Privacy policy

Last updated: 23 May 2026

WaveBG is built so your Mac stays yours. This document is the short, plain-English version of what that means in practice.

What WaveBG reads

WaveBG reads your Mac's system audio output through Apple's Core Audio Process Taps API. The audio is processed in memory to compute a frequency spectrum, which drives the visualization. The original audio buffer is released as soon as the next visualization frame is drawn.

• WaveBG never records, saves, or persists your audio to disk.
• WaveBG never transmits your audio over the network.
• WaveBG does not use your microphone.
• WaveBG does not capture, read, or otherwise access your screen contents — the permission it requests is the dedicated Audio Recording permission (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Audio Recording), not Screen Recording.

What WaveBG collects

By default: nothing.

If you opt in during onboarding to "share anonymous usage data," WaveBG sends the following to TelemetryDeck, a privacy-first analytics provider:

• App version and macOS version
• Which visualizer style is selected
• Frame rate setting
• Whether silence-pause and Low Power Mode pause are enabled

No audio data. No screen data. No location. No device identifiers. No browsing history. No account information. You can turn this off at any time in Settings → General.

Crash reports

WaveBG uses Apple's built-in MetricKit to collect crash diagnostics, only if you've enabled "Share Mac Analytics" in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements. This is Apple's own opt-in framework; reports never reach WaveBG directly — Apple provides aggregated, anonymized data to us.

Children's privacy

WaveBG is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

Changes

If this policy ever changes, the "Last updated" date above will move and the change will be summarized at the top of this page.

Contact

Questions? hello@wavebg.io.