dBwise Privacy Policy
Effective date: 23 October 2026
01 / WHO WE ARE
dBwise is developed and provided by Christopher Lowis, trading as LOWTECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, based in the United Kingdom.
For privacy enquiries or support, contact support@lowtech.uk.
02 / MICROPHONE INPUT
dBwise uses your Apple Watch microphone to estimate environmental sound levels and cumulative sound exposure.
Microphone audio is processed locally on your Apple Watch. Audio samples are analysed to calculate sound levels and are not saved as recordings, transcribed, or transmitted to the developer.
Temporary audio buffers are used during processing. Ambient speech may be analysed as sound, but dBwise does not identify speakers or recognise spoken words.
Microphone access is controlled by Apple’s watchOS permission system. You can manage this permission through the relevant system settings. Monitoring requires microphone access.
03 / INFORMATION STORED ON YOUR WATCH
dBwise stores certain information locally to provide its monitoring features.
This includes:
- Session history: Monitoring times, durations, estimated sound exposure, calculated sound-level statistics, interruption information and related calculation metadata.
- Settings: Calibration values, warning thresholds, notification preferences and complication settings.
- Recent monitoring state: Information used to display recent exposure and recover interrupted sessions.
- Complication data: Monitoring status, recent estimated sound levels and related timestamps.
- Technical diagnostics: Limited records of interruptions, recovery attempts, errors and app lifecycle events, used for troubleshooting.
The app does not retain raw microphone recordings or a continuous history of individual sound readings.
dBwise does not require an account and does not integrate advertising, tracking or third-party analytics services.
The app does not automatically transmit monitoring history or diagnostics to the developer or a developer-operated cloud service.
04 / APPLE SERVICES AND DATA STORAGE
dBwise uses Apple system services for microphone permissions, notifications, complications and local storage.
It does not currently integrate with Apple Health or provide iCloud synchronisation.
Apple may separately process or retain certain information through watchOS system logging, device backups and restoration services. These services are governed by Apple’s own privacy practices.
05 / DELETING YOUR DATA
You can delete individual monitoring sessions from within dBwise.
Deleting a session removes its saved history record but does not necessarily remove separately stored settings, recent exposure information, complication data or technical diagnostics.
Uninstalling dBwise ordinarily removes its app-owned local data. However, Apple-managed backups, system logs or other platform-managed copies may be subject to separate retention and restoration processes.
06 / SUPPORT ENQUIRIES
If you email support@lowtech.uk, we process the information you voluntarily provide to respond to your enquiry and provide support.
This may include your email address, message, device details and any attachments you choose to send.
Support correspondence is handled using email-hosting services provided by 20i.
We retain support correspondence only for as long as reasonably necessary to manage enquiries, respond to follow-up questions and meet applicable legal obligations.
We do not use support enquiries for advertising or marketing.
Please avoid sending unnecessary personal or sensitive information.
07 / YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS
Under applicable UK data protection law, including the UK GDPR, you may have rights to request access to, correction of or deletion of personal information we hold about you, as well as other rights depending on the circumstances.
You can make a privacy request by emailing support@lowtech.uk.
These rights are subject to applicable legal requirements and exceptions. Information stored only on your Apple Watch may not be accessible to us.
If you have concerns about how your personal information is handled, you may also complain to the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at https://ico.org.uk.
08 / SOUND-LEVEL ESTIMATES
dBwise provides estimated environmental sound levels and cumulative sound exposure.
It is not a certified sound-level meter, professional dosimeter or medical device. Its measurements and exposure estimates should not be treated as medical advice or a substitute for appropriate hearing protection.
System interruptions may stop microphone capture and create gaps in monitoring.
09 / POLICY UPDATES
We may update this privacy policy if the app’s functionality, data handling or applicable requirements change.
The effective date at the top of this page will indicate when the published policy was last updated.
For questions, contact support@lowtech.uk.