Your nights stay yours.

Who we are #

Rain Sounds is made by OZ at Hello World Games & Apps, an independent developer in Çanakkale, Türkiye.

This Privacy Policy covers Rain Sounds & Sweet Dreams (“Rain Sounds” or “the app”), published by Mustafa OZ, trading as Hello World Games & Apps (“we”, “us”, “our”). OZ is our public developer name.

It applies to the Android app from version 3.0 onward, including its Android TV and Wear OS versions and home-screen widget, and to the Apple app from version 1.0 onward for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Features vary by device; a feature described here applies only where it is available. Earlier Android releases are explained in section 15.

We are the data controller for personal information we handle for support, purchases, legal records and our legal website. Applicable protections include the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Türkiye’s Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data (KVKK), where those laws apply.

Apple, Google, your device maker and services you choose have their own responsibilities and privacy policies for their stores, payments, operating systems, backups and other services. This policy explains our app’s use of those services; it does not replace their policies.

What the app keeps on your device #

Your preferences are stored locally. The app does not upload them to us.

Depending on your device and the features you use, the app saves the following in its private local storage. On iPhone and iPad, preferences use an Apple App Group container, which permits sharing between our own app and its extensions on that device. This is not a public database or a developer cloud account.

These values are not sent to a developer-operated server. Settings and listening history are separate on each device; the app does not run a service to synchronize them between Android and Apple devices, or between your phone, watch and TV. The operating system may copy app data through its own backup, restore or device-transfer features. Speech, notification and media-control features can also pass the limited information described in section 04 to the relevant system service.

What we never collect #

No advertising, developer-installed analytics, tracking or app account.

The covered app versions contain no advertising, third-party analytics, third-party crash-reporting or social-media SDKs. We operate no app backend. Bundled rain sounds play locally. The app does not:

• require an app account, email address or password;
• read an advertising identifier, create an identifier to track you, or track activity across other apps or websites;
• access your location, microphone, camera, contacts, calendar, photo library or personal documents;
• record your voice, measure your sleep or access Apple Health, HealthKit or fitness records;
• send your name, listening history or device-motion readings to us;
• sell or rent personal information, or use it for targeted advertising.

This does not mean that no information ever leaves your device. Store payments and purchase checks, operating-system services, optional emails, public reviews and opening web links involve their providers, as explained below. Store transaction identifiers and purchase tokens are distinct from advertising identifiers.

These legal pages use no cookies, analytics, tracking pixels or externally loaded fonts or scripts. Their hosting service may process ordinary request information, such as your IP address, browser or user-agent information, requested page and request time, to deliver the pages, maintain technical logs and prevent abuse. The pages do not receive the app’s local settings.

Features that use your device’s own services #

Some features use your device’s own services. Here is what they receive.

Mizzle’s voice

Where speech is available and enabled, the app passes Mizzle’s prepared words, sometimes including your optional name, to the device’s text-to-speech service. On Android, the app requests an offline-capable voice from your chosen engine; that engine’s provider controls its handling of the text. On iPhone and iPad, the app uses Apple’s speech synthesizer and available installed voices, without a separate speech or AI service operated by us. Voice availability and any system voice downloads are controlled by the device provider. You can switch off Settings → Mizzle → Speak out loud. Mizzle’s speech is suppressed while TalkBack or VoiceOver is active.

Bedtime reminders and notifications

On supported phones and tablets, enabling a reminder requests notification permission when the operating system requires it. Android schedules a local alarm; iPhone and iPad schedule a local notification. We do not send remote push notifications or receive a push-notification token. Reminder content may include your name, a chosen sound and a message based on local app history. Your lock screen, notification history or a paired device may display it according to your system settings. Turn reminders off in the app’s Sleep settings or manage notifications and preview visibility in your device’s settings. The standalone watch apps and TV versions do not provide the phone’s bedtime-reminder feature.

Motion and touch

On supported iPhones and iPads, the rain scene reads device orientation and acceleration through Core Motion to respond to tilting and shaking. Readings are used in memory to animate the scene; the app does not retain a motion history or send those readings to us. It does not use motion-activity, step-counting or fitness APIs. The sensor stops when its scene is inactive or Reduce motion is enabled. Haptics and watch or remote controls are handled locally.

Playback controls and audio routes

The operating system receives playback information such as the sound title, app name, artwork and playing/paused status for media notifications, the lock screen and Now Playing. Connected media controls or devices you choose, such as Bluetooth headphones, a car system or an AirPlay destination, may receive playback metadata and, for audio outputs, the sound itself. Your typed name and listening history are not included in the app’s Now Playing metadata.

