Privacy Policy

SonicStream is operated by Aleph Technologies, South Africa. This policy describes the information we actually collect and how we use it. Effective date: the date this page is published on sonicstream.co.za.

Questions and requests: hello@sonicstream.co.za.

What we collect

SonicStream has no accounts, no login, and no registration.

On your device. Favourites are stored locally with AsyncStorage. They never leave the device. Deleting the app deletes them.

On our servers we hold only:

• Anonymous, aggregate per-station play counts. These are not tied to you.
• Broadcaster claim submissions: station name, email, request type (claim or removal), and an optional message.
• Premium interest submissions: email, optional feature preference, entry point (save-button or settings), and event type (opened, dismissed, or submitted).

We do not hold listening history, payment details, or a user profile. We do not sync favourites or settings to a server.

Advertising

The iOS app is free and funded by advertising. Google AdMob serves one banner on the Browse screen. There are no audio ads, no pre-roll, and no other ad formats in this version.

AdMob may collect a device advertising identifier (IDFA where available), approximate location derived from IP address, device type and operating system, and app interaction data used to deliver and measure ads. See the Google Privacy Policy and how Google uses data from sites or apps that use their services.

On iOS we show Apple’s App Tracking Transparency prompt before using the advertising identifier for tracking across other companies’ apps and websites. If you decline, you still see ads. They are requested as non-personalised ads, not turned off. You can change this later in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.

Third parties

• Google AdMob — the banner described above.
• Broadcaster stream hosts — when you tap play, your device connects directly to that station’s servers. Those servers receive your IP address. Playback does not go through SonicStream. We do not proxy or store the audio.

The website is hosted in the ordinary way. Server logs may include IP address and user-agent for security and rate-limiting.

POPIA

The responsible party under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 is Aleph Technologies.

Lawful basis, by category:

• Aggregate play counts — necessary to operate and improve the directory you chose to use.
• Broadcaster claims — you submit them; we also need them to honour a rights holder’s request to correct or remove a listing.
• Premium interest — consent. You type an email and tap Notify Me. Opened and dismissed events have no email.
• Non-personalised ads — necessary to fund the free service you chose to use.
• Personalised ads — only if you allow tracking in the App Tracking Transparency prompt.
• Connection to a stream host — necessary to play the station you selected.

You may request access to personal information we hold about you, correction of it, deletion of it, or object to our processing. Email hello@sonicstream.co.za. We action deletion requests within 30 days.

You may complain to the Information Regulator of South Africa:

• Website: inforegulator.org.za
• Email: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za
• Address: JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001
• Telephone: 010 023 5200

Retention

• Interest emails — until we launch a premium offering, or you opt out, whichever is first.
• Claim submissions — 24 months, then deleted.
• Play counts — aggregate and non-identifying; kept while the directory is operated.

Opt-out

Every email we send about Premium includes an unsubscribe link. That link removes your address from the notify list immediately. You can also email hello@sonicstream.co.za. Deletion requests are actioned within 30 days.

Children

SonicStream is not directed at anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has sent us an email, tell us and we will delete it.

Changes

We will update this page if our collection practices change. The published page is the current policy.