Privacy
policy.

Plain-English summary

• The audio files you import, the cover art, and your place in each one live on your device. We never receive them.
• If you turn on iCloud, Apple syncs your library — file metadata, your playback position, and (when you choose to make a file available) the audio itself — through your private iCloud account. We do not have access.
• Playback, chapter detection, cover-art generation, and resume all happen entirely on your device. Nothing about what you listen to is sent to us.
• We use Sentry for anonymous crash reports — on by default so we can fix things that break (you can turn it off in Settings).
• We use PostHog for anonymous product analytics — off by default; it only runs if you turn it on.
• Either way, it's only ever used to make the app better — never sold, never used for anything else.
• We use Apple's StoreKit for the one-time unlock purchase. Apple, not us, processes payments.

Geographic scope

Pica Player is available only in App Store regions where we have published it. See the app's App Store listing for the current list of supported countries. We do not offer the app in the European Economic Area, and this policy is not designed to satisfy the EU General Data Protection Regulation.

For users in the United Kingdom and Switzerland, we comply with the UK GDPR and the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection respectively to the extent each applies to a data controller in our position; the rights described below extend to UK and Swiss users alongside the US-state rights set out in Section 10.

This policy is governed by the laws of the State of Israel.

What we collect

What we do not collect

We do not collect, transmit, or have any access to:

• The audio files you import
• The titles, authors, or file names of those files
• Cover art (whether embedded or generated on your device)
• Your playback position or listening history
• Chapters or position-log markers you create
• Your photo or contact details
• Your precise location
• Your IDFA (Apple's Identifier for Advertisers)

Everything you import or listen to stays on the device it was added on, plus any other devices that share your personal iCloud account.

Diagnostics & analytics

We use it only to make the app better — diagnosing crashes and understanding which features get used. Never sold, never shared with advertisers, never used for any other purpose. Both streams are anonymous and changeable at any time in Settings → Privacy.

Crash reports (Sentry) — on by default, you can turn them off. A description of the crash, the call stack, the file and line that crashed, and the iOS / iPadOS / macOS / watchOS version. A randomly-generated installation ID. Breadcrumbs we record at key state changes (e.g. "file imported", "paywall shown") — never file names, library contents, or listening history. Legal basis (UK/Switzerland): our legitimate interest in keeping the app stable and secure.

Product analytics (PostHog, EU hosting) — off until you turn it on. Collected only if you opt in. Counts of feature use, e.g. how many files are imported, how often playback starts, how often the paywall is shown. Anonymous metadata: app version, OS version, device model, locale. A random installation ID we do not link to your Apple ID. No IP address is stored in identifiable form. Legal basis (UK/Switzerland): your consent.

What Apple collects on our behalf

When you make the one-time unlock purchase, Apple — not us — handles the entire transaction through StoreKit. Apple gives us only a transaction ID, the product identifier, and whether the purchase is active. We never see your Apple ID, your name, your billing address, or your payment method.

iCloud sync

If iCloud is enabled on your device, Pica Player syncs your library through Apple's CloudKit framework to a container under your own Apple ID. We have no access to this data. What syncs:

• Library metadata — the list of files, their titles, durations, and content type.
• Playback position — where you are in each file, so you can pick up on another device exactly where you left off.
• The audio itself — only for files you explicitly choose to make available on your other devices. When you do, the audio is stored as an asset under your iCloud account so your iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch can download and play it.

All of it is encrypted in transit and at rest by Apple, stored under your iCloud account, and subject to Apple's privacy policy. If you delete a file, the deletion propagates through CloudKit to your other devices. You can disable iCloud sync for Pica Player at any time in iOS Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → Apps Using iCloud → Pica Player.

Your audio files

Pica Player plays audio files that you already own and import — audiobooks, lectures, podcasts, recordings, or any other audio. The app does not include a store, a catalogue, or any audio of its own, and it does not stream content from us.

• You bring the files. You are responsible for having the legal right to store and play any audio you import.
• On-device processing. Chapter detection, cover-art generation, duration scanning, and resume all run locally on your device. None of it is sent to us.
• No DRM circumvention. Pica Player plays standard audio files you provide; it does not remove or bypass any digital-rights-management protection.

How we use what we collect

We use diagnostics and analytics only to diagnose and fix crashes, understand which features are used, and prioritise bug fixes and new features. In short: only ever to make the app better — nothing else.

We do not sell or rent any of this data, share it with advertisers or data brokers, use it to build a profile of you, use it to train AI models, or combine it with data from any other source.

Third parties

If you opt into telemetry, the following processors handle the relevant subset on our behalf:

We require each processor to limit their use of the data to the purposes above. We do not currently share or sell data to any other party.

Children

Pica Player is rated 4+ in the App Store but is designed for general use. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has used the app and shared data with us, contact us and we will delete it.

Your choices

• Turn off crash reports. Settings → Privacy → toggle "Crash reports" off. Sentry stops immediately.
• Usage analytics stays off unless you opt in. Settings → Privacy → "Usage analytics". PostHog only runs while it's on.
• Delete a single file — removes the audio, its cover art, its position, and its chapters on your device, and removes it from your iCloud library across your other devices.
• Stop making a file available on other devices — removes the synced audio asset from iCloud while keeping the file on the device that imported it.
• Delete the app — removes all local data. Files synced to iCloud remain in your iCloud account until you delete them from another device or from iOS Settings.
• Disable iCloud sync — iOS Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → Apps Using iCloud → Pica Player.

California & other US state privacy laws

If you are a resident of California: we do not sell or share your personal information as those terms are defined under California law. We have not done so in the past 12 months and do not intend to. Categories we collect (only if you opt in): identifiers (installation ID) and internet activity (feature events). You have the right to request a copy of personal information about you, request deletion, request correction, opt out of any future sale or sharing, and not be discriminated against for exercising these rights.

If you are a resident of Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Montana, or another US state with a comprehensive privacy law, you have similar rights. Use the same contact email to exercise them.

Data retention

• Local data (audio files, cover art, positions, chapters) — stored on your device until you delete it, delete the app, or factory-reset the device.
• iCloud data (library, positions, made-available audio) — stored under your Apple ID until you delete it from any synced device.
• Crash reports (Sentry) — 90 days by default.
• Analytics events (PostHog) — 12 months by default.

Security

We rely on Apple's platform security for local storage and iCloud sync. Playback, chapter detection, and cover-art generation run entirely on-device. Telemetry payloads, if opt-in is enabled, are sent over TLS to Sentry and PostHog. We do not operate any user-data servers ourselves. No system is perfectly secure. If you become aware of a vulnerability, please email us at the address below.

Changes

If we make material changes to this policy we'll update the "Effective" date at the top and, where practical, notify you inside the app on next launch. Continued use of the app after a change means you accept the updated policy.

Contact

Privacy questions go to [email protected]. Security disclosures go to [email protected]. Both are read by a real person, usually within two working days.

Any dispute arising out of or relating to this policy or the app will be brought exclusively in the competent courts of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel.