Privacy Policy

Introduction

Your privacy matters. Volto Air is built to work with as little of your personal information as possible. This policy explains what data the app uses, where it is stored, who it is shared with, and the choices you have. It applies to the Volto Air app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro, and to companion features such as CarPlay, Home Screen widgets, Live Activities, Siri Shortcuts / App Intents, and the Apple Watch companion when available.

The Short Version

• Volto Air does not require an account, login, or sign-up.
• Free users may see Google AdMob banner ads and, when you choose, rewarded ads that unlock limited features. Pro subscribers and ad-removal purchases do not see ads.
• When you allow tracking via Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt, ads may be personalized. If you decline, ads can still appear in a less personalized form.
• We use Mixpanel for privacy-safe product analytics (for example onboarding completion, playback starts, and Pro funnel events). In the EU/EEA, UK, Switzerland, and Canada, analytics starts opted out until consent rules are met.
• Your favorites, history, taste profile, and saved songs are stored on your device and, when iCloud is enabled, synced across your Apple devices through Apple's CloudKit.
• Crash and performance diagnostics are sent to Google Firebase so we can keep the app stable. We do not use that data for advertising.
• We do not sell your personal information.
• Some features send requests to third-party services (radio, podcasts, Apple Music, lyrics, ads, analytics, crash reporting, and country-detection providers) to deliver content or keep the app working.

Information We Do Not Collect

Volto Air has no user accounts and no backend server that stores your identity. We do not collect your name, email address, phone number, contacts, or precise GPS location. We do not read your photo library (clips you export are saved with add-only permission). We do not maintain server-side user profiles. Third-party ad networks may use device identifiers for advertising under their own policies when you authorize tracking. Crash reports and analytics events (described below) do not include your name or Apple ID password.

Information Stored On Your Device

To make the app work, Volto Air saves the following on your device. Your library (favorites, saved songs, playlists, and listening history) syncs through iCloud when you are signed in with the same Apple ID and library sync is enabled. Cached station, podcast, and music metadata stay on each device to load content faster. This library and cache are not stored on Volto Air servers and are removed when you delete the app:

• Favorite stations, podcasts, episodes, artists, albums, and songs.
• Recently played items, listening history, and Taste Profile preferences used to personalize For You discovery across radio, podcasts, and music.
• Songs you identify or save (title, artist, artwork, and the station they played on), including songs, albums, playlists, and artists imported from Apple Music if you enable library sync.
• Playlists, radio and podcast wake alarms, equalizer settings, sleep timer, and other preferences (theme, home region, podcast languages, filters, and feature toggles).
• Optional podcast episode downloads, radio stream recordings, local audio imports, and generated or publisher-provided transcripts — all kept locally for your personal use.
• Cached station, podcast, and artwork lists used to load content faster and reduce data usage.
• Optional notification subscriptions (favorite podcasts/artists and your home-country region) so Apple CloudKit can deliver alerts you opted into.
• Widget, Live Activity, CarPlay, Watch, Spotlight, and Siri shortcut state needed to show recently played or favorite content on those surfaces.

Song Identification (Shazam)

Volto Air uses Apple's ShazamKit to identify songs playing on live radio. Identification usually runs against the audio stream you are already playing (an on-device acoustic fingerprint via a stream audio tap). As a last resort, if stream matching is unavailable and you have enabled microphone fallback, Volto Air may use the microphone while you actively identify a song. Volto Air does not record, store, or transmit raw microphone or stream audio to us. Songs you choose to save are kept locally on your device (and may sync via iCloud with your library). You can disable microphone access for the app in system Settings.

Speech Recognition & Transcripts

If a podcast episode has a publisher transcript, Volto Air may download that file from the show's feed and store it on your device. If you generate a transcript yourself, Volto Air uses Apple's on-device Speech framework so audio is converted to timed text on your device. Generated transcripts stay local unless you delete them or the app. You can turn off speech recognition for the app in system Settings.

