Sound Meter Terms of Service

First Published: August 5, 2026 · This Revision Published: August 25, 2026

1. Purpose and Definitions

These Terms of Service set out the rights, obligations, and responsibilities between CodeSand Co., Ltd. (the "Company") and users in connection with the use of the mobile application "Sound Meter" (the "Service") provided by the Company.

• Service: the Sound Meter application and ancillary services that measure and record the sound pressure level of ambient noise with a smartphone microphone and organize the records into reports, PDF, and CSV.
• User: any person who agrees to these Terms and uses the Service.
• Paid Products: the ad-removal product and the support products sold through in-app purchase on the Apple App Store or Google Play.
• Measurement Records: the sessions a user performs and saves on the device (time, duration, noise-level time series, and statistics), together with the place labels, noise-type tags, and notes the user attaches to them.
• Recording Files: audio files (m4a) of the microphone input saved on the device during measurement, created only when the user turns on "Save audio while measuring" in Settings. This setting is off by default.
• Baselines: reference figures the Service displays for comparison with measurement results (the inter-floor noise standards for multi-family housing in Korea, WHO recommendations, and the like).

2. Effect and Amendment of the Terms

These Terms take effect upon being posted on the Service website.

The Company may amend these Terms to the extent that the amendment does not violate applicable laws.

Changes that are not unfavorable to users are posted on the Service website with the details of the amendment and the effective date, and take effect upon posting. Feature additions, wording improvements, clarification of collected or used items, and correction of clerical errors fall into this category.

Changes that are unfavorable to users are posted on the Service website with the details of the amendment and the effective date at least 30 days before the effective date. Changes that reduce users' rights or impose new obligations, discontinuation of features previously provided, and reduction of refund conditions fall into this category.

If a user continues to use the Service after the effective date of an amended version, the user is deemed to have agreed to it. A user who does not agree may stop using the Service at any time, and termination of the use agreement is governed by Section 11.

3. Provision of the Service

The Company provides the functions needed to achieve the purpose of the Service. The specific composition of each function and how to use it are described on the app's screens, and the list below is illustrative of the nature of the Service and does not limit the functions the Company provides.

• Real-time noise measurement and the saving and viewing of Measurement Records
• Generating reports from Measurement Records and exporting (PDF/CSV) and sharing them
• Saving and playing back audio recorded during measurement, when the user has turned this on in Settings
• Baseline display and measurement-environment calibration
• Any other functions the Company additionally develops or provides through partnerships

The Service requires microphone access permission to measure noise. If the permission is not granted, the measurement function cannot be used. How microphone input is processed and what is stored are set out in Section 5, and the matters users must observe are set out in Sections 4 and 6.

The Company may change, add, or discontinue individual functions to improve the quality of the Service and operate it stably. However, changes that materially affect users, such as discontinuation of the entire Service, are posted in advance in the manner set out in Section 2.

The Service is in principle provided year-round, but it may be temporarily suspended for substantial reasons such as system maintenance, equipment replacement, or failures of external services. In such cases the Company gives advance notice where reasonably possible and resumes the Service without delay once the cause is resolved. Because the Service does not keep user data on a server, such suspensions in principle do not affect the use of data stored on the device.

If the Company terminates the provision of the entire Service, it posts a notice on the Service website at least 30 days in advance. Users may back up their Measurement Records with the export functions before termination.

4. Limits of the Service and User Responsibility

This section contains matters you must understand before using the Service. The Service has the following limits, and users use the Service with an understanding of them. Section 13 (Disclaimer) is premised on this section.

a. Readings are reference values and do not replace official measurements

• The Service uses the microphone built into your smartphone. This is not a certified sound level meter verified and calibrated to the IEC 61672 standard, and the values displayed by the Service do not replace certified measurements.
• The Service's measurement method differs from the measurement methods, conditions, and equipment prescribed by law, including the Noise and Vibration Control Act of Korea and the Rules on the Scope and Standards of Inter-floor Noise in Multi-family Housing of Korea. The Service does not verify the procedures the law requires, such as measurement position, measurement time, or background-noise correction, and cannot be deemed to have followed them.
• Accordingly, the Service's measurement results cannot be used as official measurements to be submitted in inter-floor noise disputes, civil complaints, administrative proceedings, or litigation. Measurements for such purposes must be carried out by qualified institutions following the methods and procedures prescribed by applicable laws.
• The Company is not responsible for disadvantages arising from a user's use of measurement results for the above purposes (such as the results not being admitted as evidence or a determination turning out differently).

b. Errors occur depending on the device and environment

• Microphone performance and frequency characteristics differ from device to device, and the same sound may be measured as different values on different devices.
• Cases, hands, or pockets covering the microphone; the distance and direction between the measurement point and the noise source; the operating system's automatic gain control (AGC); and wind, friction noise, and vibration all affect the readings.
• Smartphone microphones may saturate at very loud sounds and bottom out at very quiet ones, so the difference between the actual sound pressure and the displayed value can become large.

c. The calibration offset is adjusted by the user and is reflected directly in results

• The calibration slider in Settings can be adjusted freely by the user within a range of -10 dB to +10 dB, and the adjusted value is added directly to measurement results.
• The accuracy of readings therefore depends on the user's calibration state. The Company does not calibrate individual devices on the user's behalf and does not guarantee calibration.
• Exported PDF reports and CSV files always include the calibration offset that was applied.

d. Baselines are reference information, and the Service does not determine legal violations

• The figures the Service displays alongside your results — the inter-floor noise standards for multi-family housing in Korea, WHO recommendations, and the like — are reference figures to aid understanding. The Service only shows the difference between the reading and the baseline.
• The Service does not determine whether any law has been violated, and the displayed comparison is not a basis for legal judgment or administrative action. For example, the inter-floor noise standards also require conditions such as exceeding a threshold a certain number of times within a certain period, and the Service does not verify whether those conditions are met.
• The Company endeavors to keep baseline information up to date, but it may differ from the actual standards due to legislative amendments or differences between countries. Always check the official materials of the competent authorities for the exact standards.

e. Constraints of the measurement environment

• When the app goes into the background or the screen turns off, measurement stops automatically. This is a design that prevents records from being corrupted by the operating system replacing background microphone input with silence, and it is not a defect of the Service. The Service does not provide long-running automatic measurement in the background.
• Phone calls, other apps using the microphone, and the device's power-saving policies may interrupt measurement or cut off a recording.

f. Storing and backing up data is the user's responsibility

• Measurement Records, Recording Files, and settings are not kept on the Company's servers and are stored only on the user's device (Section 5). Accordingly, the Company cannot recover data lost through device loss, factory reset, app deletion, or device replacement.
• Please back up records you need to keep yourself, using the PDF/CSV export functions.
• The possibility of data corruption due to insufficient device storage, operating system policy changes, or unexpected errors during an app update cannot be entirely excluded.

g. User responsibility for use of the recording function

• Users are responsible for complying with the laws that apply to the place and situation in which recording takes place. Depending on the country or region, recording conversations or recording in spaces where others are present may be restricted or prohibited.
• The Company bears no legal responsibility arising from a user's act of recording or from the storage, use, or provision of Recording Files.
• When a user passes a Recording File to a third party or makes it public, the user decides to whom and to what extent it is sent, and the user bears the resulting responsibility.

The Company is not responsible for measurement results or for judgments and actions a user takes based on them (filing complaints, disputes, litigation, negotiations, and the like) or their outcomes.

5. Modes of Use and Accounts

The Service is used without an account. There is no sign-up or login procedure, and the Company does not create or keep accounts that identify users. Accordingly, issues of ID/password management responsibility or account theft do not arise.

All data the Service handles is stored only on the user's device. The Company does not operate servers that receive user data.

