Privacy Policy
Last updated [[ SET DATE BEFORE LAUNCH ]]
The short version. Audio never leaves your device. When you use the microphone, capture a tab, upload a file or record a mix, all of it is processed inside your browser and none of it is transmitted to us or anyone else. We run no analytics, set no cookies of our own, and show no ads. The only thing our server ever stores is the settings of a mix, and only when you deliberately create a share link.
Audio: microphone, tab capture, files and recordings
The masking lab can listen to your microphone, to audio from a browser tab, or to an audio file you choose. It measures how loud each of ten frequency bands is and uses that to set the equaliser.
That analysis happens entirely in your browser using the Web Audio API. The audio itself is never uploaded, stored, or sent anywhere. Only the measurement stays in memory, and only for as long as the page is open. Closing or reloading the tab discards it.
The same is true of the record feature: the recording is assembled in your browser and saved directly to your device as a download. It does not pass through our server.
Your browser will ask permission before the microphone or tab capture can be used, and you can revoke that permission at any time in your browser's site settings. When "adaptive" masking is on, the microphone stays active until you turn it off or leave the page.
What is stored in your browser
We use your browser's local storage — not cookies — to remember your setup between visits. Three items are stored, all on your device only:
hiiss.state— your current mix: band positions, which sources are on and their volumes, master volume, the YouTube URL you last entered, and the binaural setting.hiiss.presets— any presets you save, under the names you give them.hiiss.scope— whether the visualiser shows per-source or mixed view.
None of this is sent to us. You can clear it at any time by clearing site data for this domain in your browser settings.
The app also registers a service worker, which caches its own files so it works offline. That cache holds only the app's own code and images.
Share links
When you press share, and only then, the settings of your mix are sent to
our server and saved under a generated three-word address such as
/s/quiet-otter-harbor. What is saved is exactly the mix: band positions, source
volumes, master volume, the binaural setting, and the YouTube URL if you entered one. We also
record the time it was created.
Please note:
- Share links are public to anyone who has the address. They are not protected by a password, and the address space is small enough that a determined person could find links by guessing. Treat a share link as public.
- If you typed a YouTube URL, that URL is part of the saved mix and will be visible to anyone who opens the link.
- Share links are kept indefinitely so they keep working. We may remove the oldest ones if storage limits require it.
- A share link is not connected to you. We do not store who created it.
If you want a share link removed, send us the address and we will delete it.
Information our server sees
Like any web server, ours receives your IP address as a necessary part of delivering the page. We use it in one way: to limit how many share links can be created from a single address per hour, which stops the service being flooded. Those counters are held in memory only, expire within an hour, and are never written to disk or linked to a mix.
We do not keep an access log of visits. If a request fails, the server may write the method and path to its error log to help us fix the fault.
If your site is fronted by a hosting provider or CDN, that provider may keep its own connection logs under its own policy. [[ NAME YOUR HOST HERE, OR DELETE THIS SENTENCE ]]
YouTube
hiiss can play a YouTube video alongside the generated noise. The YouTube player is only loaded after you paste a URL and press load — it is not present on the page until then.
Once loaded, the player is provided by YouTube and Google. It can set cookies, read your IP address, and collect usage data under their policies rather than ours. If you would rather that did not happen, simply do not load a video. Their terms are the YouTube Terms of Service and the Google Privacy Policy.
What we do not do
- No analytics or tracking of any kind.
- No advertising, and no sharing or selling of data to anyone.
- No cookies set by us.
- No accounts, so no names, emails or passwords.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete or export personal information a service holds about you, and to object to how it is used. Because we hold no accounts and nothing that identifies you, in practice there is usually nothing for us to retrieve. The two things you can act on directly are clearing your browser's local storage, and asking us to delete a share link you created.
To make any request, contact us at [[ CONTACT EMAIL ]].
Children
hiiss is not directed at children and we do not knowingly collect information from them. If a child uses it, please read the hearing-safety guidance in our Terms & safety page, which matters particularly for infants.
Changes
If this policy changes we will update the date at the top. Significant changes will be noted on the site itself.
Contact
[[ CONTACT EMAIL AND, IF YOU HAVE ONE, A POSTAL ADDRESS OR LEGAL ENTITY NAME ]]