Audio Hero Privacy Policy

Document v2.2.9

Effective Date: October 27, 2026

Audio Hero respects your privacy. The application has no advertising or usage-analytics SDK of its own. There is no Audio Hero user account. Core playback and device control happen on your local network. Internet features contact the providers described below; Android automatically looks up track metadata as playback information changes, and Radio Browser counts station plays requested through the Android app. Android also checks Google Play purchases on startup and when returning to the foreground, including server verification for an owned lifetime purchase or subscription, and checks once per install with the Audio Hero website when its free trial started on that phone. User-initiated bug reports are stored temporarily on the Audio Hero website. The Pro cloud-sync feature uses your own Microsoft account and stores its single sync file inside your own OneDrive; the Audio Hero website never sees that file.

1. Data Collection

Audio Hero does not operate its own usage-analytics service or upload automatic crash reports. Third-party radio and metadata requests are described in Section 2.2. Android purchase verification and Windows Pro license claims use the limited licensing information described in Section 2.6.

The application:

• Does not require an Audio Hero account. The optional cloud-sync feature uses your own Microsoft account and your own OneDrive (see Section 2.3).
• Does not automatically collect names or email addresses. Purchase verification uses Google Play purchase tokens; Windows Pro claims use Microsoft Store ownership proof (see Section 2.6).
• Does not upload general usage or session analytics to the developer. Radio Browser counts station plays from the Android app as described in Section 2.2. A diagnostic report is sent only after you open the bug-report window, review the explanation, and click Submit report (see Section 2.5).
• Does not use cookies, fingerprinting, or similar tracking technologies of its own. (The optional PC-streamed web players described in Section 2.4 open third-party music sites in a built-in browser window; those sites keep their own sign-in cookies on your PC, exactly as they would in any web browser.)
• Does not transmit your listening history, ratings, or playlists in a bug report. A diagnostic message can contain a station or file name involved in the reported problem.

2. Network Communication

2.1 Local network only (always)

The following traffic stays entirely inside your home network:

• HEOS device discovery: SSDP multicast on 239.255.255.250:1900.
• HEOS device control: JSON commands over a TCP socket on port 1255 to the IP address of your HEOS-compatible speaker, receiver, or amplifier.
• Legacy Denon receivers: HTTP control on port 8080 or 80, and optionally telnet on port 23, to the IP address of the receiver.
• Local file streaming (Pro): a temporary HTTP server is launched on a random local port and bound to your LAN IP. It serves only the audio file you have chosen, and only to the LAN IP of the device that is going to play it. It is not exposed to the internet.
• Device discovery across your own subnets: some homes are split into more than one private network range (a guest or IoT network, a second router range, a range extender). Because a multicast search does not cross between them, Audio Hero can also look for devices on those other ranges. It builds the list of ranges from your PC's own network connections, the Windows routing table, addresses that devices have announced, and addresses of devices you have used before, plus any range you add yourself; you can view, disable, or remove them under Settings > Devices & sources > Network discovery > Manage local subnets, or switch the whole feature off. Only private address ranges are ever considered, and Audio Hero only attempts the specific control ports of the device families you have enabled. No part of this contacts a public internet address, and no information about your network is transmitted anywhere.
• All other supported device families: the same applies to every other device type Audio Hero can control (Sonos, Roku, Onkyo/Integra, Chromecast, AirPlay, DLNA, Yamaha MusicCast, Snapcast, Squeezelite, WiiM, Bluesound, Samsung Wireless Audio, kiosk tablets, Kasa smart plugs, and so on). Each is discovered and controlled with its own local protocol and ports, always directly between your PC and the device on your own network. None of this traffic leaves your LAN.

2.2 Optional internet requests

The following requests support the listed internet features. Some happen automatically while a feature is in use, rather than only when you press a search button or open a panel. Public radio-catalog and metadata requests use no Audio Hero account or unique tracking identifier. A submitted bug report has a random report number so the developer can identify it.

On Android, metadata lookups can send the current track title and artist, and related search terms derived from them, to TheAudioDB, Deezer, MusicBrainz, and Wikipedia as playback information changes. These requests can happen without opening a Track Info panel. Local caching avoids some repeated requests, but the providers still receive the requests that reach them and their own policies govern logging and retention.

When you request an Internet Radio station from the Radio Browser catalog on Android, Audio Hero calls Radio Browser's station-play endpoint with that station's catalog ID. Radio Browser uses these calls for station popularity statistics. Its FAQ states that one play per IP address per station per day is counted and that the IP addresses are kept for 24 hours for this purpose. The app does not add an Audio Hero account or unique device identifier to this call.

Some metadata providers require a User-Agent header identifying the calling application. The Windows app uses AudioHero/<version> (https://bommerts.com/audiohero); Android uses an AudioHero-Android application identifier for the requests that provide one. These headers identify the application, not a unique person or device.