Apple Music

Connecting Apple Music is optional. With your permission, Volto Air uses Apple's MusicKit to show charts, curated playlists, artist details, and personal recommendations; play catalog music, Apple Music Radio, and music videos for Apple Music subscribers; save bookmarked songs or albums to your Apple Music library; and — if you enable library sync (Pro) — import songs, albums, playlists, and artists from your Apple Music library into Volto Air. Opening an Apple Music link via Share Extension may resolve that item inside the app. Imported library items stay on your device and may sync via iCloud with your other Apple devices. You can revoke Music access in system Settings. Your Apple Music account is governed by Apple's Privacy Policy and Media Services terms. Volto Air does not receive your Apple ID password.

Podcasts & Imports

Volto Air lets you browse, search, subscribe to, download, and play podcasts and curated audiobooks. You can optionally import follows from OPML files, Apple Podcasts / iTunes metadata lookups, or a one-time Spotify sign-in that reads shows you follow and matches them to public RSS feeds. Volto Air does not keep your Spotify password. Imported follows are stored on your device as part of your library.

Location (Country Detection)

To suggest relevant stations and charts, Volto Air can detect your approximate country. This is done using your network/IP address via a third-party lookup service (ipwho.is), which returns only a country code and country name over HTTPS. Volto Air does not request or use your device's precise GPS location. You can override the detected region at any time in Settings.

Notifications

If you allow notifications, Volto Air may register Apple CloudKit subscriptions on your device for new episodes or releases you opted into, download-complete alerts, and occasional editorial updates matched to your home country, podcast discovery languages, and Taste Profile interests. Targeting uses those in-app preferences — not continuous GPS. Revoke notification permission anytime in system Settings.

Product Analytics (Mixpanel)

Volto Air uses Mixpanel to understand how the app is used so we can improve it. Events are limited to product analytics such as onboarding completion, playback starts (content type, truncated title, optional country/genre), and Pro funnel steps. Mixpanel may receive a device-derived identifier, app version, and similar technical properties. We configure Mixpanel with automatic event tracking disabled. In the EU/EEA, United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Canada, Mixpanel starts opted out by default until consent rules for your region are satisfied. Elsewhere, analytics may run to operate and improve the app. Analytics is not used to sell your data or to personalize third-party ads. You can stop using the app or clear app data to remove local consent preferences; Mixpanel's processing is also governed by Mixpanel's own privacy policy.

Advertising & Social Sharing

Volto Air includes optional third-party SDKs for features you choose to use:

• Google AdMob — banner advertisements shown to free users, and optional rewarded ads you choose to watch to unlock limited free-tier features (for example extra random radio plays or day-limited archive unlocks). When you allow tracking via Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt, ads may be personalized using a device advertising identifier and related data under Google's policies. If you decline tracking, ads can still appear in a less personalized form. Ads are not shown to Pro subscribers or users who purchased ad removal.
• TikTok Open SDK — only when you choose to share a podcast clip to TikTok.
• Facebook / Instagram — only when you choose to share a podcast clip to Instagram Stories or Reels.
• Photos — only when you save a clip to your library. Volto Air requests add-only access and does not read your existing photos.

Feedback & Content Reports

If you submit an in-app station report or feature request, the message you write (and related context such as a station identifier) may be stored in Apple CloudKit so we can review and respond. Optional email fallbacks you choose to send go through your mail app to our support address. Do not include sensitive personal information in feedback unless necessary.

Crash Diagnostics & Performance

To keep Volto Air stable we use Google Firebase Crashlytics and Firebase Performance Monitoring. If the app crashes or runs slowly, these services may receive diagnostic information such as device type, OS version, app version, stack traces, and timings for network requests the app made (which can include hostnames of streams or APIs you used). Crash reports may include a short note about what was playing (for example a station or episode title) so we can fix playback bugs. This data is used only to operate and improve the app — not for advertising, and not to identify you. Apple MetricKit reports are also stored locally on your device and are not uploaded by us.

