Privacy Policy

Effective November 17, 2026

EarFret is a guitar and bass practice app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, made by Jeff Hall ("I", "me"). This policy explains what the app does with your information. The short version: I don't collect any.

What I collect

Nothing. EarFret contains no analytics, advertising, crash-reporting or tracking code, and it does not contact any server run by me or by a third party. I can't see who uses the app, how they use it, or anything they enter into it. The app's privacy label on the App Store says "Data Not Collected".

The microphone

EarFret uses the microphone so you can answer by playing or singing. While a drill, the tuner or another listening feature is open, the app analyzes the sound on your device to work out which pitches and rhythms you played, then compares them to the answer. The sound itself is not recorded, stored or transmitted, and it's discarded as soon as it has been analyzed. Your device shows its usual microphone indicator whenever the app is listening.

You can turn microphone access off at any time in your device's Settings (on a Mac, System Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone). Every drill can also be answered by tapping.

Voice commands (optional)

If you turn on voice commands, EarFret listens for a few English words ("next", "again", "answer", "stop") using Apple's speech recognition, set to run only on your device. If your device can't recognise speech on-device, voice commands stay off. The words aren't stored or sent anywhere.

Listening log (optional, off by default)

To help diagnose a note the app mishears, Settings has a "Keep a listening log" switch. When it's on, EarFret writes a plain-text log on your device of what it detected: sound level, the pitch it heard and how clearly, the notes it recognised, and how your answers were graded. It never contains audio. The log stays inside the app's own storage (capped at about 4 MB, oldest entries removed first). It is never sent automatically: it leaves your device only if you export it yourself and choose to share the file. You can clear it in Settings at any time.

Your progress and settings

Your practice history, scores, streak, journal entries and notes, settings, reminder schedules, saved maps and custom drills are stored on your device. The app also saves a small summary (for example your streak and what's due for review) in storage shared only with EarFret's own widgets, and sends the same summary from your iPhone to the EarFret app on your paired Apple Watch through Apple's watch connection.

iCloud sync

If you're signed in to iCloud, EarFret keeps your progress and preferences in step across your devices using Apple's CloudKit, in the private database of your own iCloud account. That data is stored by Apple under your Apple Account and is not accessible to me. Microphone sensitivity and input choice stay on each device and are not synced. To stop syncing, turn EarFret off under iCloud in your device's Settings; Apple's handling of iCloud data is covered by Apple's Privacy Policy.

Purchases

EarFret Pro is sold through the App Store. Apple handles payment, and I never receive your name, payment details or Apple Account information. The app asks the App Store on your device whether you have an active EarFret Pro purchase or subscription so it can unlock Pro features. I can see aggregate sales reports from Apple, which do not identify you.

Game Center (optional)

If you're signed in to Game Center, EarFret reports your best 60-second challenge scores and your practice streak to Game Center leaderboards, and the achievements you earn to Game Center achievements. Depending on your Game Center settings, other players may see your Game Center nickname next to those scores. Game Center is run by Apple under Apple's privacy policy; you can sign out or change your Game Center profile and visibility in your device's Settings.

Notifications

Practice reminders, pitch-memory check-ins and the quick quizzes you can answer from a notification are all scheduled on your device (they're "local" notifications). They aren't sent through any server, and your answers to notification quizzes are handled on your device. The app may refresh in the background to keep these schedules topped up. You can turn notifications off in the app or in your device's Settings.

Siri and Shortcuts

You can start drills with Siri or the Shortcuts app. Siri requests are processed by Apple under Apple's privacy policy; EarFret only receives the request to open a drill.

Things you share yourself

You can export your practice statistics as a spreadsheet file, save fretboard maps as PDFs, share result cards and export the listening log. These are created on your device and go only where you choose to send them using your device's share or save options.

MIDI and other connected devices

If you connect a MIDI keyboard, MIDI guitar or audio interface, the app reads the notes or sound from it on your device in the same way as the microphone. Nothing is recorded or sent.

Children

EarFret is suitable for players of any age. Because the app doesn't collect personal information from anyone, it doesn't collect any from children. Game Center and iCloud accounts for children are managed by Apple and by parents through Family Sharing and Screen Time.

Deleting your data

Deleting the app removes its data from that device. To delete synced data from iCloud, open your device's Settings, go to your Apple Account › iCloud, find EarFret in the list of apps using iCloud, and delete its data. Game Center data can be managed in Game Center settings.

Changes to this policy

If what EarFret does with information changes, I'll update this page and its effective date before the new version of the app is released. Significant changes will also be mentioned in the app's release notes.

Contact

Questions about privacy: [email protected].