Sandy B privacy policy

Sandy B is an app of talks by Sandy B., a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, made by iByte Apps Limited ("we", "us"). This policy explains what information the app uses, why, who else is involved, and what you can do about it. It applies to the Sandy B app on iPhone, iPad and Android, and to these pages.

The short version

There's no account. We never ask for your name, email address or phone number.
What you listen to and read, and where you got to, stays on your phone.
Tapes stream from our own server in the UK. Like any web server, it briefly logs each request.
If the app crashes, a crash report goes to Google's Firebase Crashlytics so we can fix it. It never says which tape you were playing.
The free version shows adverts from Google AdMob. In the UK and EEA you choose whether they can be personalised, and you can change your mind at any time.
Supporters see no adverts, and the advertising software isn't started for them at all.
Apple or Google take every payment. We never see your card or bank details.
We don't sell your information, and we don't use analytics or tracking tools.

Who we are

iByte Apps Limited, a company in Northamptonshire, United Kingdom, is the "controller" of the personal information described here under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Questions or requests: ibyteapps@gmail.com

What stays on your phone

The app keeps these on your device so it can work the way you left it:

how far you got in each tape, and which tapes you've finished;
where you got to in each reading;
your settings: light or dark, text size and font, playback speed, skip lengths, sleep timer;
tapes you've downloaded for offline listening;
tapes unlocked until midnight by watching an advert;
whether you have an active subscription or the lifetime purchase, and when a subscription ends (see "Paying for Sandy B").

None of this is sent to us. Your phone's own backup (iCloud or Google) may include your settings and progress. Downloaded tapes are kept out of those backups because they can be downloaded again. You can wipe your progress at any time under Settings → Clear listening and reading history, and deleting the app removes everything it stored.

What reaches our server

When you play or download a tape, or the app checks for newly added tapes, your phone asks our server at ibyteapps.com for the file. Our server is hosted in the United Kingdom. Each request is recorded in the server's log with:

your IP address;
the type of device and operating system, as your phone reports them;
the file requested, and the date and time.

We use these logs only to deliver the tapes, keep the service secure and working, and investigate abuse. This is in our legitimate interests and yours. The logs are kept only as long as needed for those purposes, normally no more than 90 days, and are then deleted. We don't use them to identify you, and we don't combine them with anything else.

Crash reports

When the app crashes or hits a serious error, it sends a crash report to Firebase Crashlytics, a Google service, so we can find and fix the problem. A report contains what went wrong in the app's code, the app version, your device's model and operating system, and an identifier for this installation of the app. Before a report is sent, the app removes web addresses and file names from it, so it never says which tape you were playing or what you were reading.

We use crash reports only to fix problems, on the legitimate-interests basis. Google keeps them for 90 days.

Adverts (free version)

The free version of Sandy B shows banner, native, full-screen and "watch to unlock" adverts provided by Google AdMob, a Google service.

To show and measure adverts and to prevent fraud, Google's software in the app may collect:

your device's advertising identifier, where you allow it (see below);
your IP address, and the approximate location that can be worked out from it;
information about your device, the app, and the adverts you see and tap.

Your choices:

Consent. In the UK and EEA, Sandy B shows Google's consent message before any advert is requested. Adverts are personalised only if you agree. You can change your choice at any time under Advert privacy choices in the menu or in Settings.
iPhone and iPad. Apple asks whether Sandy B may track you. If you choose "Ask App Not to Track", Google doesn't receive your device's advertising identifier.
Android. You can reset or delete your advertising ID under your phone's Google or Privacy settings.
Supporters. Subscribers, people with the lifetime purchase and people who restored a purchase from the original Sandy B app see no adverts, and the advertising software isn't started for them.

The app doesn't tell Google which tapes you listen to or what you read. When you watch an advert to unlock a tape, the app only learns whether the advert finished.

How Google uses this information: policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites. Google's privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy.

Paying for Sandy B

Subscriptions, free trials and the lifetime purchase are sold and managed by Apple (App Store) or Google (Google Play) under their own terms and privacy policies. We don't receive your name, email address, card details or billing address.

On your phone, the store tells the app whether you have an active subscription, the lifetime purchase or a purchase from the original Sandy B app, which plan it is, and when the current period ends. The app uses this only to unlock the tapes and turn off the adverts. It stays on your phone; we run no server for purchases.

Ratings

From time to time the app asks Apple or Google to show their rating prompt. The prompt, and any rating or review you leave, belongs to Apple or Google. We see reviews only as they appear publicly on the store.

When you email us

If you email us, we receive your email address, your message and anything you attach. The app's "Send feedback" email also includes the app version and whether your phone is iPhone or Android, so we can help. We use this only to reply, and we delete it once it's no longer needed to help you.

What Sandy B doesn't do

No account, sign-in or profile.
No analytics or tracking tools.
No access to your location, contacts, photos, camera or microphone.
No selling or renting of personal information, ever.

A word about sensitive information

Using an app for people in recovery could, in itself, say something about your health. We don't collect, record or infer anything about your health or your recovery. We don't send anyone the titles of the tapes you play or what you read.

Who else is involved

Google, for adverts in the free version and for crash reports (Firebase Crashlytics), as described above.
Apple and Google, for downloading the app, payments, subscriptions and ratings.
Our UK hosting provider, which runs the server the tapes stream from on our behalf.
Authorities, but only if the law requires us to share information.

Information leaving the UK

Our server is in the UK. Google may process advertising and crash information in other countries, including the United States, under safeguards the UK recognises, such as the UK's adequacy regulations, the UK–US Data Bridge, or standard contractual clauses with the UK Addendum.

How long information is kept

On your phone: until you clear it or delete the app.
Server logs: normally no more than 90 days.
Crash reports: 90 days, with Google.
Emails to us: until we no longer need them to help you.
Advertising information: as set out in Google's policies.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you can ask us to:

tell you what personal information we hold about you and give you a copy;
correct it, or delete it;
restrict how we use it, or object to our using it;
give it to you in a portable form.

Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time. Most of what Sandy B uses never leaves your phone, so you're already in control of it. For anything else, email ibyteapps@gmail.com. We'll reply within one month.

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office: ico.org.uk or 0303 123 1113. We'd appreciate the chance to put things right first.

Children

Sandy B is for adults. It isn't directed at anyone under 18, and we don't knowingly collect information from children.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top of this page. If a change matters, we'll also tell you in the app.

Contact

iByte Apps Limited, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom ibyteapps@gmail.com