Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to Earonman. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you use our ear training application.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Personal Information

• Email address
• Display name (if provided)
• Profile picture (if uploaded)
• Password (stored encrypted)
• Payment information (processed securely through Stripe — we do not store card details)
• The country you signed up from, derived from your IP address when you create an account, to understand where our users come from (we store the country only, not the IP address)

2.2 Usage and Progress Data

• Learning progress and exercise completion data
• Performance metrics and accuracy statistics
• Session information and activity timestamps
• Experience points (XP), level, and achievement badges earned
• Daily goal progress

2.3 EarCoins and Transaction Data

• EarCoin balance and transaction history (earnings and redemptions)
• Sources of EarCoin earnings (exercise completion, daily goals, league bonuses)

2.4 League Data

• Weekly XP earned within each league period
• League tier history, final rankings, promotion and relegation records
• EarCoin bonuses awarded through league results

2.5 Referral Data

If you reach us through an affiliate's referral link, we place a cookie in your browser for up to 60 days that records the affiliate's code. This is a non-essential referral cookie: it is not required to use the service, and if you block or clear it, or use privacy settings that prevent it, no referral is recorded. If you enter a referral code when you sign up, we store which affiliate referred you together with your account.

• The referring affiliate's code (from the referral link cookie or a code you enter)
• A record linking your account to the affiliate who referred you
• Whether and when you upgrade to a paid subscription, so an affiliate reward can be attributed

3. How We Use Your Information

• To provide and maintain our service
• To track your progress and personalise your learning experience
• To process your subscription payments
• To communicate with you about your account, progress reports, and product updates
• To calculate and display league standings within your group
• To award EarCoins and track your virtual currency balance
• To attribute a referral to an affiliate and calculate their reward, where you were referred through our affiliate program
• To improve our service based on aggregate usage patterns

4. Data Shared with Other Users

When you participate in weekly leagues, the following information is visible to other users assigned to the same league group:

• Display name
• Profile picture
• Current level
• Weekly XP earned in the current league week

This data is only shared within your specific league group and only for the duration of the active league week. Participation in leagues is voluntary. If you do not wish to share this information with other users, do not join a league.

5. Data Storage and Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures to protect your personal information. Passwords are stored using strong one-way hashing. Payment information is processed and stored by Stripe — we do not retain card details on our servers.

6. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services which may process your data:

• Stripe - payment processing
• RevenueCat - managing subscriptions bought in the iPhone and Android apps, in the iPhone app measuring which Apple Ads advert led to an install (see 6a), and passing trials and subscriptions on to Meta if you allow advertising measurement (see 6b)
• NextAuth.js - authentication
• AWS SES (Amazon Simple Email Service) - sending bulk and campaign emails
• Zoho Mail - sending transactional emails (account, password reset)
• Google Analytics - measuring how the website is used, only after you accept optional cookies
• Meta Platforms - measuring which Facebook and Instagram adverts lead to installs, sign-ups, trials and subscriptions in the iPhone and Android apps, only if you allow it (see 6b)

6a. Cookies, Analytics and Advertising

Essential cookies keep you signed in and the site working, and are always set. Everything else waits for your choice in the cookie banner, and nothing in this section runs until you accept optional cookies.

• Analytics: Google Analytics tells us which pages people visit and where they leave, so we can improve the site. Your IP address is anonymised.
• Advertising measurement: if we advertise Earonman, these cookies tell us which advert brought a visitor and whether they went on to create an account. This is how we avoid spending on adverts that reach the wrong people.

If you accept only the essentials, analytics and advertising cookies stay switched off and no advertising identifiers are collected. You can change your mind at any time by clearing this site's data in your browser, which brings the banner back.

Separately from cookies, the referral link cookie described in section 2.5 records which affiliate sent you. It is not used for advertising.

In the iPhone app, if you installed Earonman after tapping one of our Apple Ads adverts, Apple tells the app which campaign and search keyword that advert belonged to. RevenueCat records it with your subscription so we can see which adverts lead to trials and subscriptions and stop paying for the ones that do not. This uses Apple's AdServices framework: it involves no advertising identifier, no tracking across other apps or websites, and no tracking permission.

6b. Advertising Measurement in the Apps

From version 1.15, the iPhone and Android apps include Meta's software development kit (the Facebook SDK). When we advertise Earonman on Facebook or Instagram, it shows us which adverts bring people who go on to practise and subscribe, so we can stop paying for the ones that do not.

It only works if you allow it. On iPhone the app asks with Apple's tracking permission (App Tracking Transparency) during the first run. Android has no such system question, so the app asks the same question itself. Until you allow it, the app sends nothing to Meta.

If you allow it, Meta receives:

• these events: opening the app (which is how Meta counts an install), creating an account, starting a free trial, and buying or renewing a subscription, with its price and currency
• your device's advertising identifier (the IDFA on iPhone, the Google advertising ID on Android) and the anonymous ID Meta's SDK creates for the app
• the technical details sent with each event: your device model, its operating system and the app version, and the IP address the event comes from

The app itself sends the first two. Trials, purchases and renewals reach Meta from RevenueCat, so a renewal is counted even when the app is closed, and RevenueCat passes them on only for players who allowed advertising measurement. Neither the app nor RevenueCat sends Meta your name, your email address or anything about your practice in Earonman.

Meta uses this data under its own terms to measure our adverts and decide who sees them. We rely on your consent for this (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR), and you can withdraw it at any time: on iPhone in Settings, Privacy & Security, Tracking; on Android in the app under Profile, Privacy. From then on nothing more is sent. You can also reset or delete your device's advertising identifier in your phone's settings.

7. Email Communications

We may send you the following types of emails:

• Transactional: account-related messages such as welcome emails, password resets, and subscription notices
• Progress reports: weekly summaries of your learning activity
• League results: weekly outcome emails sent only to users who have joined a league
• Re-engagement: reminders to users who have been inactive

You can unsubscribe from non-transactional emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email we send.

8. Your Rights (GDPR)

As a user in the European Union, you have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

• Access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Rectification: correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Erasure: request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
• Restriction: request that we limit how we process your data
• Portability: receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Objection: object to processing of your data for certain purposes

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 9.

9. Contact Information

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or would like to exercise your data protection rights, please contact us at:

10. Updates to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of any significant changes by posting the updated policy on this page and updating the effective date below.