Third-Party Services

Volto Air relies on third-party services to deliver content and keep the app working. When you use related features, your device communicates directly with these services (or, in a few cases, through a Volto Air proxy), which may receive your IP address and the request details (such as a search term or a track title) as a normal part of any internet request:

• CloudKit (Apple) — radio stations, browse metadata, app config, map helpers, library sync, optional content alerts, and optional feedback reports.
• Catalog CDN — fallback for browse metadata until CloudKit bundles are imported.
• Podcast Index (via Volto Air proxy) — podcast discovery, search, and feeds.
• Apple Podcasts / iTunes Search — additional podcast and music metadata.
• Apple Music / MusicKit — optional charts, playlists, library, and playback features.
• Apple ShazamKit — song identification.
• Apple Speech — on-device transcript generation you request.
• LRCLIB — song lyrics, looked up by track title and artist.
• ipwho.is — approximate country detection from your IP address.
• MusicBrainz and Wikipedia — optional artist and place metadata.
• YouTube (via Volto Air proxy) — optional music-video lookup when you play a video.
• Mixpanel — product analytics (see Product Analytics).
• Google AdMob — banner and rewarded ads for free users (see Advertising & Social Sharing).
• Google Firebase Crashlytics and Performance Monitoring — crash and performance diagnostics.
• Spotify — only if you choose the optional podcast-follow import.
• TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram — only if you share a clip (see Advertising & Social Sharing).
• Radio, podcast, audiobook, and Apple Music stream providers — when you press play, your device connects to the stream or catalog URL you selected.

Artwork & Images

Station logos, podcast artwork, and music artwork are loaded from their source URLs and cached on your device to improve performance and reduce data usage. You can clear this cache at any time from Settings.

Purchases & Voluntary Tips

Volto Air offers optional in-app purchases and subscriptions (including Volto Air Pro and ad removal) handled entirely by Apple through StoreKit. Volto Air does not receive or store your payment details, credit card numbers, or billing address. Purchase and subscription data is managed by Apple under Apple's Privacy Policy. Volto Air only checks your purchase entitlement on-device to unlock premium features.

Some podcasts may support optional Lightning tips through your own wallet app when that feature is available. Those payments go directly to the creator. Volto Air does not process, custody, or refund cryptocurrency.

Children's Privacy

Volto Air is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. The app has no user accounts. Diagnostic crash data, analytics events, and, for free users, advertising identifiers may still be processed as described in this policy. Radio, podcast, and music content is provided by third parties and may not be suitable for all ages. The app can honor device Screen Time and Apple age-range settings to filter explicit content where available. Parental discretion is advised.

Data Sharing & Sale

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share personal information with third parties for our own marketing purposes. When free users see ads and authorize tracking, Google AdMob and its partners may use device identifiers and related data for personalized advertising under their policies. Crash diagnostics are processed by Google Firebase and product analytics by Mixpanel as described above. Other data leaving your device is the technical request data necessary for the third-party content services listed above to function.

Your Choices & Control

• Delete favorites, saved songs, downloads, recordings, transcripts, and history from within the app.
• Clear cached data anytime in Settings → Maintenance → Clear Cache.
• Change or override your home region and listening languages in Settings.
• Allow or deny notifications in system Settings (controls podcast/artist alerts, downloads, and country updates).
• Allow or deny tracking for personalized ads via Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt, or later in system Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.
• Disable microphone, speech recognition, Apple Music, or Photos (add-only) access for the app in system Settings.
• In regions that require analytics consent, Mixpanel remains opted out until consent rules are met; you can also stop using the app or delete it to remove local preferences.
• Delete the app to remove all locally stored data.

Changes To This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date above and reflect the changes within the app and on this website.

Contact Us

If you have questions, please contact us at voltolabs@gmail.com.