Privacy Policy

Who we are

Melody+ ("melodyplus", "we", "us") is an app for learning piano, guitar, ukulele, saxophone, violin, đàn tranh (zither), kalimba and other instruments, making beats and mixing music on iPhone and Android, together with the website melodyplus.app. The app is published on the App Store and on Google Play by the developer named on its store pages, who is responsible for the personal data described in this policy.

The Android app works like the iPhone app. Where this policy says iPhone or iOS, the same applies to your Android phone or tablet and to Android, except for the differences listed under Melody+ on Android.

You can reach us about privacy at any time at [email protected].

At a glance

• Microphone audio is analysed on your iPhone in real time. Nothing is recorded unless you choose to record, and audio is never uploaded unless you choose to post a recording to the community.
• Music you import (from Files or your Music library), its analysis, and the recordings, beats, mixes and share videos you make stay on your iPhone unless you choose to share them.
• You can use Melody+ without an account. If you sign in with Apple, Google or an email address and password, we store your email address, an identifier from Apple or Google if you use them, and your practice progress so it can sync between devices.
• The community and the leaderboard are optional, need an account and show only the nickname you choose, never your name or email. Community posts can be reported and are moderated.
• Payments are handled by Apple on iPhone and by Google Play on Android. We never see your card or bank details.
• No ads and no tracking across apps or websites. We do not sell your data. The app contains no analytics service today; if we turn on anonymous usage analytics, you can switch it off in the app.
• You can delete your account, and everything stored with it on our servers, in the app at any time, or by email without the app (see melodyplus.app/delete-account).

Microphone and audio

Melody+ asks for microphone access so it can hear your instrument. The microphone is used only while you are on a screen that listens, and a "Listening" badge shows when it does: playing a song or lesson with microphone input, the tuner, practice tools that follow your playing (for example long tones, bends, intonation, clean notes and chord recognition), the zither and kalimba in real-instrument mode, audio calibration and the "play any note" step of onboarding. To warn you when it hears speech, noise or clipping instead of an instrument, Melody+ checks the sound's pitch and level on your iPhone; nothing is recorded or kept. The guitar amp plays your guitar through wired headphones or an audio interface and doesn't record it. Beat Maker uses the microphone only when you choose Record a sound for a pad of your own kit; the Rhythm course and the DJ Mixer don't use it.

The sound is turned into notes, chords and strums by an audio engine that runs entirely on your iPhone. The raw audio is processed in memory as you play and then discarded. It is never sent to us or to anyone else, and it is not used for speech recognition or to identify you.

You can turn microphone access off at any time in Settings › Melody+. You can still play with a MIDI keyboard or the on-screen keys.

Recordings you choose to make

Recording is always optional and only starts when you choose it, for example with Record my playing, when you record a mix or a drum take, or when you record a short sound (a few seconds at most) for a Beat Maker pad. Recordings and pad sounds are saved on your iPhone.

A recording leaves your device only if you explicitly share it. With the iOS share sheet it goes only to the app or person you choose, and we do not receive a copy. If you post it to the Melody+ community, it is uploaded to our servers and shown to other users, as described under Community.

Share videos (for TikTok, Reels or Shorts) are made on your iPhone from one of your recordings and are shared in the same ways. The same applies to what you create in Beat Maker and the DJ Mixer, such as patterns, hot cues and loops: it is stored on your iPhone and leaves it only if you share it.

Music you import

The DJ Mixer can use audio files that you pick from the Files app or open in Melody+ from another app, and songs from your iPhone's Music library if you allow access to it. Melody+ copies each one into its own storage on your iPhone so it stays in your library, and while a track is on a deck it keeps a decoded copy in the app's temporary cache, deleted when the track is unloaded or the app restarts. The Drums can play along to a file or a Music library song, and Beat Maker can turn the start of a file into a pad sound, in the same way. Imported music is processed on your iPhone only and is never uploaded to us or to anyone else, unless you post a recording that contains it to the community.

To make mixing possible, Melody+ analyses each track on your iPhone: its tempo (BPM), beat grid, musical key and a three-band waveform. The results, together with the track's title, length and when you added it, are cached on your iPhone so the track opens faster next time. We do not receive this analysis and we do not know which tracks you import.

