Clefwing Privacy Policy

Last updated 2 November 2026

Who we are

Clefwing is a note-reading game for young piano students. It is made by Joseph Rich, an independent developer based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. In this policy, "we" and "us" means the developer. You can contact us about this policy at [email protected].

What the app keeps on your device

To work, Clefwing saves the following on the device it is running on:

• Each player's name and their dragon's name, typed in when a player is added. A family can add several players on one device. We suggest a first name or nickname.
• Practice progress: lessons completed, XP, gems, streaks, minutes practised each day, and how quickly and accurately each note was read.
• Settings: the daily goal, sound on or off, and the piano's tuning.
• Shop and prizes: dragon outfits bought with gems, and any real-world prizes a grown-up has added and the child has claimed.

This information is saved in the app's own storage (or your browser's storage if you use Clefwing on the web). We cannot see it, and it is never sent to us or to any server of ours.

Backup in your own iCloud

In the iOS app, a copy of this information is also kept in your own iCloud (Apple's iCloud key-value storage for the app), so you can carry on from where you left off on a new or replaced iPad or iPhone signed in to the same Apple ID. Only your devices signed in to that Apple ID can read it; we can't. It is stored by Apple under Apple's privacy policy, and only if iCloud is on. The microphone's sound is never part of it, because it is never saved at all.

To stop it, open Grown-ups and untick Back up everyone's progress to your iCloud: this device's copy is deleted from iCloud. A backup from a device you no longer use can be deleted there too.

The microphone

Clefwing asks for microphone access so it can hear which note is played on the piano. The sound is analysed on the device, moment by moment, to work out the pitch, and is then discarded. Audio is never recorded, saved or sent anywhere. The microphone is only in use during lessons, tuning and the sound check.

The optional read-aloud voice plays recordings that come built into the app. They were made in advance with an AI text-to-speech service (OpenAI), so the voice is AI-generated. Nothing is sent to that service, or anywhere else, when the app reads aloud. The device's own built-in voice is never used.

You can turn microphone access off at any time in the device's Settings. The app still works: lessons then use an on-screen piano keyboard instead of listening to a real piano.

What we don't do

• We don't collect, store or receive any personal information.
• We don't use analytics, advertising or tracking, or any outside service that receives information about you.
• We don't sell or share information. We have none to share.
• There are no accounts, logins, chat or social features.
• Gems are earned only by practising and have no real-money value. They can't be bought.

Purchases

Units 1 to 3 are free. The full course (a yearly subscription with a free trial, or a one-off lifetime unlock) is an in-app purchase made through the App Store. Apple handles the payment under Apple's privacy policy; we never see your name, Apple ID or payment details. To know whether the full course is unlocked, the app asks the App Store on your device which Clefwing purchases your Apple ID owns. That answer stays on the device and is not sent to us.

The buttons to buy sit behind the same grown-ups' check as the settings, so children can't buy by accident. Subscriptions are managed and cancelled in your Apple ID settings, and refunds are handled by Apple.

Emailing us for help

If you use Get help in the Grown-ups area, the app opens your own Mail app with a message to us that includes a few details to help us work out the problem: the app's build, whether it's an iPad or iPhone, piano or on-screen keyboard, the piano's tuning and the microphone's measured delay, this week's days and lessons practised, the furthest lesson and the last one played with its best score, and whether the full course is unlocked (and how), and, if you paste it in, a timing log of recent rhythm lessons (only numbers; no sound). No names are included. The app sends nothing itself: you see the whole email and choose whether to send it. We use it only to answer you.

Helping improve Clefwing

If you use Help improve Clefwing in the Grown-ups area, the app opens your own Mail app with a message to us and a short summary of how it's going for that player: the app's build, iPad or iPhone, piano or on-screen keyboard, whether read aloud is on, how many players there are, the furthest lesson, how many lessons and units are done, how many notes are read fluently, how many days and minutes were practised in the last two weeks, the reading tempo, and the lessons that were hardest (how often each was opened, left part-way, tried again, skipped, or played with nothing heard) or scored lowest. To make that summary, the app keeps those counts on your device with the rest of the progress. No names are included. The app sends nothing itself: you can read the summary before you choose to write to us, and you see the whole email before you send it. We use it only to make Clefwing better.

Children

Clefwing is designed for children. Because it does not collect personal information from anyone, it does not collect personal information from children. The areas meant for adults (settings, prizes and progress reports) sit behind a simple parental gate.

"Prizes" are rewards a parent or carer chooses to set up, such as "choose Friday dinner". They are recorded only on the device, as a reminder between the child and the grown-up.

Deleting information

You are always in control of the information on your device:

• To erase a player's progress, open Grown-ups and use Reset progress, or Remove to delete that player completely.
• To erase the copy in iCloud, turn off the iCloud backup in Grown-ups (see above). Deleting the app does not delete it.
• To erase everything on the device, delete the app. On the web, clear the website data for this site in your browser settings.

Since we don't hold any of your information, there is nothing for us to access, correct or delete on our side.

Apple and hosting

If you download Clefwing from the App Store, Apple handles the download and may give developers anonymous, combined statistics (such as the number of downloads) under Apple's privacy policy. These cannot be used to identify you.

The web version is hosted on GitHub Pages. Like most websites, GitHub may keep technical logs such as IP addresses for security, under the GitHub privacy statement. The app itself sends nothing to GitHub or anyone else.

Changes to this policy

If Clefwing ever changes how it handles information (for example, if an online feature is added), we will update this policy and the date at the top before the change takes effect. If the change means collecting any information, we will make that clear in the app first.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Email [email protected].

If you are in Australia and are unhappy with how we have handled a privacy matter, you can also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.