or sent to anyone. The App does not connect to the internet, needs no account and contains no ads or analytics tools.
1. Data Controller
FallingBit di Felice D'Andrea
Via De Falco 4, 81100 Caserta (CE), Italy
VAT no. IT04381570615
Email: privacy@fallingbit.it
2. Microphone
To detect the note you play, the App needs permission to use the microphone. You can refuse or revoke it at any time: on Android in your phone settings (Apps › Pluckwise › Permissions), on Windows in Settings › Privacy & security › Microphone. Without it the tuner cannot work.
While the App is open, the microphone sound is processed in real time, only in the device's memory: the App continuously examines the latest fragment of sound, shorter than two tenths of a second, works out the frequency of the note and the volume level (for the PEAK LED), and immediately replaces it with the next fragment. No audio is recorded, saved to a file or transmitted, and the App does not recognise voices, words or people.
On Android the microphone turns off when you close the App or switch to another app; on Windows when you close or minimise the window. While it is in use, the system shows its own indicator (on Android for example a green dot at the top, on Windows the microphone icon in the taskbar).
3. Data stored on your device
The App stores on your device only its settings: chosen tuning, mode (guitar or chromatic), reference A frequency, note names, language, theme and whether you have already seen the welcome screen. On Android it also stores how many times you have tuned all six strings and whether the App has already offered you to leave a review (see section 5). This is not personal data, it never leaves the device and it is deleted when you uninstall the App (on Android also when you clear its data in the settings).
On Windows the settings are stored in the App's data folder, together with the technical files of the Microsoft Edge WebView2 component that the App uses to display its window. If you turn on the phone backup offered by Google, Android may include the settings in the backup of your Google account, under Google's rules.
4. Internet, advertising and third-party services
The App does not connect to the internet: on Android it doesn't even have permission to; on Windows it displays its pages through a connection internal to the computer (address 127.0.0.1) that cannot be reached from other devices. It contains no advertising, analytics, tracking or profiling, and does not use Artificial Intelligence technologies to process your data. It does not detect your location.
If you tap the support email address, the link to the FallingBit website or a link in these documents, your device opens your email app or browser, which handle data under their own rules.
5. Purchase: Google Play and Microsoft Store
The App is bought and downloaded from Google Play (Android) or the Microsoft Store (Windows). Purchase, payment, licence verification, downloads and updates are handled by Google or Microsoft, which process your account data as independent controllers under their own policies: Google and Microsoft. FallingBit does not receive your payment details or your email address.
Through the Google Play Console and Microsoft Partner Center, FallingBit only receives aggregated data that does not identify you (for example number of purchases and installs, country, operating system versions, crashes) and can read reviews published in the stores, like any other visitor. If your device settings allow it, Android, Windows and the stores may send Google or Microsoft technical reports about crashes and the App's performance.
Reviews and sharing (Android). After you have tuned all six strings a few times (the 3rd, 10th and 25th time), the App may ask Google Play to show you the window to rate it; Google decides whether and when to show it, and any review is written on Google Play under its terms and privacy policy. The same functions open when you tap “Rate Pluckwise” in the settings. If you tap “Share”, Android opens its own share menu with a short text and the link to Pluckwise on Google Play: you choose whether and with whom to share it, and FallingBit does not know who you send it to.
On Windows the App uses the Microsoft Edge WebView2 component, which runs on your computer; any diagnostic data from Windows and its components is processed by Microsoft according to the Windows privacy settings you have chosen.
6. Purposes and legal bases
- Running the tuner: sound and settings are processed only on your device, to provide the service you asked for by opening the App (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR); FallingBit does not receive them.
- Selling the App through the stores: purchase data is processed by Google or Microsoft as independent controllers; FallingBit only receives aggregated sales data, also to meet tax and accounting obligations (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR).
- Answering your requests for support or about privacy sent by email, and complying with legal obligations: legitimate interest and legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(f) and (c) GDPR).
7. Recipients of data
FallingBit does not share personal data with third parties, because it does not receive any. If you write to FallingBit, the data in your email is used only to reply to you. If required by law, FallingBit may provide information to judicial or other competent authorities.
8. Transfers outside the EEA
FallingBit does not transfer data outside the European Economic Area. Google and Microsoft may transfer your account, purchase and technical report data, in particular to the United States, on the basis of the tools provided for in Chapter V of the GDPR (for example the adequacy decision on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework or Standard Contractual Clauses), as described in their policies.
9. Data retention
Audio is not retained: each fragment exists only for a fraction of a second. Settings stay on your device until you uninstall the App. Emails you send to FallingBit are kept for as long as needed to handle your request and, where necessary, to protect FallingBit's rights. Aggregated sales data is kept for the period required by tax obligations.
10. Your rights
Under Articles 15-22 GDPR you have the right to access your personal data, to have it corrected or erased, to restrict its processing, to receive it in a structured format (portability) and to object to processing based on legitimate interest. Since the App sends no data to FallingBit, you can manage everything directly on your device: by revoking the microphone permission, clearing the App's data or uninstalling it. For your account and purchase data you can contact Google or Microsoft.
For any request to FallingBit, write to privacy@fallingbit.it: you will receive a reply within one month of receipt, which may be extended by two further months for particularly complex requests.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante per la protezione dei dati personali) (www.garanteprivacy.it) or with the supervisory authority of your country of residence or where you believe the violation occurred (list: EDPB). If you are in the United Kingdom, you may contact the Information Commissioner's Office.
11. Children
The App is not intended for children under 14. FallingBit does not collect personal data from adults or children: the microphone sound stays on the device and is never recorded. Purchases through the stores are subject to Google's and Microsoft's rules on children's accounts.
12. Security
Because the App does not record sound and does not connect to the internet, the risks to your data are kept to a minimum. Settings stay on your device, whose security (for example screen lock and system updates) is under your control. No system, however, is completely free of risk.
13. Residents of California and other US States
FallingBit does not sell or share users' personal information, because it does not collect any. Your account and purchase data is subject to Google's and Microsoft's policies, where you can exercise any rights provided by laws such as the CCPA/CPRA. You can also write to privacy@fallingbit.it.
14. Changes to this policy
If the App introduces features that handle data differently in the future (for example advertising, in-app purchases or internet connections), this policy will be updated before the new version is released. The updated version will be published at this address with the new update date. Previous versions are available on request.
15. Contact
For questions about privacy or to exercise your rights: privacy@fallingbit.it.