Privacy policy
Last updated:
Total WebRadio Player is built to work without an account, without a profile and without tracking. This policy explains, plainly, which data flows when you use the iOS app, the Android app or the web player, who receives it, and what your rights are under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and the Belgian Act of 30 July 2018.
1. Data controller
The data controller is:
- Apalala SRL, a private limited company under Belgian law
- Registered office: Chaumont-Gistoux, Belgium
- Email: info@apalala.be
- Help desk: helpdesk.apalala.be
Apalala SRL has not appointed a data protection officer, as the processing described here does not require one. Any question about this policy can be sent to the contact details above.
2. Scope
This policy covers:
- the Total WebRadio Player app for iOS (iPhone, iPad, CarPlay, Apple Watch), distributed on the App Store;
- the Total WebRadio Player app for Android (phone, tablet, Android Auto), soon to be distributed on Google Play;
- the web player and the public website webradio.apalala.be, including its station directory and contact pages.
It does not cover the websites of the radio stations, the app stores or the third-party services we link to: each applies its own privacy policy.
3. What we do not collect
The founding principle of the app is simple: no personal data is sent to Apalala or stored on our servers to make the player work.
- There is no user account: no sign-up, no username, no password.
- Your library (favourites, presets, volume and equaliser settings), your listening history (stations and tracks heard), your alarms, your recordings and your settings are stored on your device only. They are never synchronised to our servers. If the operating system backs them up (for instance through iCloud or Google backup), that happens within your account with Apple or Google, under their responsibility and according to your settings.
- We embed no analytics tool, no advertising SDK, no tracker and no advertising identifier.
- We know neither your location, nor your contacts, nor your address book, nor the contents of your device. The app only requests the permissions strictly needed for its features (background audio playback, notifications for alarms, local network for network players).
4. Network connections and what they reveal
A web radio player has to connect to the Internet to play a stream. Here is, connection by connection, what is technically transmitted and to whom.
4.1 The radio station streams
When you start a station, your device connects directly to that station's streaming server. The audio stream does not pass through Apalala. As with any Internet connection, the broadcaster (or its streaming provider) receives your IP address, the technical identifier of the app (user agent), the time of connection and the listening duration. This data is processed by the broadcaster under its own privacy policy, over which we have no control. Some broadcasters only offer unencrypted streams (http://); in that case, the connection to that broadcaster is not encrypted.
4.2 The catalogue and artwork on webradio.apalala.be
The app and the web player download the station catalogue (names, streams, styles, logos) from our servers at webradio.apalala.be and periodically check whether it has been updated. Like any web server, ours keeps technical logs containing the IP address, the date and time, the requested resource and the user agent. These logs are used exclusively for security, troubleshooting and capacity planning; they are not cross-referenced with other data and are deleted automatically after 30 days at most.
4.3 Track metadata in the web player
In the iOS and Android apps, the current title and artist are read directly from the station's stream, with no intermediary. The web player cannot read that metadata from the browser: every fifteen seconds it asks a relay on webradio.apalala.be to read, on its behalf, the title announced by the station. This request contains the address of the stream being played. Our technical logs may therefore associate, for as long as they are kept, your IP address with the station you are listening to in the browser. We do not use this information and build no listening profile.
4.4 The Radio Browser directory
When you search for a station that is not in our catalogue, the apps query the community directory Radio Browser (api.radio-browser.info), a third-party service independent from Apalala. Your search term and your IP address are then sent to the Radio Browser servers, which are run by volunteers and governed by their own rules. The web player does not use Radio Browser.
4.5 Network players
If you send a stream to a network player (Volumio, moOde, Cambridge Audio, etc.), the app communicates with that device on your local network only. No information about your devices is transmitted to Apalala.
4.6 Crash reports
We embed no crash-reporting tool. If the app closes unexpectedly, only the operating system can send us a report, and only if you have enabled sharing that data with Apple or Google in your device settings. These reports reach us through App Store Connect or the Google Play Console, in aggregated form and without data that would directly identify you; we use them solely to fix bugs.
4.7 The app stores
Downloads and updates go through Apple's App Store and Google Play. On that occasion Apple and Google process data linked to your account with them (identifier, device, country, any payment) under their own policies. Apalala receives from them only aggregated, anonymous statistics (for instance the number of downloads per country).