• Measurement Records (time, duration, noise-level time series, statistics, place labels, tags, and notes) are stored in the app's internal database.
• Recording Files are created only when the user turns on "Save audio while measuring" in Settings, and are saved as m4a files in the recordings folder of the app's private storage area. With the default settings, no sound is stored: the microphone input is used only to compute the noise level (dB), and the sound itself is not kept.
• Settings (calibration offset, sampling rate, baseline selection, language, and the like) are stored in the device's app preferences storage.
• Deleting a Measurement Record also deletes the Recording File linked to it, and deleting the app deletes all of the above data. Deleted data cannot be recovered, even by the Company.

When a user personally passes files to another app or a third party using the export and sharing functions, that transfer is made by the user's own choice and at the user's own responsibility.

If the Company introduces account-based features (such as backup or sync) in the future, it will announce the amendments to these Terms and the Privacy Policy before introduction, following the procedure set out in Section 2. The Company will not transfer existing on-device data to its servers without the user's consent.

6. User Obligations and Prohibited Acts

Users must comply with applicable laws and these Terms, and must not do any of the following.

• Forging or altering measurement results or reports to deceive others or to use them in disputes
• Creating the misleading impression that the Service provides certified noise measurement results
• Using the recording function in situations where the law prohibits it
• Using the Service for the purpose of invading another person's privacy
• Reverse engineering, copying, or modifying the Service, or obtaining Paid Product benefits by improper means
• Interfering with the normal operation of the Service or its advertising systems, such as by using automated tools
• Any other act contrary to applicable laws or these Terms

7. Rights and Responsibilities for Content

The Measurement Records, Recording Files, and notes a user creates with the Service, and the contents of exported reports, belong to the user. The Company claims no rights to them, and does not keep or view them on its servers.

Intellectual property rights in the Service and its components (software, design, icons, copy, report templates, and the like) belong to the Company. Users are granted a non-exclusive right to use the Service for personal, non-commercial purposes, and reproduction, distribution, or modification beyond that is not permitted without prior written consent.

The Service does not provide functions for users to post content within the Service or exchange it with other users. Accordingly, the Service has no reporting, blocking, or takedown procedures for user-to-user content. If the Company introduces such functions in the future, it will establish reporting and handling procedures at the same time and announce them in advance following the procedure set out in Section 2.

8. Advertising

• The Service is provided free of charge and displays Google AdMob ads to fund its operation. The formats currently displayed are banner, interstitial, rewarded, native, and app-open ads.
• Some supplementary functions (PDF/CSV export of reports and records) become available after watching a rewarded ad. When an ad cannot be loaded, the function is provided without watching an ad.
• The Company operates its own internal standards for the frequency and spacing of ad exposure so that ads do not unduly interfere with use of the Service.
• If you purchase Remove Ads, no ad placements are shown anywhere in the app, and the screen space ads occupied is reclaimed as well. The rewarded-ad step before exports no longer applies either.
• The information collected by the advertising SDK and users' choices regarding personalized ads (consent management in the EEA and the UK, App Tracking Transparency on iOS, and the like) are governed by the Privacy Policy.

9. Paid Products, Payment, and Refunds

• The Service offers the following Paid Products.
  • Remove Ads — a non-consumable product applied permanently with a single purchase. No ads are shown anywhere in the app, and the rewarded-ad step before exports no longer applies.
  • Support (coffee/cake) — consumable products to support continued development, which can be purchased repeatedly and provide no separate features or benefits.
• The seller of record for Paid Products is the Apple App Store or Google Play. Payment is processed under each store's policies and procedures, and the Company does not collect or store payment-method information such as card numbers.
• Accordingly, refunds must be requested directly from the store where the purchase was made, and whether a refund is available and how long it takes are governed by that store's policies. The Company has no authority to process refunds on a user's behalf.
• Under Article 17 of the Act on the Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, etc. of Korea, users may in principle withdraw a purchase within 7 days of the purchase date. However, under paragraph 2 of the same Article, for digital content whose provision is completed immediately upon purchase, withdrawal may be restricted once provision has begun.
• If you change devices or reinstall the app, you can re-apply Remove Ads with "Restore purchases" in the app. You must use the same App Store or Google Play account used for the purchase.
• The Company does not reduce the scope of the benefits provided to purchasers of Remove Ads. However, where there are unavoidable reasons such as termination of the Service, the Company gives advance notice following the procedures set out in Sections 2 and 3.

