Alarmcast Privacy Policy

Effective date: July 5, 2026

Alarmcast ("we," "our," "the app") is a podcast alarm clock for Android. This policy describes what data the app collects, why, and what it does not do.

Summary

Alarmcast does not require an account and does not know who you are. Almost everything the app knows about you — your alarms, your podcast subscriptions, your listening history — stays on your device. The free version shows ads through Google AdMob (which uses your device's advertising ID), and optional premium purchases remove ads and unlock extra features. We have no user accounts, keep no database about you, and do not sell your personal data.

Data we collect and why

Podcast search and subscription data (sent to Podcast Index)

When you search for a podcast or subscribe to one, the search term and the podcast's feed URL/ID are sent to the Podcast Index API so we can find and display podcast results and fetch episode metadata. This request is authenticated with an app-level key — it does not include your name, email, or any personal identifier. Podcast Index's own privacy practices govern their handling of this request; see their privacy policy.

Episode downloads (sent to the podcast's own host)

When you subscribe to a podcast, the app connects directly to that podcast's RSS feed and audio host to download episodes for playback — the same as any podcast app or web browser would. That host will see your device's IP address, as it would for any direct connection.

Crash, error, and reliability reports (sent to Firebase Crashlytics)

If the app crashes or hits a serious error, a crash report is sent to Firebase Crashlytics (a Google service) so we can fix the bug. Alongside the crash stack trace and app version, Crashlytics automatically collects some technical information about your device as part of how it works: device model, OS version, CPU/memory characteristics, and your IP address at the time of the report. To help make sure alarms actually ring, these reports may also include non-identifying reliability signals — for example, whether the app has been granted exact-alarm and battery-optimization permissions, whether the device is in Data Saver or Doze/battery-saver mode, and your tier (free or premium) as a category — plus occasional non-fatal reports when an alarm is missed or falls back to a chime. We do not attach any user identifier, name, or email to these reports. Under Firebase's standard data protection terms, Google processes this data on our behalf; see Google's Firebase privacy and security page and privacy policy for details.

Advertising (Google AdMob)

The free version of Alarmcast shows ads supplied by Google AdMob. To serve and measure these ads, AdMob and Google may use your device's advertising ID along with limited technical and ad-interaction data (for example, that an ad was shown or tapped, plus general device and app information). Ads never appear on the alarm ringing screen, and removing ads entirely is one of the benefits of the optional premium purchases described below. You can reset or delete your advertising ID in Android's Settings → Privacy → Ads. Google's use of data from apps that use its services is described in "How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services" and Google's privacy policy.

Purchases (Google Play Billing)

Alarmcast offers optional premium features — including removing ads and unlocking extra functionality — as a subscription or a one-time purchase. Payments are processed entirely by Google Play; Alarmcast never receives or stores your payment card details. Google shares with the app only what's needed to unlock what you bought (your purchase and subscription status). Google's handling of your purchase is governed by the Google Play Terms of Service and Google's privacy policy.

Data that stays on your device

The following is stored locally on your device only, and is never uploaded to us or anyone else:

If you uninstall the app, this data is deleted along with it.

Data we do not collect

We do not collect or have access to: your name, email address, phone number, contacts, precise location, microphone or camera data, or your photos. The app has no user accounts or sign-in. The only advertising data involved is the advertising ID used for the ads described above — it is not linked to your identity, and premium users see no ads at all.

Security

Requests to Podcast Index, Google AdMob, Google Play, and Firebase Crashlytics are made over encrypted (HTTPS) connections. We don't control the transport security of individual podcasts' own RSS/audio hosts, which are run by the podcasts themselves. Because Alarmcast has no accounts and keeps no database of user data, there is nothing tied to you on our side to secure or breach — data either stays on your device or passes through the third-party services described above.

Permissions

Alarmcast requests permissions needed to reliably schedule and ring alarms, play audio, and show notifications (exact alarms, notifications, foreground service, wake lock, internet, network state, boot). The free version also includes the advertising ID permission used by Google AdMob to show ads (see "Advertising" above). Aside from the advertising ID, none of these permissions are used to collect personal data — see the "Data we collect" section above for the only data that ever leaves your device.

Children's privacy

Alarmcast is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Data retention and deletion

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete personal data we hold about you. Because Alarmcast doesn't collect personal identifiers, there is generally nothing tied to you individually to access or delete beyond what's already local to your device. If you have questions or a request, contact us at the email below.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we'll update this page and the effective date above.

Contact

Questions about this policy: help@alarmcast.app
Website: https://alarmcast.app