Privacy Policy

Introduction

tonee ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our AI-powered studio assistant for Ableton Live (the "Application").

By using tonee, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use the Application.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Personal Information

We collect the following personal information:

• Account Information: Email address, studio name (optional), and user ID
• Authentication Data: Encrypted authentication tokens stored securely on your device
• Session Data: Conversation history and session identifiers

1.2 Usage Information

• Chat Messages: All text messages you send to the AI assistant are transmitted to our servers and processed to provide responses
• Voice Processing (Desktop): In the desktop app, voice-to-text conversion happens locally on your device. We do not receive, store, or transmit your voice audio. Only the transcribed text is sent to our servers
• Voice Processing (Mobile): The mobile app has no on-device speech model, so this works differently: the recording itself is uploaded to our servers and transcribed using Google Cloud Speech-to-Text. We do not keep the recording: it is held only for as long as the request takes, and what we retain is the transcribed text, briefly cached so that resending the same clip does not transcribe it twice. If you would rather no recording left your phone, type instead, or use the desktop app
• Spoken Replies: If you have the assistant read its answers out loud, the text of that reply is sent to Google Cloud Text-to-Speech to generate the audio. This applies to both the desktop and mobile apps
• Ableton Live Session Structure: To answer you, the assistant needs to know what is in your set, so a text description of its structure is sent to our servers alongside your message: track names, device and plugin names, parameter values, send levels, scene and clip names, tempo, and MIDI note data. This is metadata about your session, not your project file and not your audio.
• Audio Clip Analysis (Only When You Ask For It): When you ask the assistant to analyse an audio clip that is already in your set, tonee reads the clip's file on your device and measures it there (frequency balance, dynamics, stereo width). Those measurements and the file's name are sent to our servers with your message. The audio itself is not.
• System-Audio Capture (Only When You Ask For It): When you want the assistant to hear something, it can capture the audio coming out of your computer while you play it. This only ever happens when the assistant has asked, a recording indicator is on screen, and you press Stop. It cannot start on its own and it cannot capture silently. The capture is measured on your device (frequency balance, dynamics, stereo width); to also describe the audio in words, up to the first 30 seconds is downmixed to mono, reduced to 16 kHz and sent to our servers with those measurements. The recording itself is written to a temporary file that is discarded after the analysis, and is never added to your project. Apart from a voice message sent from the mobile app, this is the only case in which audio leaves your machine, and it is always something you started. On macOS the first capture asks for Screen Recording permission, which is the system permission that covers audio output.

1.3 Cookies and Similar Technologies (Website Only)

This applies to the website at tonee.studio, not to the desktop or mobile app. The app does not use advertising or analytics cookies; it stores only what it needs to keep you signed in, on your own device.

The website uses three kinds:

• Necessary: Needed for the site to work: keeping you signed in, remembering your cookie choice. These are always set.
• Statistics: Google Analytics and PostHog, which tell us how many people visit, which pages they read, and where they gave up. We use this to decide what to build and fix.
• Marketing: The Meta (Facebook) Pixel, which measures whether our ads brought anyone here and lets our own ads reach people who visited. With the same consent, our server also tells Meta about sign-ups and purchases. See section 5.

Statistics and marketing cookies are set only where you have agreed, or where the law where you are does not require prior agreement. Our consent banner is managed by Cookiebot, and you can change or withdraw your choice at any time through the cookies link in the site footer. Where a "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" right applies to you, see section 8.

1.4 Local Processing (Not Collected)

The following data is processed locally on your device and is NOT transmitted to our servers. Where a point applies to only one of the apps, it says so:

• Voice Audio (Microphone, desktop app only): In the desktop app, microphone input is processed locally using Voice Activity Detection (VAD) and speech-to-text models running on your device. Your voice recording is never transmitted, only the text it was transcribed into. This does not hold on the mobile app, where the recording is uploaded for transcription; see 1.2. Both are separate from the system-audio capture described in 1.2, which you trigger yourself
• Authentication Tokens: Stored encrypted on your device only (Windows DPAPI, macOS Keychain, Linux libsecret)
• Your Project Files and Audio: Your .als project files, samples, recordings, and rendered audio are never uploaded or stored by us, and tonee does not change them. tonee reads and writes your session through Ableton's OSC control interface, and it never opens your project file. It does read an audio clip's file on your device in two cases: to draw the clip's waveform in the Live session panel, and to measure it when you ask the assistant to analyse a clip. The waveform stays on your device; for an analysis, only the measurements and the file's name are sent (see 1.2). See 1.2 also for the session metadata that is sent, and for the one case where you can choose to send an excerpt of audio you play.

1.4 Crash Reports (Only If You Agree)

When tonee hits an error, it can send us a crash report so we can fix it. Nothing is ever sent unless you agree to it.