Widgets and app extensions

Where provided, a widget can show the selected sound and playback state using local app data. Our own extensions may use a shared local container for that purpose. This is not cloud synchronization.

Backups and device transfer

Android backup, Apple’s iCloud or computer backups, and device-transfer tools may include app settings, including your optional name, under your system configuration. We cannot view or manage those backups. Removing the app does not necessarily erase an existing backup. On iPhone and iPad, Offload App keeps documents and data; use Delete App when you intend to remove the installed app and its local data. Shared extension data may remain while a related component is installed. Manage backups and remove other installed copies separately; see section 12.

Reviews, sharing and web links

Android’s Rate option opens Google Play. On supported Apple devices, the app may ask the system to show Apple’s review prompt; the manual review link opens the App Store. Store providers handle anything you submit, and public reviews may include your public profile name. On iPhone and iPad, Share app passes the public App Store link to the system share sheet, not your saved name or listening history. The destination you choose handles the resulting message under its own policy. Opening legal, support or store links gives the browser or destination service the technical information needed to make the request.

Purchases through your store #

Google Play handles Android payments. Apple’s App Store handles Apple payments.

The app offers three free sounds and a one-time purchase to unlock the other seven. This is not a subscription. Store accounts are separate from the app: we do not receive your store password, full card number or bank-account details.

Android: Google Play Billing

The app uses Google Play Billing to obtain prices, start checkout, check purchase status, acknowledge completed purchases and restore access. The billing service supplies transaction information, which may include the product, purchase token, order identifier, purchase state and acknowledgment state. Our app processes that response on the device and persistently caches whether access is unlocked; it does not send the response to a developer backend. Google may process billing diagnostics under its own policies.

Google Play Console and financial reports may provide us with order identifiers, dates, product, price, currency, tax and refund information and buyer region. Some order tools may also expose purchaser contact or location information according to Google’s current access rules. We use only what is needed for support, refunds, accounting and legal duties. We do not receive your Google password.

Apple: StoreKit

The Apple apps use StoreKit to obtain prices and complete purchases through Apple’s checkout. StoreKit supplies signed transactions and entitlements. The app verifies them on the device, checks the product and revocation status, and can recognize a family-shared entitlement if the store makes one available. It stores a local unlock flag and responds to purchase, approval, refund and revocation updates. Restore purchase asks Apple to synchronize the account’s transactions. We do not upload StoreKit transactions to a developer-operated server.

Apple provides developer sales, financial and refund reports, including product, units, proceeds and region information. These are not a customer list containing your Apple Account email address or payment credentials. If you email us a receipt or purchase information, we receive what you choose to send; please redact unrelated purchases and payment details.

Store policies and separate purchases

Apple and Google process store information under the Apple Privacy Policy, Google Privacy Policy and applicable payment notices, including the Google Payments Privacy Notice. We do not link an Apple Account to a Google account. A purchase in one store does not transfer to the other. Restoration and supported-device access are explained in the Terms of Use.

Information we may receive #

We may receive store reports, public reviews, website request information and what you send to support.

Store statistics and diagnostics

Google Play Console, App Store Connect and Apple’s developer tools may provide download, sales, installation, device, operating-system, language and country or region statistics. Usage and crash diagnostics may depend on the choices you make with Apple or Google. Aggregate reports are designed to protect individual privacy; technical crash reports can contain diagnostic identifiers, stack traces and device or software information. We do not use them to identify you or combine them with your local listening history. There is no separate analytics or crash-reporting SDK installed by us.

Ratings and reviews

If you publish a review, we can see its text, rating, public profile name and information the store displays, and may respond through the store. Public visibility and removal are controlled by the store provider.

Support messages

If you email us, we receive your email address, any sender name, your message and attachments, and information you choose to include, such as device details or a receipt. Sending an email is optional and the app does not automatically attach logs or local preferences. Please do not send passwords, full payment details, health records or other sensitive information. If you include such information, we handle it only as needed to deal with the message or remove it.

Purchase information is described in section 05; technical information from our legal website is described in section 03.

How we use information, and our legal bases #

We use information for app functions, purchases, support, reliability and legal duties.

Where GDPR or KVKK applies, the following are the relevant purposes and legal grounds. We use a ground only where its requirements are met; permission for a device feature is not blanket consent to other processing.

We do not use personal information for advertising, marketing lists, automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects, or profiling. The app’s local night counts and purchase-entitlement checks serve the functions described here. Reading this policy does not provide consent, waive rights or authorize new data collection.