Copy-protected (DRM) files and songs, such as Apple Music downloads, and songs that are not stored on your iPhone cannot be used; only songs without DRM are copied from your Music library. Imported tracks and their analysis are removed when you delete the app. Like other app data, they can be included in backups of your iPhone that you make with iCloud or a computer.

MIDI keyboards and Bluetooth

If you connect a keyboard over USB or Bluetooth MIDI, the notes it sends are processed on your iPhone, just like audio. Bluetooth access is used only to find and connect Bluetooth MIDI instruments.

Data kept on your iPhone

Your progress (stars, XP, streaks, practice minutes), your settings, your daily goal and your reminder time are stored on your iPhone. Practice reminders, and the reminder shortly before a free trial ends if you are ever on one, are scheduled as local notifications by iOS; they are not sent through our servers.

If you add learner profiles for your family, each profile (the name you type, an avatar colour and that learner's progress) is stored on your iPhone. Analysis caches for imported tracks, and what you create in Beat Maker and the DJ Mixer, are stored there too.

Deleting the app removes this data from your device.

Melody+ on Android

Melody+ for Android phones and tablets is available on Google Play. It handles your data as described in this policy, with these differences:

• Permissions: Melody+ asks for the microphone (used as described above), for notifications (on Android 13 and later), only to show your practice reminders, and for nearby devices (Bluetooth), only to connect a Bluetooth MIDI instrument that you choose in Android's own pairing window. Melody+ does not scan for Bluetooth devices itself and does not ask for your location. You can turn each permission off in Android's Settings › Apps › Melody+.
• Reminders are scheduled on your device by Android and are set again after your device restarts, which is why Melody+ is allowed to run briefly at start-up. They are not sent through our servers.
• Sign-in: you can sign in with Google, through Android's Credential Manager (the Google account sheet shown by Android), or with an email address and password. Sign in with Apple is not offered on Android.
• Purchases are made with Google Play Billing, as described under Purchases.
• Music you import comes from Android's file picker or from another app with Open with or Share; Melody+ has no access to a music library on Android. Recordings are shared with Android's share sheet, to the app or person you choose.
• Melody+ is excluded from Android's app backup, so the data it keeps on your device is not copied to your Google account. It is removed when you uninstall the app or clear its storage.
• The Android app does not use push notifications today, and it contains no analytics service: nothing about how you use it leaves your device. The in-app inbox works as described under Notifications while you are signed in. Bug reports include the Android version instead of the iOS version.

Optional account and progress sync

An account is optional. You can sign in with Apple (on iPhone), Google, or an email address and password. Depending on the way you choose, we receive and store:

• Sign in with Apple: a stable user identifier issued by Apple for Melody+, the email address Apple shares with us (which may be a private relay address if you choose Hide My Email) and your name, if you choose to share it;
• Google: a sign-in token signed by Google, which our server verifies; from it we keep your Google account identifier and email address. Your account name is the name of your Google account if the app receives it (on Android), otherwise the part of your email address before the @;
• Email and password: the email address and name you enter, and your password stored only as a salted hash, never in readable form. If you reset your password, we email you a one-time 6-digit code that expires after a short time.

We never see your Apple or Google password: Google sign-in happens on Google's own pages in a secure sheet provided by iOS, or in the Google account sheet shown by Android.

While you are signed in, Melody+ syncs your practice progress so it is the same on all your devices: the practice sessions you complete (which lesson or song, including Rhythm lessons, when, your score and stars, and how long you played), daily practice minutes, XP, streaks, and your time zone so days and streaks are counted correctly. We also keep whether you have an active Melody+ Pro membership.

We use this data only to provide your account, sync your progress, unlock Pro, run the features you choose to use (such as the community, the leaderboard and notifications) and keep the service secure. We use your email only for messages about your account, for example to confirm that it was deleted, and never for marketing unless you opt in.

Community

The Community tab lets signed-in users listen to and share what they made in Melody+. It is optional. To post, you accept the community rules and choose a public nickname (the same one as on the leaderboard).

When you post, we store the recording or share video you chose (a beat, a DJ mix or a drum take), its title, your caption if you add one, its length and instrument, when you posted it and your nickname. The file is uploaded to our cloud storage. Your post, your nickname and the number of likes are visible to every signed-in user of Melody+, except people you have blocked or who have blocked you. Your account name and email address are never shown.