A crash report contains a fixed, deliberately short list of fields. We build it by hand rather than letting a tool collect whatever it finds:

• The error message and the technical stack trace showing where in our code it happened
• Which part of tonee it came from, and the tonee version
• Your operating system and processor type, and (for errors in the Ableton connection) your Live version
• Your account ID, if you were signed in. Never your email or studio name

File paths are rewritten on your machine to remove your username before anything is sent, since folder paths usually contain your real name. Crash reports never contain your Ableton project, your audio, your chat messages, or your session structure.

How the asking works. If tonee closes unexpectedly, the report is written to a file on your own device so it survives the crash. The next time you open tonee, we ask whether to send it. If you say no, the file is deleted and nothing leaves your machine. If you choose "always send", later reports are sent without asking; if you choose "never ask again", tonee stops collecting them entirely. You can change this at any time in Settings.

Crash reports go to our own servers and are stored in our own database. They are not sent to any third-party error-tracking service, and they are deleted automatically after a limited retention period.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information for the following purposes:

• Service Provision: To provide AI-powered assistance for Ableton Live
• Authentication: To verify your identity and maintain secure access to your account
• AI Processing: To process your text messages (and, when you have started a capture, the audio excerpt described in 1.2) through AI systems to generate responses. Your microphone audio is never among them
• Communication: To send important updates about the service (account approval, security alerts)
• Support: To respond to your inquiries and provide technical assistance
• Analytics & Product Improvement: To understand how the service is used, identify issues, and improve features. This includes your email address, studio name and plan, so we can see how individual accounts get on, but never your conversations with tonee or the contents of your Ableton projects
• Diagnosing Crashes: To find and fix errors, using the crash reports described in 1.4, and only when you have agreed to send them

3. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

If you are in the European Economic Area (EEA), we process your personal data based on:

• Consent: You have given consent for account creation and data processing
• Contract Performance: Processing is necessary to provide the service you requested
• Legitimate Interests: For service improvement and security purposes, balanced against your rights

4. Data Storage and Security

4.1 How We Protect Your Data

• OS-Level Encryption: Authentication tokens are encrypted using operating system-backed encryption:
  • Windows: Data Protection API (DPAPI)
  • macOS: Keychain
  • Linux: libsecret
• Secure Communication: All data transmitted between the app and our servers uses HTTPS encryption
• Token Security: Authentication tokens are never stored in plaintext and are never accessible to renderer processes
• Session Management: Automatic session timeout after 8 hours (without "Remember Me" option)

4.2 Where We Store Data

• Your Device (Local):
  • Authentication tokens (OS-encrypted)
  • Voice processing models and your microphone audio
  • System-audio captures (temporary; discarded after analysis)
  • All Ableton Live project data and creative work
  • Session preferences and settings
• Our Servers: Account information (email, studio name) and text chat history

5. Data Sharing and Third Parties

We share your data only with:

• AI Model Provider (OpenAI): To generate a reply, your chat messages and the text description of your Live set are sent to OpenAI. OpenAI's published API policy is that data sent to the API is not used to train or improve its models unless the customer opts in. We have not opted in. OpenAI retains API inputs and outputs for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring, then deletes them.
• Speech Services (Google Cloud): When you speak to the assistant in the mobile app, the recording is sent to Google Cloud Speech-to-Text to be turned into text. When the assistant reads a reply aloud on either app, that reply text is sent to Google Cloud Text-to-Speech. Google does not log or train on this data unless the customer opts into its data-logging programme. We have not opted in.
• Audio Description (Google Cloud Vertex AI): The audio excerpt you choose to send under 1.2 is described by Gemini on Google Cloud Vertex AI, under the same terms. Your microphone audio from the desktop app is never shared.
• Sign-in (Google): If you sign in with Google, Google confirms your identity to us and we receive your email address and name. We never receive your Google password.
• Payments (Polar): If you buy a plan, Polar is our payment processor and merchant of record. You pay Polar, which collects your payment details and handles sales tax, and tells us whether your subscription is active. We pass it your email address and account ID so the purchase is attached to your account. We do not receive or store your card number.
• Product Analytics (PostHog, EU region): We use PostHog, hosted in the European Union, which receives usage events plus a limited set of account details: your email address, studio name, plan, and the campaign that brought you to us. Only once paid plans are live, when the sync from Polar starts as payments open, it also receives your purchase records from Polar: the order, its amount and currency, and your name, billing address and tax ID if you gave one. It does not receive your conversations, your Ableton project contents, or your password.
• Website Analytics (Google Analytics): On the website only, we use Google Analytics 4 to count visits and see which pages are read. It receives page addresses, an anonymous identifier, and approximate location from your IP address. It never receives your conversations, your Ableton session, or anything from inside the app.
• Advertising Measurement (Meta): The Meta (Facebook) Pixel on the website tells us whether an ad we paid for led to a download or a signup, and allows our own ads to reach people who have visited the site. It receives the pages you viewed and the fact that you downloaded or signed up. Once you have accepted marketing cookies, we also save the ad click ID from the link you followed in Meta's _fbc cookie, as the Pixel would, and our server renews Meta's cookies so they last their full 90 days. We also keep our own copy of this ID (tonee_fbc), so it is not lost when your browser shortens Meta's cookies. It is deleted with Meta's cookies when you withdraw marketing consent. Once you have accepted marketing cookies, our server also sends Meta your hashed email address, a hashed account ID, your IP address, a hashed code for the country your IP address is in, your browser's user agent and Meta's cookie IDs or, if those are missing, the ad click ID from the link you followed, for your sign-up and for purchases, including the amount and currency. When you click a download button, our server also tells Meta about that download, with your IP address, the hashed country code, your browser's user agent and Meta's cookie IDs or, if those are missing, the ad click ID from the link you followed, but no email address or account ID, so Meta counts it once even if your browser blocked the Pixel. Meta can match these to its own accounts. Nothing from inside the app is sent, and we do not run advertising inside the app. This is advertising measurement and retargeting: it is how we reach musicians who might want tonee. We do not sell your data. If you see an opt-out banner rather than a consent banner, and where the law gives you the right to opt out of this, see section 8.
• Legal Obligations: When required by law, court order, or government regulation