Who we share information with #

No sale, rental or sharing for targeted advertising.

Local preferences are not made available to us for disclosure. For the limited information we do handle, recipients may include:

• Apple and Google: the applicable store provider for purchases, refunds, reviews and developer reports; Google also provides our support email through Gmail. Store providers have their own controller responsibilities.
• Service providers: email and website-hosting providers processing messages or technical requests needed to operate those services. We do not give them the app’s local name or listening history. Providers acting for us must protect information appropriately and use it only for the authorized purpose, subject to applicable law.
• Professional advisers and authorities: accountants, legal advisers, tax authorities and other recipients where necessary for a legal duty, a valid request or protection of rights. We limit disclosure to what is needed and lawful.
• A successor to the app: if the business or app changes ownership, only as permitted by law, with appropriate confidentiality and notice. Information already held remains subject to applicable privacy protections; a transfer is not permission for unrelated new uses.

We do not sell personal information or “share” it for cross-context behavioral advertising as those terms are defined in California law. When you choose a share-sheet destination or publish a store review, the resulting disclosure is controlled by your action and that service.

Where information is processed #

App preferences stay local, subject to your device’s services. Information that reaches us may be processed outside your country.

We are based in Türkiye and may access support messages and developer records there. Apple, Google, our email provider and the provider hosting these legal pages may process information in other countries, including the United States and countries in Europe, depending on their infrastructure and your service settings. Those countries may have different data-protection laws.

When we are responsible for a restricted international transfer, the transfer must have a lawful mechanism under the rules that apply, such as an applicable adequacy decision or appropriate contractual safeguards. Relevant requirements may include GDPR Chapter V, the UK’s transfer rules and KVKK Article 9. Contact us for information about the recipients, destinations and safeguards applicable to information we hold about you, or to request a copy of relevant safeguards where available, with necessary confidential details removed.

For transfers Apple or Google makes as an independent provider, consult its own privacy information. We cannot inspect the contents or locations of your personal device backups.

How long we keep information #

Local data follows your device choices. We keep other records only for their stated purpose.

• Local app data: until changed or removed using the available app or system controls. Backups, offloaded-app data, shared extension storage and copies on other devices need separate attention; see section 12. Motion readings are used transiently and not saved as a history.
• Financial and transaction records we retain: for the period required by applicable tax, accounting and commercial law. Turkish commercial record-keeping can require ten years, depending on the record. We restrict retained records to that purpose, and keep them longer only when another legal requirement or an unresolved claim makes it necessary.
• Ordinary support emails: until your question is resolved, plus a follow-up period of no more than two years after resolution. Purchase, accounting or legal-claim correspondence may need the longer period applicable to that record. Avoid sending unnecessary sensitive information.
• Store reports and public reviews: Apple and Google control retention in their services. Copies we retain are kept only for support, reliability, financial records or legal needs. Deleting a local app does not remove store purchase history or public reviews.
• Website technical logs: for delivery, security and troubleshooting needs under the hosting provider’s retention and security settings; logs may be retained longer where needed to investigate abuse or a legal claim. Contact us about a specific request.

When information we control is no longer needed, we delete it or make it anonymous, subject to lawful record-keeping and provider backup-deletion cycles. We cannot delete records Apple or Google must retain independently.

How we protect information #

Keeping preferences local reduces what we need to hold.

Local data relies on the operating system’s app storage protections and your device’s security. On iPhone and iPad, the App Group is limited to entitled components. We do not operate a remote database of your names or listening history. For support and developer records, we limit access and use the security controls provided by our service providers. Protect your device, store accounts, backups and screen lock too, especially on a shared TV or device.

No storage or transmission is completely secure. If we learn of a personal-data breach within our responsibility, we will investigate, take appropriate action, and notify affected people and authorities when required by law.

Your choices and controls #

Use app Settings for local choices and your device’s settings for permissions and backups.

• Change or remove your nameWhere available: Settings → You → Clear name. A nickname is enough; no real name is required.
• Control speech, reminders and motionUse the app’s Mizzle, Sleep and Motion settings where shown. You can also deny notification permission or hide notification previews in the operating system. System Reduce Motion is respected on Apple devices.
• Remove Android local dataUse Android Settings → Apps → Rain Sounds → Storage → Clear storage, or uninstall. Names vary by device. Do this separately for a watch or TV installation.
• Remove Apple local dataOn iPhone or iPad, use Settings → General → iPhone Storage / iPad Storage → Rain Sounds → Delete App. Offload App keeps its data. Remove the watch or TV app separately if installed; related extension storage can remain while another component uses it.
• Manage backups and diagnosticsUse Android’s backup settings or Apple’s iCloud, computer-backup and device-management controls. Remove old backups separately if needed. Manage optional usage and diagnostic sharing with Apple or Google in the operating system’s privacy settings.
• Restore purchases or manage store recordsUse Restore purchase in the app with the account used in that store. Manage purchases, refunds and public reviews through the relevant store. Uninstalling the app does not erase the store’s transaction history or obtain a refund.

