Privacy Policy — clir Focus & clir Hearing

Last updated: July 27, 2026

1. Who we are, and which apps this covers

This policy covers our two iOS apps, clir Focus and clir Hearing (each an "App", together the "Apps"). Both are provided by clir Technologies GmbH, Stremayrgasse 16, 8042 Graz, Austria (referred to as "clir", "we", "us"). We are the controller responsible for the personal data described in this policy. You can reach us at contact@clir.ai.

clir Focus reshapes the sound around you while you work: you can keep the room as it is (Original), remove voices (Ambience), or isolate them (Speech). clir Hearing amplifies and clarifies the sound around you for everyday listening. The Apps share the same on-device audio approach and the same infrastructure, so most of what follows applies to both. Wherever the two differ, we name the App explicitly; where a paragraph says "the Apps", it applies to both.

2. The short version

3. Data we process, and why

3.1 Microphone audio — clir Hearing

When you start a listening session, clir Hearing captures audio from the microphone, enhances it (amplification and, in Clear Speech mode, on-device AI noise removal), and plays it to your connected headphones — all in real time, all on your device. This audio is not recorded, not stored, not transmitted to us or to anyone else, and not used to train machine-learning models. Processing stops the moment you end the session. Because this audio never leaves your device, it is not "collected" within the meaning of data protection law.

3.2 Microphone audio and recordings — clir Focus

clir Focus captures audio from the microphone only while a listening session is running. The audio is processed live on your iPhone and played to your connected headphones. The AI that separates speech from background noise is a TensorFlow Lite model bundled inside the App and executed on the device; no third-party AI service is involved and nothing is sent to us for processing. This applies in every listening mode — Original (no AI processing), Ambience (voices removed) and Speech (voices isolated). This audio is never uploaded, never stored on any server, never shared with any other company, and never used to train machine-learning models. Processing stops the moment you end the session. Because this audio never leaves your device, it is not "collected" within the meaning of data protection law.

If you choose to make a recording, it is saved as an ordinary file in the App's own storage on your device. We have no access to it, and it leaves your device only if you share it yourself.

3.3 Account data

We process your email address, your name, and internal authentication identifiers through Firebase Authentication (a Google service). In clir Focus you can sign in with an email address, with Sign in with Apple, or with Google; in clir Hearing you can create an account or sign in with Google. We use this to operate your account, to keep your free-session allowance and subscription status in sync across reinstalls, and to let you delete your account. When you sign up for clir Focus, the App additionally writes a single profile record per user to Google Cloud Firestore, containing your first name, your last name, which clir app you signed up from, and your device model. Legal basis: performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

3.4 App activity data

clir Hearing stores the number of free sessions you have used and your subscription/entitlement status, keyed to your account identifier, in Google Cloud Firestore / Firebase Realtime Database. Legal basis: performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

In clir Focus, your free-session counter and your App settings are stored locally on your device. The App additionally writes anonymous, aggregated usage statistics to Cloud Firestore. Legal basis for those statistics: our legitimate interest in understanding how the App is used (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

3.5 Usage analytics

Both Apps use Google Analytics for Firebase to understand how they are used: interaction events (for example screens viewed, session started, listening mode switched, store screens viewed), device model, operating-system version, App version, language and region, an app-instance identifier, and the identifier for vendors (IDFV). The advertising identifier (IDFA) is included only if you have allowed tracking (see 3.7). Legal basis: our legitimate interest in improving the Apps (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

3.6 Crash and performance diagnostics

Both Apps use Firebase Crashlytics to receive crash reports: stack traces, the state of the device at the time of the crash (model, OS version, free memory), and the App version. Crash reports are not tied to your name or email. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in keeping the Apps stable (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

3.7 Advertising measurement (only with your consent)

Both Apps use the Meta Platforms SDK to measure the effectiveness of our advertising on Facebook and Instagram. If — and only if — you allow tracking in the iOS permission dialog (App Tracking Transparency), app events such as first launch and subscription purchases, together with device identifiers including the advertising identifier (IDFA) and cross-app identifiers, are shared with Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd. / Meta Platforms, Inc. and matched against Meta's ad systems. In clir Focus the tracking dialog is shown right after the first-run introduction, and the subscription details reported to Meta are the product identifier, the price, the currency, and whether the purchase started as a trial or as a direct purchase. If you decline, no cross-app identifiers are shared and only aggregated, privacy-preserving attribution remains. Legal basis: your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). You can withdraw consent at any time in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.

3.8 Purchases

Subscriptions and one-time purchases are processed entirely by Apple. We never receive your payment details. Apple provides us with transaction and entitlement confirmations (product purchased, price tier, timestamps) so the App can unlock what you paid for. Purchase events are also logged to the analytics and ad-measurement services described in 3.5 and 3.7. Legal basis: performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

4. What we do not collect

We never receive recordings of your surroundings: recordings made in clir Focus stay on your device (see 3.2), and clir Hearing does not record at all. The Apps do not collect your contacts, your photos, your precise location, or health data, and neither App uses speech recognition. In clir Focus, the microphone is the only sensitive permission the App requests. Should a future version offer features that process hearing-related profiles, we will update this policy and ask for your permission first.

5. Recipients of data

We use the following processors and recipients:

Each third party listed above is bound by written data-processing or data-protection terms with us that require it to provide the same or equal protection of your data as this policy does, to process it only for the purposes described here, and to apply confidentiality and security obligations at least equivalent to our own; we do not share data with any third party that does not meet that standard.

Microphone audio is not shared with any of them, or with anyone else. We do not sell personal data to anyone.

6. International transfers

Some of the providers above process data in the United States. Transfers are protected by the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and/or the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, which are designed to ensure that your data continues to receive a level of protection essentially equivalent to the one it has in the European Economic Area.

7. How long we keep data

8. Your rights

Under the GDPR you have the right to access, rectify, and erase your personal data, the right to restrict or object to processing, the right to data portability, and the right to withdraw any consent at any time with effect for the future. To exercise these rights, email contact@clir.ai. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular the Austrian Data Protection Authority (Datenschutzbehörde, dsb.gv.at).

California residents: we do not sell personal information. To the extent that sharing device identifiers with Meta for ad measurement constitutes "sharing" for cross-context behavioral advertising under the CCPA/CPRA, you can opt out by declining (or later disabling) tracking in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking, or by contacting us at contact@clir.ai. We do not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

9. Children

The Apps are not directed at children under 13 (or the higher minimum age of digital consent in your country), and we do not knowingly collect personal data from them. If you believe a child has provided us personal data, contact us at contact@clir.ai and we will delete it.

10. Security

All data in transit is protected with TLS. Data at rest is stored with the reputable providers listed in section 5, protected by access controls and industry-standard safeguards.

11. Changes to this policy

We will post any changes on this page with an updated date. If a change is material, we will additionally inform you in the affected App before it takes effect.

12. Contact

clir Technologies GmbH
Stremayrgasse 16, 8042 Graz, Austria
contact@clir.ai