Last updated: 3 October 2026
Privacy Policy
1. Who we are
Sarman ("the app") is developed and published by heyisoft ("we", "us"). For any privacy matter, write to heyisoft@gmail.com.
2. What this policy covers
This policy covers the Sarman mobile application for iOS and Android, and this website. It explains what the app handles, where it is processed, and the choices you have.
3. Information the app handles
| Data | Where it lives | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Cat sound recordings (the audio you capture with the microphone) | On your device only. Analysed locally; never transmitted | Working out what the meow sounds like and letting you replay it in the diary |
| Cat profiles (name, age, breed, sex, weight, notes) and photos | On your device only | Personalising the app and showing your cat's profile |
| Diary entries, chat history and your personal sound labels | On your device only | Building a picture of your cat over time and sharpening the read for your cat |
| App settings (language, theme, colour) | On your device only | Remembering your preferences |
| Anonymous usage events (which screens open, whether an analysis succeeded or was rejected and why, which phrase category was used) plus basic technical data (device model, OS version, app version, language, coarse region) | Processed by Google Firebase Analytics | Seeing, in aggregate, where the app trips people up so we can fix it |
| Crash reports (stack traces, device state at the time of a crash) | Processed by Google Firebase Crashlytics | Finding and fixing crashes |
| Advertising identifier (Android advertising ID / Apple IDFA), IP address, device and app information, and whether an ad was requested, shown or completed | Processed by Google AdMob — only when you choose to watch a rewarded video | Showing that video, limiting how often ads appear, measuring them and preventing fraud |
| Purchase receipt for the optional subscription (product, purchase and renewal dates, store country) and an anonymous identifier generated for your install | Processed by RevenueCat; the payment itself is handled by Apple or Google | Checking that a subscription is valid and restoring it when you change phone |
4. What we do not collect
- No audio ever leaves your phone. The sound model runs on the device; there is no server to send it to.
- No photos, no notes, no cat names, no diary content.
- No account, e-mail address, name or phone number — the app has no sign-up.
- No contacts, files or precise location.
- No ads in the recording, the analysis or the translation — that part is free and is never behind an ad or a paywall.
- No banner, interstitial or launch ads anywhere in the app; the only ad is a rewarded video you choose to watch.
- No card details — a subscription is paid to Apple or Google, and we never receive your payment data.
5. How the sound analysis works
When you record your cat, the app measures acoustic properties of the sound — duration, pitch, how the pitch moves, roughness, harmonic structure — and compares them against a model that ships inside the app. All of this happens on your phone, offline. Nothing is streamed, queued or uploaded. If you delete a recording, it is gone.
Sarman is not a veterinary device and does not diagnose. Its "health radar" only points out when your cat's own pattern shifts from its usual. If something feels off with your cat, talk to your vet.
6. Analytics and crash reporting
To keep improving the app we use Google Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics. They record anonymous events — for example that an analysis was attempted and whether it succeeded — together with basic technical data such as device model, operating-system version and app version. This is used in aggregate; it is not tied to your name or an account (there is none), it is never sold, and it never carries the content of your recordings, photos or notes. Both services are covered by Firebase's privacy terms and Google's Privacy Policy.
7. Advertising
Sarman shows one kind of ad, and only when you ask for it: a rewarded video you can choose to watch to open the extra chat phrases for three hours (up to two times per install). There are no banners, no interstitials and no ads on launch. Watching is always optional — recording, analysis and translation are free and are never placed behind an ad.
Rewarded videos are served by Google AdMob (the Google Mobile Ads SDK). To deliver, cap and measure an ad, and to detect fraud, Google receives your device's advertising identifier (Android advertising ID / Apple IDFA), your IP address — from which an approximate region is derived — device and app information, and the fact that an ad was requested, shown or completed. Google's use of this data is described in How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services. We never pass an ad network your recordings, photos, notes or your cat's name.
Your choices. In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland you are asked for consent before any ad is requested, through Google's own consent form; you can change that answer at any time from Settings → Ad privacy choices in the app. On iOS you are also asked for App Tracking Transparency permission — if you decline, ads become non-personalised and everything else keeps working. On Android you can reset or delete your advertising ID in the system settings; on iOS you can switch tracking off for all apps.
8. Purchases and subscriptions
There is one optional subscription — Sarman Pro, US$4.99 per month with a 3-day free trial for new subscribers, shown in your own currency in the app — which keeps the extra phrases open for as long as it is active. Payment is taken by Apple or Google, never by us: we never see your card, your billing address or your name.
We use RevenueCat to check that a subscription is valid and to restore it when you reinstall or change phone. RevenueCat receives the store's purchase receipt — product, purchase and renewal dates, store country — together with an anonymous identifier the app generates for your install. It is not tied to your name or an e-mail address, because the app has neither. See RevenueCat's privacy policy. The three-hour pass earned from a video never leaves your device.
9. Permissions the app asks for
- Microphone — required. It is the whole point of the app: recording your cat's meow. Audio is analysed locally and never uploaded.
- Camera — optional. Only to take a profile photo of your cat.
- Photo library — optional. Only to pick a profile photo of your cat.
- App Tracking Transparency (iOS only) — optional. Asked in connection with advertising; declining keeps everything working, with non-personalised ads.
You can refuse or withdraw any of these in your system settings. Without the microphone the analysis cannot run, but the rest of the app still works.
10. Device backups
Because your data lives on the device, it may be included in the backup you control (Google One / iCloud), encrypted by Google or Apple. We never receive that backup. On Android we go a step further and exclude sound recordings and photos from cloud backup; they are still carried over on a direct phone-to-phone transfer, which does not pass through anyone's cloud.
11. Legal bases (GDPR / KVKK)
- Performance of contract — running the app you installed and processing recordings on your device to give you the result you asked for.
- Legitimate interests — anonymous analytics and crash reporting to keep the app working and improve it.
12. Retention
- Everything on your device stays until you delete it — per item, or all at once with Settings → Your data → Erase all my data — or until you uninstall the app.
- Analytics and crash data are retained by Google under Firebase's own retention settings.
13. Your rights
Depending on your jurisdiction (including GDPR and Turkish KVKK) you may have the right to access, correct, delete or object to the processing of your personal data. Because essentially everything lives on your device, the most direct tool is the in-app Erase all my data action, which removes profiles, diary, chat, personal labels, recordings and photos for good. For anything else, write to heyisoft@gmail.com and we will respond within 30 days.
14. Children
Sarman is a general-audience app about pets and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly process children's data.
15. Credits
The cat sounds used in the app come from published, openly licensed recordings of real cats. The CatMeows dataset — Ludovico, Ntalampiras, Presti, Cannas, Battini and Mattiello (MultiMedia Modeling, 2021), Zenodo 4008297 — is used under CC BY 4.0.
16. Changes
We may update this policy as the app evolves. Material changes will be reflected here with a new "last updated" date. Continuing to use the app after a change means you accept the updated policy.
17. Contact
heyisoft · heyisoft@gmail.com · Contact & Support