On Windows, optional internet features can be avoided by not using Internet Radio, by turning off the Track Info and Lyrics panels, by not signing in to cloud sync, and by not submitting a bug report. Android's automatic now-playing metadata lookups are not controlled by the Windows panel settings. The Microsoft Store license check runs on app startup. The update check asks the Microsoft Store whether a newer version exists, on startup and then on the schedule you choose; it sends no account or tracking identifier of its own. Android's licensing and Google Play update checks are described in Section 2.6.

2.3 Optional Pro cloud sync (Microsoft account + OneDrive)

Pro users can optionally sign in with a personal Microsoft account so their Audio Hero settings, ratings, liked tracks, starred favorites, saved streams, and music-source order stay in sync between PCs. This feature is off by default. When you sign in:

• Sign-in is handled by the Microsoft Authentication Library (MSAL). Your password is entered into the Microsoft sign-in page (or the Windows account broker in the Microsoft Store build) and never passes through Audio Hero.
• Audio Hero asks for the smallest possible OneDrive permission: Files.ReadWrite.AppFolder. This grants access only to a private folder named after the app inside your OneDrive. Audio Hero cannot read, write, or list any of your other OneDrive files.
• Audio Hero also requests User.Read so it can display the email address of the signed-in account in Settings, and offline_access so you do not have to re-enter your password on every launch.
• Inside the app folder, Audio Hero maintains a single JSON file named audiohero-sync.json containing your settings, votes, starred favorites, saved streams, and music-source order. The same data already stored in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Audio Hero\settings.json.
• The sync file is uploaded to and downloaded from Microsoft Graph (graph.microsoft.com) over HTTPS. The Audio Hero bug-report server is not involved and has no way to read the file.
• You can sign out at any time from Settings. Signing out clears the cached MSAL tokens on your PC. To delete the sync file itself, remove the Apps -> Audio Hero folder from onedrive.live.com.

2.4 Optional PC-streamed web players (YouTube Music, Apple Music, Device + This PC)

Audio Hero can play certain web music services on your speaker by opening the service's own website in a built-in browser window on your PC, capturing the audio locally, and streaming it to your device over your local network. This covers the YouTube Music and Apple Music sources and the Device + This PC source (which can also play Amazon Music, Pandora, Tidal, Deezer, SiriusXM, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn). These features run only when you open one of those sources.

• The built-in browser connects directly to the chosen service (for example music.youtube.com or music.apple.com), the same way your normal web browser would. Audio Hero does not proxy or store this traffic, and there is no Audio Hero server in between.
• You sign in with your own account for that service, inside the service's own web page. That sign-in is kept in a private browser profile stored on your PC so you do not have to sign in every time. Audio Hero never sees or stores your password for these services.
• You can optionally run the Audio Hero Companion on another PC on your local network (in the Audio Hero Companion settings). The Companion's sign-in page is mirrored to this PC, and your mouse and keyboard input, including passwords you enter, is forwarded over an encrypted TLS connection on your LAN. You can additionally require a 4-digit PIN on both ends. Service sign-ins remain in the Companion's browser profile rather than being copied back to the controller. On the Windows Companion that profile is shared across controllers: signing in, signing out, or switching accounts affects other household members using it. Audio Hero does not retain the entered password separately.
• A compatible Companion also stores shared starred favorites, liked tracks, and saved group restore shortcuts on that PC. It also stores the household's shared automation list (each automation's name, schedule, target device, source, and volume), which every connected PC and phone can view and edit, and it runs those automations by sending commands to your devices over your local network. Controllers retain offline copies and reconcile edits and removals when they reconnect. Connected controllers can discover and control the Companion's active web streams and cached local queues. This household sharing stays on your LAN and does not require OneDrive.
• When you play local files (Pro) through a Companion, the Companion keeps a copy of each queued file in a cache on that PC so playback can continue after Audio Hero closes. The Keep copied local music on this Companion setting (on by default) controls whether those copies are kept for next time or deleted when they are no longer playing. The copies never leave your local network.
• The captured audio is streamed only to the LAN IP of your device, over the same kind of temporary local HTTP server described in Section 2.1. It is not exposed to the internet.
• Each service has its own privacy policy and terms that govern your use of its site.

2.5 Optional bug reports

Settings > System & advanced includes a Submit bug report to developer action. It first opens a review window explaining what will be sent. Nothing is transmitted automatically, and closing the window sends nothing. If you click Submit report, Audio Hero creates a compressed report with a random report number. It contains the Audio Hero and package versions; edition and connection state; Windows and .NET runtime descriptions and architectures; culture, time zone, app uptime, and a summary of network-adapter types and states; recent diagnostic logs; and a device summary containing each room/device name, player ID, type, manufacturer, model, firmware, direct-or-presumed detection status, current group role, and group-leader player ID. Your optional written description is included exactly as entered. Audio Hero also asks for the email address that will receive the private report-progress link.