5. The web player and the website: local storage, no cookies
The webradio.apalala.be website is a static site. It uses no cookies, neither first- nor third-party, and embeds no analytics service, no external web font and no sharing button.
The web player remembers your preferences in your browser's local storage (localStorage), on your device only:
- your favourite stations and the last station you played;
- your listening history (sessions and tracks);
- the volume;
- a copy of the catalogue, for instant display and offline use;
- the theme (light or dark) and the language you chose.
This data is never transmitted to Apalala and can be read by you alone. You can erase it at any time from the player ("Clear history" button, removing favourites) or by deleting the site data in your browser settings.
6. When you contact us
If you write to us by email or open a ticket on our help desk, we process the data you provide (name, email address, message content, any screenshots) for the sole purpose of answering you and resolving your request. These exchanges are kept for 24 months at most after the request is closed, then deleted, unless the law requires otherwise or a dispute is pending.
If you suggest a station, we may contact the broadcaster concerned to verify its rights; we do not pass on your contact details to them without your agreement.
7. Legal bases
In accordance with Article 6 of the GDPR, the processing described above relies on:
- the performance of the service you request (Art. 6(1)(b)): establishing the connections needed to play a station, download the catalogue and display metadata;
- our legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)): keeping our servers secure and available by means of technical logs, fixing bugs reported through crash reports, answering your support requests;
- your consent (Art. 6(1)(a)), given in your device settings, for sharing crash reports with Apple or Google, which you can withdraw at any time in the same place;
- a legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)) where the law requires us to keep certain exchanges.
We take no automated decision producing legal effects concerning you and carry out no profiling.
8. Recipients and transfers outside the European Union
Apalala does not sell, rent or share your data with third parties for commercial purposes. The only recipients of data are those listed in section 4, each acting as controller of its own processing: the broadcasters of the stations you choose to listen to, Radio Browser when you query it, Apple and Google for distribution and crash reports.
Our servers are hosted in Belgium. We transfer no data outside the European Union. Radio broadcasters, however, are established all over the world: by playing a station located outside the European Economic Area, your device connects to a server in that country, where data protection may differ from that in force in Europe.
9. Retention periods
| Data | Location | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Library, history, alarms, recordings, settings | Your device | Until you delete them or uninstall the app |
| Web player preferences | Your browser (localStorage) |
Until you clear them |
| Technical logs of our servers | Apalala servers (Belgium) | 30 days at most |
| Support requests and emails | Apalala mailbox and help desk | 24 months at most after closure |
| Crash reports | App Store Connect / Google Play Console | According to Apple's and Google's policies |
10. Security
Exchanges with our servers take place exclusively over HTTPS. Data stored on your device benefits from the operating system's protections (device encryption, app sandboxing). We keep the data we hold to a strict minimum: the best protection for a piece of data is not to collect it.
11. Your rights
Within the limits set by the GDPR, you have the following rights over data concerning you: access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, portability, objection, as well as the right to withdraw your consent at any time where processing relies on it.
For data that stays on your device or in your browser, you exercise these rights yourself, directly: remove a favourite, clear the history, delete a recording, reset the site data or uninstall the app. We have no access to it and therefore could neither provide it to you nor correct it on your behalf.
For other data (technical logs, support exchanges), write to us at info@apalala.be. We reply within one month; we may ask you to prove your identity where necessary to protect your data. Exercising your rights is free of charge.
If you believe your rights are not being respected, you may lodge a complaint with the Belgian supervisory authority:
Autorité de protection des données (APD) / Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit (GBA) Rue de la Presse 35, 1000 Brussels, Belgium www.dataprotectionauthority.be — contact@apd-gba.be
You may also contact the supervisory authority of your country of habitual residence.
12. Children
Total WebRadio Player is a general-audience radio player with no adult-only content, but it is not specifically aimed at children and offers no social feature. We do not knowingly collect any personal data from children under 13; in fact, we collect data from no one to make the app work. The content broadcast by the stations is the responsibility of their publishers.
13. Changes to this policy
We may adapt this policy as the app evolves or the regulations change. The date of the last update appears at the top of the page. In the event of a substantial change — for instance if a new feature involved processing data on our servers — we will inform you in the app and on this site before it takes effect. Previous versions are available on request.
14. Contact
For any question about your personal data or this policy:
- by email: info@apalala.be;
- through our help desk: helpdesk.apalala.be;
- by post: Apalala SRL, Chaumont-Gistoux, Belgium.