We do NOT:

• Sell your personal data to third parties
• Use anything from inside the app (your conversations, your Ableton session, your audio) for advertising. Advertising measurement uses only the website and the sign-up and purchase events described above
• Show advertising inside tonee
• Share your microphone audio with anyone (it never leaves your device)
• Record or capture any audio without showing you a recording indicator first
• Access your Ableton Live projects or creative work

6. AI and Automated Decision-Making

• AI Processing: tonee uses AI to process your messages and generate responses
• Transparency: You are always informed that you're interacting with an AI system
• No Legal Decisions: Our AI does not make legally binding or similarly significant automated decisions about you
• Control: You can stop using the AI service at any time

7. Data Retention

We retain your data as follows:

• Account Data: Retained until you delete your account, from Settings in the app or at tonee.studio account deletion. After deletion your data is held for 30 days in case it was a mistake, then permanently removed. A minimal record that you accepted our Terms is kept beyond that, as permitted for the defence of legal claims.
• Marketing Consent Record: The server-side record of your marketing choice is kept with your account and deleted when you delete your account.
• Advertising Match Data: The IP address and browser user agent we send Meta are used only for ad-event matching. They are kept with your marketing consent record until you withdraw your consent or delete your account.
• Session Data: Automatically cleared after 8 hours (without "Remember Me")
• Conversation History: Retained so you can return to past sessions, and to investigate abuse and debug faults. It is not used to train AI models. Deleted when you delete your account, or on request.
• Authentication Tokens: Automatically expired and refreshed periodically

8. Your Rights (GDPR & Privacy Laws)

You have the following rights:

• Access: Request a copy of your personal data
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate personal data
• Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
• Data Portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format
• Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for data processing at any time
• Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Restrict Processing: Request limitation of data processing

If you are in the United States, or anywhere we show an opt-out banner

Visitors in the United States and in countries outside our consent-banner regions see an opt-out banner. They are included in the marketing sharing described in section 5 unless they decline marketing in that banner (the cookie settings link in the site footer reopens it) or their browser sends Global Privacy Control.

Several US state privacy laws give you the right to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information for targeted advertising. The Meta Pixel and the server-side events described in section 5 count as "sharing" under those laws. You can:

• Use the cookies link in the site footer, which opens Cookiebot's dialog, and decline marketing cookies. If you are signed in, our server stops sending Meta anything further about you right away. If not, it stops the next time you sign in on the website or open your account page. What was already sent cannot be recalled, or
• Send a Global Privacy Control signal from your browser. We detect and honour it automatically, with nothing further for you to do.

To exercise these rights, contact us at: [email protected]

9. International Data Transfers

Your data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside your country of residence, including the United States. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses or compliance with the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework for transfers from the EEA.

10. Children's Privacy

tonee is not intended for children under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal data, please contact us immediately.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by:

• Posting the new Privacy Policy on this page
• Updating the "Last Updated" date
• Sending an email notification for significant changes

Your continued use of tonee after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Who We Are, and How to Contact Us

The data controller for your personal data is [LEGAL NAME], a sole proprietor registered in Israel, at [POSTAL ADDRESS].

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

13. Supervisory Authority

If you are in the EEA and believe we have not adequately addressed your privacy concerns, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.