The Company may change the types, prices, or composition of Paid Products or discontinue their sale. However, rights already acquired by users who have completed payment are not retroactively reduced or affected by such changes.

10. Restrictions on Use of the Service

The Company may restrict use of the Service to the extent permitted by applicable laws when a user violates these Terms or applicable laws. However, because the Service has no accounts, the Company has no means of suspending a specific individual user; restrictions are implemented by such means as discontinuing the relevant function, taking measures through app updates, and complying with the stores' distribution policies. Users bear the legal responsibility arising from unlawful use.

Users may raise an objection to a measure through the contact listed in Section 15, and if the objection is justified, the Company lifts the measure without delay.

11. Termination of the Use Agreement

Users may end their use of the Service at any time by deleting the app. Because the Service has no accounts, there is no separate withdrawal application or notice to the Company, and there is no personal information of the user that the Company holds and would need to destroy.

• Deleting the app deletes all Measurement Records, Recording Files, and settings stored on the device, and no one — including the Company — can recover them. Please export records you need to keep as PDF/CSV before deleting.
• A Remove Ads purchase can be restored by reinstalling the app with the same store account and using "Restore purchases". Deleting the app does not extinguish the purchase.
• Support products are consumable and are not subject to restoration, regardless of whether the app is deleted.

12. Personal Information Protection

The Company protects users' personal information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act of Korea and other applicable laws. Matters concerning the collection, use, provision, outsourcing, overseas transfer, retention period, and destruction of personal information are set out in the separate Privacy Policy.

The Service does not operate accounts and does not transmit Measurement Records or Recording Files to servers. The only information that leaves the device is the information needed to serve ads and diagnostic information when an error occurs. See the Privacy Policy for details.

13. Disclaimer

• The Company is not responsible for damages arising from the limits of the Service set out in Section 4. This applies in particular to damages related to reading errors, differences from official measurements, and baseline comparison results.
• The Company is not responsible for decisions a user makes based on information obtained through the Service, or for their outcomes.
• The Company has no obligation to intervene in disputes between users or between a user and third parties (neighbors, building management, counterparties, administrative agencies, and the like).
• The Company bears no legal responsibility arising from a user's recording or from the use or provision of Recording Files.
• The Company is not responsible for data loss caused by circumstances of the user's device (insufficient storage, device loss or reset, operating system policy changes, and the like).
• The Company is exempt from responsibility when it cannot provide the Service due to force majeure such as natural disasters, power outages, telecommunications failures, or failures of operating systems or external services (advertising, payment, or error-collection SDKs, app stores, and the like).
• The Company is not liable in connection with the use of the Service provided free of charge, unless otherwise specifically provided by applicable laws. The Company's liability in connection with Paid Products is limited, to the extent permitted by applicable laws, to the amount the user paid.
• The limitations of liability in this section do not apply to damage caused by the Company's intent or gross negligence, and do not limit rights guaranteed to users by applicable laws.

14. Dispute Resolution and Jurisdiction

The laws of the Republic of Korea apply to the interpretation of these Terms and to disputes between the Company and users.

If a dispute arises in connection with use of the Service, the Company and the user resolve it through consultation in accordance with the principle of good faith, and lawsuits concerning disputes not resolved by consultation are filed with the court of jurisdiction under the Civil Procedure Act of Korea.

Before filing a lawsuit, users may apply for mediation of the dispute to relevant bodies such as the Consumer Counseling Center of the Korea Consumer Agency or the Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee.

However, if the user is a consumer residing outside the Republic of Korea, rights guaranteed by the mandatory provisions of that country are not limited.

15. Contact

• Company: CodeSand Co., Ltd.
• Email: noise-meter@reply.codesand.co.kr
• Hours: Weekdays 10:00–18:00 (KST, excluding public holidays)

Supplementary Provisions

Effective Date: September 24, 2026 (originally effective August 5, 2026)

© 2026 CodeSand Co., Ltd. Business Registration No. 368-87-03020.