Sound Meter is a decibel meter and noise-logging app, published by
BotSquash. This policy explains how the app handles information.
Short version: no account, no login, and no analytics of our own. Your microphone
is used only to compute a sound-level number in real time - it is never recorded, saved as
audio, or transmitted anywhere. Your logged sessions stay on your phone. The free version
shows a small banner ad from Unity Ads, and Sound Meter Pro removes it.
Your sessions, readings and notes are stored only on your device.
Sound Meter has no account and no servers of its own. It uses the Internet for two things -
the Unity Ads banner in the free version, and the optional one-time Sound Meter Pro purchase
through Google Play Billing. The meter and session logging work offline.
Microphone
Sound Meter uses your device's microphone to estimate the ambient sound level in
decibels.
Audio is processed in memory, in short windows, purely to compute a
number. The app never records, saves, or stores raw audio, and never transmits
audio anywhere.
Only the computed decibel readings - not audio - are saved, and only
if you start a logged session.
While a session is recording, the app keeps the screen on so the measurement isn't
paused. The microphone is released whenever the app goes to the background and is only
used again once the app is open.
This is an estimate, not a certified measurement. Phone microphones
are not calibrated like professional sound-level meters, and most read no higher than
about 90 dB. You can add a calibration offset in Settings; exports show the offset used.
Do not rely on readings from this app for legal, regulatory, or workplace-compliance
purposes.
Data we collect
None, ourselves. We have no servers that receive your data. The ad
provider described under "Ads" collects some data directly.
The app has no account or login.
Logged sessions (start/end time, minimum/average/maximum readings, the calibration
offset, and any note you add) are stored only in a local database on your own
device. They never leave your phone unless you choose to export and share them
yourself (see "Export").
The app does not use analytics, crash reporting, or tracking SDKs of
its own.
Ads (free version only)
From version 1.1.0 the free version shows one small banner ad from Unity Ads
(Unity Technologies) above the tab bar on the Meter and History screens, and at the bottom of
the Settings and session details screens - never on the Sound Meter Pro screen, and never in
full screen. No ads are shown in the first session after you install or update the app. The
Unity SDK may collect your advertising ID and other device identifiers, device
and app information, your IP address and approximate location derived from it, and ad
interaction data, and may share it with its ad partners, for advertising, analytics and fraud
prevention. This data goes to Unity, not to us. Your microphone audio, readings, sessions and
notes are never shared with Unity. See
Unity's Game Player and
App User Privacy Policy.
When the switch is off, the app asks Unity not to use your data to personalise
ads. The switch is in Settings, Personalised ads, and stays off unless you turn it on.
You can reset or delete your advertising ID in Android settings (Privacy, Ads).
The one-time Sound Meter Pro purchase removes ads entirely; once Google
Play has confirmed your purchase, the ad SDK is not started.
Why the app requests Internet access
The meter works offline, but the Android package declares the Internet and network-state
permissions. They are used to load the Unity Ads banner in the free version (see "Ads"), and so
Google Play Billing can process the optional, one-time Sound Meter Pro unlock
if you choose to buy it. Your audio, readings and notes are never sent over the Internet by
the app.
Export
Sound Meter Pro lets you export a logged session as a PDF (summary, graph, calibration
offset and note) or CSV (raw readings). This export is entirely under your control:
The app itself never uploads or transmits your export anywhere - it only hands the file
to whatever destination you pick via Android's own share sheet (email, cloud
storage, messaging apps, etc.).
Nothing is exported unless you explicitly tap Export.
Permissions
Microphone (RECORD_AUDIO): used only to compute the live
decibel reading, as described above. Never used for any other purpose.
Internet and network state: the Unity Ads banner (free version) and
Google Play Billing.
Billing: lets Google Play process the optional Sound Meter Pro
purchase.
Advertising ID: lets the Unity Ads banner in the free version use the
Android advertising ID for advertising and analytics (see "Ads").
Wake lock, boot-completed and foreground-service: declared by the Google
Play Billing and Unity Ads libraries for their own background tasks. Keeping the screen on
while a session records uses a screen flag, not these permissions. No data is sent for them.
The app does not use GPS location, contacts, or camera.
In-app purchase
The one-time Sound Meter Pro unlock (no ads, unlimited session history, PDF and CSV export -
one-time price, shown in Google Play at checkout) is sold and processed entirely through
Google Play Billing, covered by
Google Play's own privacy policy. We never
see or store your card or payment details. The app only stores a local flag on your device
recording that the unlock is active.
Children
The app is a general-audience utility, not directed at or marketed to children, and we do
not knowingly collect data from children. The free version's Unity Ads banner is described
under "Ads".
Changes
If this policy changes, the "Last updated" date above will change. Continued use of the app
means you accept the current policy.