Privacy Policy
SongLinks is a music word game for iPhone. We built it to be fun to play with friends, not to collect information about you. This policy explains, in plain English, what happens to your information when you play.
The short version:
- SongLinks has no accounts, no advertising, no in-app purchases, no analytics, and no crash-reporting or ad tools. The app connects only to Apple's iTunes Search API and Apple's song-preview links (plus Apple's own Speech Recognition and Game Center services).
- We don't run any servers, so we never receive, store, or see your voice, your guesses, your names, or your scores.
- To make the game work, your iPhone talks to a few Apple services (Speech Recognition, the iTunes Search API, and Game Center).
- Your high score, best streak, and recently played songs are saved only on your device.
- We never sell or share your information.
1. What we collect
We (SongLinks) do not collect any personal information. The app has no sign-up, no login, and no profile, and it doesn't send anything to us.
Some information does leave your device so the game can work. It goes straight from your iPhone to the services below, never to us:
| What | Where it goes | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Your voice while the mic button is on | Apple Speech Recognition (on your device or on Apple's servers, as Apple decides) | To turn your spoken guess or player name into text |
| The text of your song guess (for example, a song title and artist name) | Apple's iTunes Search API | To find the song you named and check your answer |
| Song words and song/artist IDs picked by the game | Apple's iTunes Search API | To choose songs and hints |
| Requests for 30-second song previews and album artwork | Apple's servers | To play the clip and show the cover |
| Your game score (only if you're signed in to Game Center) | Apple Game Center | To put your score on the SongLinks leaderboards |
Any time your device connects to a service on the internet, that service receives your device's IP address and basic technical details (such as the type of connection). That's simply how the internet works. SongLinks doesn't add any identifier, account, or device ID to these requests, and the iTunes requests always use the U.S. store. The app doesn't send your location.
2. How the microphone and speech recognition work
SongLinks asks for two iPhone permissions:
- Microphone: "SongLinks uses the microphone so you can say your song guess out loud."
- Speech Recognition: "SongLinks turns your spoken guess into text so it can check your song and artist."
Here's what actually happens:
- The mic is only on after you tap the mic button, either to say a song guess or to say a player's name. It turns off when you tap again, when you stop talking for a moment, or after a time limit. The app never listens in the background.
- Your speech is turned into text by Apple's built-in Speech Recognition. Depending on your device, language, and settings, Apple may do this on your iPhone or on Apple's servers. SongLinks doesn't control that choice, and Apple handles that audio under its own privacy policy (see Section 3). SongLinks doesn't store your audio or send it anywhere else.
- SongLinks does not record, save, or upload your voice. We never receive any audio.
- The text of your song guess is shown on screen and sent to Apple's iTunes Search API to check your answer. Nothing else is done with it.
- Player names (spoken or typed) stay on your device. They're used only on screen during the game, and the name next to your device's high score is saved locally (see Section 4). Names are never sent to iTunes, Game Center, or us.
- You can turn microphone or speech access off at any time in your iPhone's Settings > SongLinks > Microphone (and Speech Recognition). Guessing in the game is done by voice, so the guessing part won't work without these permissions. You can still type player names.
3. Apple services
SongLinks uses these Apple services. When you use them, Apple's privacy policy applies to them, not this one.
- Apple Speech Recognition (Speech framework): turns your speech into text, as described above. See Apple's Privacy Policy and Ask Siri, Dictation & Privacy.
- iTunes Search API: a public Apple service the game uses to look up songs, artists, 30-second previews, and album artwork. SongLinks sends search words (like the text of your guess) and song or artist ID numbers, with no account or personal identifier. Previews and artwork are streamed from Apple's servers. When the main menu opens, when you come back to the app, and when you tap Retry, SongLinks also sends one small fixed search (it contains nothing you said or typed) to check that it can reach iTunes, so it can tell you if you're offline. If you tap the album art or song link, it opens in Apple's own app or website. See Apple's Privacy Policy.
- Game Center: if you're signed in to Game Center on your iPhone, SongLinks signs you in when it opens (Apple shows its own banner). At the end of a game it may send that game's score to the SongLinks leaderboards (High Scores, and for Daily Challenge games, Daily Challenge and Daily Challenge: All-Time). Because SongLinks is played on one shared phone, one device counts as one Game Center player. Your Game Center nickname and profile are managed by Apple and shown by Apple on the leaderboards. SongLinks doesn't read or store them. If you're not signed in, nothing is sent and the game works the same. You can manage or sign out of Game Center in Settings > Game Center. See Game Center & Privacy.
4. Data stored on your device
SongLinks saves a small amount of game data only on your iPhone, using the standard iOS app storage:
- Your device's high score and the player name that scored it
- Your best streak
-
Recently picked songs: iTunes song ID numbers and when each was picked (up to 2,000 songs), so the game doesn't keep repeating the same songs
-
Your game settings (such as decades and options) and a flag that remembers you've seen a tip
Player names other than the high-score holder, and scores from past games are not saved after you close the app.
This data never leaves your device and we can't see it. To delete it, delete the SongLinks app. (Any device backup you make, such as iCloud Backup, may include it, under Apple's terms.) Scores already sent to Game Center are handled by Apple under its own terms and managed by Apple.
5. No accounts, no ads, no tracking, no selling
- SongLinks has no accounts and doesn't ask for your email, phone number, or contacts.
- SongLinks has no advertising, no in-app purchases, no analytics, and no crash-reporting or tracking tools.
- SongLinks does not track you across other apps or websites and doesn't use the advertising identifier.
- We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information. We don't have any to share.
6. Children
SongLinks is a game for all ages. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children under 13. We have no accounts, ads, analytics, or servers, and we never receive voices, names, or scores.
As described above, a child's spoken guesses are processed by Apple's Speech Recognition, and scores go to Game Center only if the device is signed in. Apple provides parental controls for these features through Screen Time and Family Sharing (for example, Game Center and microphone restrictions). Parents with questions can contact us at the address below.
7. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy if the app changes. If a future version changes what information the app uses, we'll update this policy before that version is released. When we change this policy, we'll update the "Effective date" above. Big changes will also be noted in the App Store release notes.
8. Contact us
Questions about this policy or your privacy? Email SongLinks at songlinks.app@gmail.com.