• The report does not include settings.json, passwords, access tokens, cookies, browser profiles, media files, playlists, ratings, or saved favorites.
• The deliberately constructed device summary retains room/device names and player IDs so the developer can match an individual device to diagnostic events. In diagnostic logs, common secret patterns, email addresses, the Windows account and computer names, known device names, IP addresses, MAC addresses, and user-folder paths are removed or replaced with report-local aliases before upload. Diagnostic logs are free-form text, so a station name, file name, service display name, or other text involved in the problem can remain.
• The report is sent over HTTPS to bommerts.com. The server verifies the report number and version and inspects every ZIP entry before storing it. It accepts only the expected report text, optional description, contact email, and diagnostic-log files. It stores the ZIP in a directory that cannot be accessed through the website and does not extract it to disk. A private database records the report number, versions, submission time, support status, optional description, contact email, protected attachment metadata, and customer-visible progress updates.
• The report database and diagnostic contents are available only through authenticated developer tools. Attachments are delivered through an authenticated download action and never through a public file URL.
• The server creates a random 256-bit tracking token and stores only its SHA-256 hash. It emails the private link containing the original token to the supplied address. The link displays only this report's number, submission and update dates, Audio Hero version, submitted description while retained, whether it has been reviewed, resolution or fixed status, fixed-in version when available, and customer-visible developer updates. It never displays contact information, diagnostic logs, attachments, internal investigation notes, or other bug reports. Anyone who has the complete link can view this limited status page, so keep it private.
• The server separately emails the developer only the report number, time, app version, file size, stored filename, contact email, description, and a link to the private review page. Diagnostic logs are not attached to either email.
• The raw ZIP, contact email, and original description are automatically removed after 30 days. A minimal product-support record may remain after that point: the random report number, application versions, submission and review dates, status, category, customer-visible update, and developer-written summary and resolution. That retained record contains no submitted diagnostic logs or contact email and is used only to show progress and track recurring defects and completed work.
• To prevent abuse, the server allows up to six submission attempts per hour from one public IP address. It does not store the raw IP address in the rate-limit file. Instead, it stores a SHA-256 hash of the address in the filename and recent attempt timestamps inside the file. These temporary rate-limit files contain no report data and are removed after two hours during endpoint cleanup.

2.6 Android purchases and free lifetime claims for Windows Pro owners

Audio Hero for Android offers a 90-day trial of Pro features, followed by a yearly subscription through Google Play. Earlier one-time lifetime purchases remain valid. Basic device controls remain free after the trial. When checking or restoring a purchase, the Android app sends its purchase token over HTTPS to the Audio Hero website. The server uses Google Play to verify and acknowledge the purchase and, for a subscription, to read the date it is paid through. Payment-card details stay with Google; Audio Hero does not receive them. Subscriptions renew until you cancel them in Google Play. The app stores its trial start date and a verified license result locally so Pro access can work offline. This license cache is excluded from Android backup and device transfer; a new phone restores the purchase through Google Play.

Audio Hero for Android also asks Google Play whether a newer version of the app is available, using Google Play's in-app update service on the phone. This check goes only to Google Play, not to the Audio Hero website, and runs when the app starts or returns to the foreground. You can turn it off with the automatic update check setting in the app.

So that reinstalling the app does not restart the free trial, the Android app sends the Audio Hero website a one-way hash of Android's app-specific device identifier, together with the trial start date stored on the phone. This identifier is different for every app, survives reinstalling Audio Hero, and changes after a factory reset. The server hashes it again with a secret key and stores that keyed hash with the earliest trial start date seen for it, which it returns to the app. This trial record is used to honor the one free trial per phone.

When checking or restoring a purchase, the Android app also sends the same hashed device identifier with the Google Play purchase token. If Android's device identifier is unavailable, it uses a random identifier stored for that installation instead. After Google confirms the purchase, the server stores a link between separate keyed hashes of the purchase and the device, together with the time of the last check. This limits each lifetime purchase or subscription to five phones at a time and helps prevent a shared purchase token from unlocking unlimited phones. Entries for phones that have not checked that purchase for 120 days are removed when the purchase is next checked, freeing their places. These identifiers and links are used for trial and license enforcement, not advertising or usage analytics; the raw Android device identifier is not sent to the website.

If you choose to claim free Android lifetime access in Audio Hero for Windows, the Windows app sends Microsoft Store ownership proof to the Audio Hero website. The server checks the Pro add-on with Microsoft and assigns one Google Play promo code per qualifying ownership. It retains a keyed hash identifying that ownership and its assigned code to prevent repeat claims and let you retrieve the same code. This claim record is retained while needed to honor the lifetime offer. Raw Microsoft Store ownership proof and Android purchase tokens are processed for verification and are not stored in the claim database or application diagnostics.

