TonePebble Privacy Policy

Effective 25 September 2026

TonePebble is a local audio recorder for macOS. This policy describes what the app does with audio and related information.

Information and storage

When you use TonePebble, it processes audio from the sources you enable, such as a microphone, system audio, or an app you select. It can also store recording names, dates, source names, settings, and transcripts. Recordings, transcripts, and settings are stored on your Mac in TonePebble’s local app data. TonePebble does not upload them to a TonePebble server.

Optional speech noise reduction and other audio editing also run locally on your Mac. The bundled RNNoise model does not send audio to a network service.

TonePebble has no account system, advertising, analytics, or cross-app tracking. It does not collect personal information for the developer.

Recording and consent

TonePebble captures only the audio sources you enable. Recording starts when you press Start Recording or enable an app-specific auto-record trigger. Audio Routing is disabled in version 0.2.1. The microphone picker can briefly capture a selected input for its live level test; test samples are metered in memory, are not played back or written to disk, and the test ends when you stop it or close the picker. If you explicitly arm the optional pre-roll buffer, TonePebble temporarily holds up to 60 seconds of selected-source audio in memory so it can be included when you start a recording. This buffer is not written to disk and is discarded when you stop the buffer or quit the app. The window and menu bar indicate when pre-roll buffering or recording is active. TonePebble captures audio only; it does not save screen video.

Only record audio when you have the right and permission to do so. Tell people whose voices may be captured and obtain their consent. Follow the recording laws that apply where you are.

macOS controls access to Screen & System Audio Recording and the microphone. You can review or revoke these permissions in System Settings → Privacy & Security.

Transcription

Transcription is optional. On supported macOS versions and languages, TonePebble uses Apple’s on-device speech recognition. macOS may download a speech model from Apple. TonePebble does not send your recording or transcript to a cloud transcription service.

Catch Me Up is optional and uses Apple’s on-device Foundation Models when Apple Intelligence is available. It reads the captured transcript to generate a brief or answer a question. TonePebble does not send that transcript or question to a cloud service.

Exporting and sharing

If you export or share a recording, TonePebble sends the selected file only to the location or app you choose. The receiving app or service handles it under its own privacy policy and terms.

Retention and deletion

Recordings remain in your library until you delete them. Moving a recording to Trash removes its library entry and places its audio, transcript metadata, and any saved source stems in the macOS Trash. Empty the Trash to permanently remove those files. You can also remove TonePebble’s local data by deleting its recordings and app data from your Mac.

Contact

For privacy questions, email support@broadframestudio.com. Please describe your question without attaching private recordings or transcripts.