Privacy Policy

Last updated: 17 August 2026  ·  Effective: 17 August 2026

1. Who we are

Cadence Reader ("the app", "we", "us", "our") is developed and published by Subverting Complexity, based in South Africa. This Privacy Policy explains how the app handles information when you use it on iOS, iPadOS, Android, or the web.

This policy is published in accordance with the requirements of the Apple App Store and Google Play, and with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) of South Africa.

2. Information we do not collect

Cadence Reader is designed to be private by default. We do not collect any of the following:

• Personal information such as your name, email address, phone number, or postal address.
• Account credentials — Cadence Reader has no accounts, no sign-up, and no login.
• Usage analytics, telemetry, or crash-reporting data.
• Advertising identifiers, cookies, or tracking technologies.
• Location data.
• Contacts, photos, calendars, or other personal libraries.
• Microphone or camera input — Cadence Reader explicitly blocks microphone access.

3. Data stored on your device

Cadence Reader stores the content you create so the app is useful between sessions. This data is held locally on your device only, inside the app's private storage area. It is never transmitted to us or to any third party (except via opt-in iCloud Sync — see Section 4). This includes:

• Imported documents — eBook and document files (EPUB, PDF, TXT, RTF, DOCX) and audio or video files you import for listening.
• Reading positions — your current place in each book, so you can resume where you left off.
• App settings — voice selection, playback speed, pitch, volume, theme, font preferences, and per-book overrides.
• Synthesised audio cache — temporary WAV files generated for playback, stored in a cache area the operating system may reclaim at any time.

Because this data never leaves your device (unless you enable iCloud Sync), we have no ability to access, recover, or restore it. You can remove all of it by deleting books within the app, or by uninstalling the app — which permanently erases all associated local data.

4. iCloud Sync (iOS only, opt-in)

On iOS and iPadOS, Cadence Reader offers an optional iCloud Sync feature that is off by default. When you enable it, the app syncs the following through your own Apple iCloud account:

• Reading positions and per-book settings.
• Library metadata (titles, authors, progress).

Book files themselves are never synced. This sync uses Apple's CloudKit infrastructure and your personal iCloud storage — the data passes through Apple's servers under Apple's privacy terms, not through any server operated by Subverting Complexity. We have no access to your iCloud data.

On Android and on the web, no sync feature is available and no data is transmitted.

5. No other network transmission

Beyond the opt-in iCloud Sync described above, Cadence Reader does not send your data to any server. The app has no backend, makes no analytics or advertising network calls, and does not include third-party tracking SDKs. All text-to-speech synthesis uses on-device system voices provided by your operating system.

6. Permissions

To let you bring your own content into the app, Cadence Reader uses your operating system's file picker or share sheet so you can select files to import. This is initiated by you and used solely to copy the selected file into the app's private storage. Cadence Reader does not scan, index, or upload your wider file library.

The app requests background audio permission so it can continue reading aloud with the screen off or while you use other apps. Microphone access is explicitly blocked — the app will never request it.

7. Children's privacy

Cadence Reader does not collect personal information from anyone, including children. The app contains no advertising, no in-app purchases, no chat, and no user-generated content sharing.

8. Third-party platforms

Cadence Reader is distributed through the Apple App Store and Google Play. When you download or use apps, those platforms may collect information under their own policies (for example, download counts, device type, and purchase records). That collection is governed by Apple and Google, not by Cadence Reader. Please review the Apple Privacy Policy and the Google Privacy Policy for details.

9. Your rights under POPIA

Because Cadence Reader does not collect or process your personal information, there is no personal data held by us to access, correct, or delete. Nonetheless, under POPIA you have the right to:

• Be notified about whether your personal information is being processed.
• Request access to any personal information held about you.
• Request correction or deletion of your personal information.
• Object to processing and to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.

If you believe we hold any personal information about you, you may contact us using the details below, and you may also contact South Africa's Information Regulator (inforegulator.org.za).

10. Security

Your data resides within the sandboxed, private storage that iOS and Android provide to each app, protected by your device's own security model. We recommend keeping your operating system up to date and securing your device with a passcode or biometric lock.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time — for example, to reflect new features or legal requirements. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date above. If a future version of the app ever begins to collect data, we will update this policy and request consent where required before doing so.

12. Contact us

For any questions about this Privacy Policy or your privacy, contact our Information Officer at:

Subverting Complexity
Email: [email protected]
Web: subvertingcomplexity.com