The claim service temporarily stores a keyed hash of the requesting IP address for rate limiting. Old rate-limit entries are removed during subsequent requests. The website host may also keep ordinary web-server access logs. License verification does not send listening history, device-control activity, playlists, or your OneDrive contents. A Google account is needed to redeem and restore the Android license; it does not need to use the same email address as your Microsoft Store account.

3. Data Storage

Audio Hero stores everything it remembers in a single JSON file at %LOCALAPPDATA%\Audio Hero\settings.json on your own PC. By default nothing in this file is transmitted off your device. If you opt in to the Pro cloud-sync feature (Section 2.3), a copy of most of these fields is mirrored to a private folder inside your own OneDrive.

What is stored:

• The IP addresses and friendly names of discovered or saved HEOS and legacy devices.
• The list of private network ranges on your own network that discovery may search, and whether each is enabled (see Section 2.1).
• UI preferences such as window size, view mode (full, compact, ultra-compact, tray), and theme options.
• Your thumbs-up and thumbs-down votes on tracks, used to drive the optional skip-on-thumbs-down behavior.
• Starred favorites and your custom music-source order.
• Saved internet radio stations and custom streams you have added.
• Sleep timer preferences and other feature toggles.

Any device or service credentials you choose to store in Audio Hero - your HEOS account password, and device passwords for platforms that need one (for example Fully Kiosk or Dashie kiosk tablets) - are encrypted at rest using Windows Data Protection API (DPAPI) in CurrentUser scope. This means only the same Windows user account on the same PC can decrypt them. Plaintext passwords from older versions of Audio Hero are automatically migrated to the encrypted form on first run after upgrade. Stored credentials are never uploaded to OneDrive even when cloud sync is enabled.

You can delete the entire %LOCALAPPDATA%\Audio Hero folder at any time to reset the application to a clean state.

A bug report is stored separately on the Audio Hero website only when you explicitly submit one, as described in Section 2.5.

4. Third-Party Services

Audio Hero does not embed its own analytics or advertising SDK. The Audio Hero website receives user-submitted bug reports and the licensing requests described in Section 2.6. Radio Browser's station-play counting and automatic metadata requests are described in Section 2.2.

The third-party services listed in Section 2.2 (and the PC-streamed web players in Section 2.4) are contacted directly from your PC or Android phone in connection with those features, including the automatic Android requests described above. Each of those services has its own privacy policy that governs what they do with the requests they receive:

• Microsoft Privacy Statement (covers the Microsoft Store)
• Google Privacy Policy (covers Google Play purchases and promo-code redemption)
• radio-browser.info
• SomaFM
• TheAudioDB
• Deezer (public API)
• Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)
• MetaBrainz Foundation (MusicBrainz)

Internet radio stream URLs come from radio-browser.info or are added by you. The radio station you choose will see the connection from your PC, the same way it would if you opened the stream in any browser or media player.

5. Security

• All third-party service calls listed in Section 2.2 use HTTPS.
• User-submitted bug reports are sent over HTTPS, limited in size and frequency, and inspected before storage. The server accepts only the expected text report, optional description, contact email, and diagnostic-log entries, stores the ZIP in a web-inaccessible directory, and never extracts it to disk. Database and attachment access require authenticated developer tools. The customer status page requires a report-specific 256-bit capability link and exposes no diagnostics or contact information.
• Stored device and service credentials are encrypted at rest with Windows DPAPI (CurrentUser scope).
• Microsoft sign-in tokens for the optional cloud-sync feature are stored by MSAL using the standard Windows token cache (DPAPI in CurrentUser scope, or the Windows Account Manager broker in the Microsoft Store build). They never leave your PC.
• The local HTTP servers used for local file playback and for the PC-streamed web players are bound to your LAN IP and are reachable only by devices on the same network. They are shut down as soon as the playback they serve ends.
• The optional link between Audio Hero and an Audio Hero Companion stays on your local network, is encrypted with TLS, and can additionally be protected with a 4-digit PIN.
• The Pro upgrade is processed entirely by the Microsoft Store. Audio Hero never sees your payment information.
• Audio Hero has no remote management surface. The only things that listen for connections are the LAN-only local audio servers and the LAN-only Companion link described above; nothing is reachable from the internet.

6. Children's Privacy

Audio Hero does not knowingly collect information from children. The application has no accounts or profiles. Its optional bug-report form is intended only for technical support and should not be used to submit personal information.

7. Changes to This Policy

This privacy policy may be updated in future versions of the app or as the set of optional internet features changes. Any changes will be reflected with an updated effective date at the top of this page.

8. Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy, you may contact:

bommerts@outlook.com