Earwhile privacy policy

Data controller

Comraich ANS, organisation number 924 690 755, makes Earwhile. You can reach us at info@comraich.no.

What stays on your phone

The shows you follow, their episodes, where you are in each one, what you've played, Up Next, downloads, your listening statistics, payment history and settings are kept in the app's private storage on your phone.

Sign-ins you add — a fediverse, Bluesky or sync account, a Nostr signer, a Lightning wallet connection — are encrypted with a key that never leaves your phone, and are never included in any backup.

If Android's own backup is turned on, Android may back up the app's data (but not those sign-ins, or downloaded audio) to your Google account, under Google's terms. Earwhile's own backups go only to a file or folder you choose.

Who the app talks to, and why

• Podcast hosts. To fetch feeds, episodes, artwork, chapters and transcripts, the app asks wherever each show publishes them. Like any podcast app, this tells the host your IP address and that the request comes from Earwhile. Some shows route downloads through measurement services of their own.
• Podcast Index (podcastindex.org), for search, trending and live shows, Value 4 Value shows, and looking up shows by their ID. What you search for is sent to it. If it can't be reached, searches go to Apple's podcast search instead.
• Podping, through Livewire's relay. While the app is open or playing, it listens for announcements of new episodes so it can refresh a show at once. Nothing about you is sent beyond the connection itself.
• Live shows. While you listen to a live show, the app may follow the show's own announcements of what's on air, from the address the show gives.
• Comments. When you open an episode's comments, the app reads the thread from where the show says it is: a fediverse server, Bluesky or Nostr relays.
• Exchange rates from Coinbase, if you show amounts in a currency as well as sats. Nothing about you is sent.

Only when you choose to

• Posting. Replies and shared moments go to the account you post them from (your fediverse server, Bluesky, or Nostr through your signer app), where they're public like any post.
• Value 4 Value. Boosts and streamed payments go from the wallet you connect, through its Nostr Wallet Connect relay, to the recipients the podcast names. A boost carries what you write with it, the app's name, the show and episode, the moment you were at, and your name only if you set one.
• Sync. If you set up sync, the shows you follow and your progress in episodes are shared with the server you choose: your Nextcloud, or gpodder.net or a server like it.
• Casting. When you cast to a Chromecast or a speaker, Google Play services connects to it, and the device fetches the episode from the podcast host itself.
• Problem reports. The app keeps a short log of what it did, on your phone. It's only sent anywhere if you share it yourself, for example with "Report a problem", which emails it to earwhile-issues@comraich.no. It records things like which feeds and episodes the app worked with and any errors, but never passwords or keys.
• Maps and links. Opening a show's location or a link opens it in another app, such as your browser.

Permissions

Network access, to fetch and stream podcasts. Notifications, for playback controls, downloads and shows going live. Running in the foreground while playing or downloading, so Android doesn't stop it.

Children

Earwhile isn't directed at children and doesn't knowingly handle any data about them.

Your rights

We hold no data about you from the app. If you've emailed us a problem report, you can ask us to show you, correct or delete what you sent, at info@comraich.no. If you believe we are handling data in breach of the rules, you can complain to the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, Datatilsynet.

Changes

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new date.

Last updated 14 October 2026.