We also store your acceptance of the community rules, the posts you like, the posts you report (with the reason and any note you add) and the people you block. Titles and captions are checked against a list of blocked words before they are published.

Anyone can report a post for spam, hate or harassment, sexual content, violence, someone else's music, or another reason. A post reported by three different people is hidden while our team reviews it, and we aim to review reports within 24 hours. To act on reports, our moderators can see the post, its reports and the author's account email address, and can show, hide or remove posts and stop an account from posting.

You can delete your own posts at any time; the file is then deleted from our storage. If an upload is interrupted before the post is created, the file can stay in our storage until you delete your account.

Leaderboard

The leaderboard is optional and needs an account. You join with a nickname you choose; your account name and email address are never shown. Learners who join are ranked by the XP of their synced practice, this week and of all time, and others can see your nickname, rank and XP.

Nicknames are checked against a list of blocked words. Our moderators can replace a nickname that breaks the rules or hide someone from the boards.

You can change your nickname (once a day) or leave at any time; leaving removes you from the boards at once. We keep your nickname so you can come back with it, and it stays your public name in the community until you change it or delete your account.

Bug reports and feedback

In Me › Report a bug or suggest an idea you can send us a message. With it, the app sends the kind of message (bug, idea or other), the app version, iOS version, device model, your language, the instrument you are learning and, if you give one, an email address for our reply. It never sends audio, recordings or your progress.

If you are signed in, the message is linked to your account so we can follow up; otherwise it is sent anonymously. If you are offline, it waits on your iPhone and is sent later. To prevent abuse, we briefly count messages per account, or per IP address for anonymous messages; the IP address is not saved with your message.

We use feedback only to fix problems and improve Melody+. Messages linked to your account are deleted when you delete it. Anonymous messages are not linked to anyone and are kept to improve the app.

Notifications

When you are signed in, Melody+ has an in-app inbox with messages from us, such as news, challenges, tips and messages about your account. We store these messages and whether you have read them.

If you also allow notifications, iOS gives Melody+ a device token for Apple Push Notification service (APNs). We store it with your account, together with your language and app version, so we can send you push notifications. In the app you choose which kinds you get: Challenges and leaderboard news (on unless you turn it off) and News and offers (off until you turn it on). Account messages, such as receipts, are always sent. The Android app does not use push notifications yet, so on Android no device token is stored.

We send emails about your account, for example a welcome message, a thank-you when Pro starts, a note when it ends and the confirmation that your account was deleted. We send news and offers by email only if you have turned on News and offers, and you can turn it off at any time.

Purchases

Melody+ Pro is sold through the App Store using Apple's StoreKit. Apple processes the payment under its own privacy policy; we never receive your payment card or bank details.

To unlock Pro, and to keep it active across your devices when you are signed in, we receive and verify information about the transaction from Apple, such as the product, purchase and renewal dates, the transaction identifier and whether the membership is active, in a trial or cancelled.

On Android, Melody+ Pro is sold through Google Play using Google Play Billing. Google processes the payment under its own privacy policy; we never receive your payment card or bank details. When you buy while signed in, the app passes your Melody+ account identifier (a random code, not your name or email) to Google Play with the purchase, so the purchase can be matched to your account. To unlock Pro, the app sends the purchase token and the product to our server, which verifies them with Google Play. Google Play also tells our server when a membership renews, is cancelled, is refunded or ends, so Pro stays correct on all your devices.

No ads, no tracking

Melody+ shows no ads and contains no advertising or tracking SDKs. We do not track you across other companies' apps or websites, we do not build advertising profiles and we do not sell or rent personal data.

This website does not use analytics or advertising cookies and does not load scripts or fonts from other websites. It stores only your language choice in a cookie and your light or dark theme choice in your browser's local storage, both so the site looks the way you set it.

Usage analytics

Melody+ can count how the app is used, so we can see what to improve: for example which tabs, lessons, songs and tools are opened, when a lesson is completed and with how many stars, when the paywall is shown or Pro is bought, when a share video is made, when someone joins the leaderboard or posts to the community, and when feedback is sent. The app ships without an analytics service today, so these events are not sent anywhere.