For information we hold, email us to request access, correction or deletion. There is no app account to close and no account-deletion flow is needed to use the app. We cannot remotely erase your local preferences; use the device controls above.

Your privacy rights #

You can contact us about the personal information we hold and the rights available to you.

Depending on applicable law, you may be entitled to access or obtain a copy of your personal data; correct it; request deletion; restrict processing; object to processing based on legitimate interests; or receive eligible information in a portable format. Where consent is a legal basis, you may withdraw it without affecting earlier lawful processing. The covered app versions do not use advertising or developer-installed analytics, so we do not request consent for those activities. You may use your rights without unlawful discrimination.

Email thehelloworld.apps@gmail.com. Tell us enough to locate the record, such as the email address used for support or a relevant order reference. We may request proportionate verification; do not send a password or full payment details. We explain any refusal, lawful retention requirement or applicable exception. We do not ask for extra data merely to identify local information that we never received.

EU, EEA and United Kingdom

Where GDPR applies, we respond without undue delay and within one month, subject to any pause or extension permitted by applicable law. If a complex request or the number of requests justifies an extension, we explain the reason and the permitted additional time within the first month. Requests are normally free; any exceptional charge or refusal must satisfy the law. You may complain to the supervisory authority where you live, work or believe an infringement occurred. UK residents can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Türkiye

KVKK Article 11 provides rights to learn whether your data is processed; request information and the purpose of processing; learn whether use is consistent with that purpose; know domestic and foreign recipients; request correction of incomplete or inaccurate data or deletion or destruction under Article 7; ask for those actions to be communicated to recipients; object to an adverse result based solely on automated analysis; and seek compensation for unlawful processing. We conclude a valid request as soon as possible and within thirty days, subject to the procedures and any tariff permitted by law. You may use email for support and rights inquiries; if a formal application requires a prescribed method or identity details, we will explain how to submit it. You can complain to the Personal Data Protection Board after applying to us, within the applicable deadlines.

United States and other regions

Where a state or other local privacy law applies to us and your request, available rights may also include an authorized-agent request or an appeal of our decision. Email us using the same address and identify an appeal as such. We respond within the applicable statutory period. Categories we may handle include contact identifiers and correspondence, commercial or purchase records, technical and diagnostic information, and public review content, from the sources and for the purposes described above. We do not seek sensitive personal information; please do not include it in support messages. We do not sell or share data for targeted advertising, so this app and these pages have no sale or advertising-tracking operation for Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track to disable.

Apple and Google handle requests relating to information they control, such as store accounts and independent platform records. We can assist you in finding the relevant provider but cannot erase its records on your behalf.

Children #

Rain Sounds is a general-audience relaxation app; it is not directed at children.

The app has no account, advertising or developer analytics. An optional name is stored locally and may be passed to the system features described above. We do not knowingly request or collect personal information from children under 13, or another applicable minimum age, through support or other developer-operated channels. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us so we can review it and delete it where required, subject to necessary legal obligations.

Parents and guardians can manage purchases and permissions through Google’s Family Link or purchase approvals and Apple’s Family Sharing, Ask to Buy and Screen Time, where supported. Store account age rules and parental controls apply independently of this policy.

Earlier versions of the app #

The advertising history concerns Android versions before 3.0, not the Apple app.

Earlier Android versions were published on Google Play as “Positive Sounds: Rain Sounds” and included third-party advertising and analytics services under the policy applicable to those releases. Android version 3.0 removes those integrations. The Apple app described here does not contain them.

Updating replaces those earlier integrations, but does not itself delete information their providers already hold. Settings from earlier Android versions do not carry over into the rebuilt app. Contact us if you need the earlier notice or help identifying a previous provider.

Changes to this policy #

We update this notice when our practices change.

The date above identifies this revision. We will publish updates on this page. Before a material change takes effect, we will provide appropriate notice through the app or its relevant store listing and obtain consent where the law requires it. Publishing a new notice alone does not authorize an incompatible new use of information already collected.

Contact us #

Questions or a privacy request? Contact OZ using the details below.