Privacy Policy
Last updated: June 11, 2026
Earworm ("we", "us") helps you identify songs stuck in your head by listening to you hum or sing. This policy explains what we collect and why.
What we collect
- Audio recordings: the short clips you record when using the hum feature. These are sent to our servers to identify the song and are stored with your account.
- Account details: your email address and name (from email sign-up or Sign in with Apple).
- Search history: your past identification queries, the candidate songs we showed you, and your feedback ("yes, this" / "not it").
- Basic technical data: app version and device locale, sent with each request.
How we use it
- To identify your song (core functionality): your recording is processed by our song-matching services and the results are returned to you.
- To show your history: your past hums and confirmations appear in your Library.
- To improve Earworm (only with your consent): recordings and feedback may be used to improve our matching accuracy. You can decline or withdraw this in Settings; the app works fully without it.
We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use your data for third-party advertising or cross-app tracking.
Third-party processing
To identify your song, your recording and information derived from it are shared with the following providers, solely to recognise the song:
- Melody matching: ACRCloud (humming / cover-song recognition).
- AI transcription: Google Gemini transcribes any words you sing to help find the song.
- Lyric search: Genius (search only; we do not display full lyrics).
- Music catalogue & previews: Apple Music.
Authentication and storage are provided by Google Firebase. These providers process your data on our behalf and only to recognise your song.
Retention & deletion
We keep your recordings and search history until you delete your account. If you opt in to improving Earworm (in Settings), consented recordings may be retained to improve our matching. We aim to de-identify them, and you can withdraw consent at any time. You can delete your account whenever you like in Settings → Delete Account, which permanently removes your account, recordings, and history from our servers.
Children
Earworm is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect data from them.
Contact
Questions or requests: privacy@ear-worm.app
This policy will be hosted at a public URL (e.g. https://earworm-68fc8.web.app/privacy) and linked from the app and App Store listing before release. Have counsel review before launch, particularly for GDPR/CCPA specifics.