If we turn on Google Analytics for Firebase, these events will be sent to Google, which processes them for us, together with technical information that Firebase collects automatically, such as a random app-instance identifier, device model, iOS version and country. A Share anonymous usage data switch then appears in Me; turn it off and the app stops collecting usage data. We will update this policy and the date above before we turn it on.

Usage events never include audio, recordings, text you type, your name or your email address. We do not link them to your account, they do not use the advertising identifier, and they are not used for advertising or to track you across apps.

Who processes data for us

We use a small number of service providers that process data on our behalf and under our instructions:

• a hosting provider for our servers, database and backups, and cloud storage for files posted to the community;
• an email delivery provider for account emails;
• Apple, for App Store purchases and Apple Push Notification service (APNs), which delivers push notifications to your iPhone;
• Google, for Google Play purchases and their verification on Android, and for Google Analytics for Firebase, only if we turn on usage analytics.

Apple and Google also provide sign-in, only when you choose to use them, under their own privacy policies.

We share personal data with others only if the law requires it, or to protect the rights and safety of our users and of Melody+.

How long we keep data

Account and progress data, your leaderboard nickname, community posts, likes, reports and blocks, feedback linked to your account, and your inbox, push tokens and notification settings are kept for as long as you have an account and are deleted when you delete it. A community post you delete is removed at once. A post removed by our moderators loses its file at once; its record stays with your account so repeated breaches of the rules can be handled.

Anonymous feedback is not linked to anyone and is kept to improve the app. When you delete your account, the records of store purchases it used (store, product, transaction identifier or Google Play purchase token, and dates) are kept without any link to you, so that the same purchase can't unlock Pro for another account, and where tax or accounting law requires. We also keep a record that an account was deleted and when, with the account's internal identifier but without your email address or name. Technical server logs, which can contain IP addresses, are kept only for a short time for security and troubleshooting.

Deleting your account and data

You can delete your account at any time in the app under Me › Account › Delete account. This permanently deletes your account and everything stored with it on our servers: your email address, name and password, your progress, your sign-in links with Apple or Google, your Pro status, your leaderboard nickname, your community posts and their files, your likes, the reports you filed and your blocks, feedback sent while signed in, and your inbox, push tokens and notification settings.

It also revokes Melody+'s access to your Sign in with Apple login. We do not keep tokens from Google, so there is nothing to revoke with it; you can also remove Melody+ from the connected apps in your Google account settings.

Deleting your account does not cancel a Melody+ Pro membership, because the subscription belongs to your Apple Account or Google account: cancel it in Settings on iPhone, or in Google Play › Payments & subscriptions › Subscriptions on Android. Progress stored only on your device is removed when you delete the app.

If you can no longer access the app, or don't want to install it, email [email protected] from the address linked to your account and we will delete it for you. The page melodyplus.app/delete-account explains how.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export or delete your personal data, to object to or restrict its use, and to withdraw consent. Write to [email protected] and we will respond within the time required by law. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.

Children and families

Melody+ is made for learners of all ages and can be used without an account. Families can share one iPhone and add a learner profile for each child; those profiles stay on the device and hold only the name you choose and the child's progress. There are no ads, no tracking and no private messages.

The community and the leaderboard need an account and are optional. They show only a nickname, never a name or email address, and they are moderated: nicknames, titles and captions are checked for blocked words, anyone can report a post, and our team reviews reports.

Children under 13, or under the minimum age for consent to online services where they live, should use Melody+ with a parent or guardian, who decides whether to sign in, join the leaderboard, post to the community and share recordings. We do not knowingly collect more personal data from children than is described here. If you are a parent and believe your child has created an account without your permission, contact [email protected] and we will delete it.

Security

Data sent between the app and our servers is encrypted in transit (HTTPS). Access to our systems is restricted and sign-in tokens are short-lived. Files posted to the community are stored privately and played through links that expire after a few hours. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your data and to keep as little of it as possible.

Changes to this policy

If we change how Melody+ handles personal data, we will update this page and the date above, and tell you in the app before significant changes take effect.

Contact

Questions or requests about privacy: [email protected]. Anything else: [email protected].