Privacy Policy

Last Updated: November 7, 2026 • Published by Soloship Studio (soloship.store)

This Privacy Policy describes how Soloship Studio ("we", "us", or "our"), founded by Lead Engineer Hamza Shahid, handles information in connection with our applications:

• EarCast — Mobile Audio Receiver (Package: com.soloship.earcast.tvaudio)
• EarCast — TV Audio Broadcaster (Package: com.soloship.earcast.tvaudio.tv)

1. Fundamental Privacy Principle: Local-Only Audio Streaming

We do not record, store, or transmit your audio over the internet.

EarCast is designed from the ground up for private listening. The audio output captured from your Android TV or Google TV is transferred directly over your own local Wi-Fi network (LAN) via encrypted WebSocket connections directly to your mobile phone. At no point is audio data routed through remote servers, cloud relays, or third-party storage.

2. Permissions and Hardware Access Disclosures

A. MediaProjection API (Audio Capture on Android TV)

The EarCast TV Broadcaster uses the standard Android MediaProjection system service solely to capture playback audio from your TV.

• Audio is sampled in real-time raw PCM format (16-bit, 48,000 Hz, Stereo/Mono).
• The audio stream resides exclusively in volatile RAM and is immediately dispatched to your authorized local mobile listeners.
• No audio files are ever written to disk or recorded.

B. Local Network & Wi-Fi State (ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE, INTERNET)

Used to discover compatible EarCast devices on your home network via Network Service Discovery (mDNS / Zeroconf) and establish the peer-to-peer WebSocket audio pipeline on ports 8080 and 8081.

C. Foreground Service & WakeLock

The phone app utilizes a foreground playback notification service so that private TV listening continues smoothly when your screen is turned off or when you switch between apps.

3. Third-Party Services & Diagnostics

To ensure app stability, track crashes, and support our free tier, the mobile app integrates the following industry-standard Google services:

A. Google AdMob (Advertising)

The free version of EarCast displays banner and app-open advertisements provided by Google AdMob. AdMob may process device identifiers and advertising IDs in compliance with Google Play Developer Policy.

Note: Users who purchase an EarCast Pro or EarCast Family subscription have all advertisements completely disabled.

B. Firebase Analytics & Crashlytics

We use Google Firebase to collect anonymized crash diagnostics and basic interaction metrics (e.g., latency measurements, audio buffer health). This data contains no personally identifiable information (PII) and is used strictly to diagnose technical faults.

C. Google Play In-App Billing

Payment processing for EarCast Pro and EarCast Family is handled exclusively by Google Play. Soloship Studio never collects, sees, or stores your credit card numbers, billing addresses, or banking credentials.

4. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

Our services are not directed to children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us for immediate deletion.

5. Security & Encryption

Connections between your phone receiver and TV broadcaster utilize cryptographic HMAC-SHA256 session nonces to authenticate devices before any audio frames are transmitted, preventing unauthorized eavesdropping on your home Wi-Fi network.

6. Contact & Inquiries

For inquiries regarding this Privacy Policy, your rights, or data protection practices, please contact:

Soloship Studio
Lead Engineer: Hamza Shahid
Support Desk: info@soloship.store
Founder Direct: shipwithhamza@gmail.com
Website: https://soloship.store