About �鶹Լ�� Sounds and our policies

�鶹Լ�� Alexa skills privacy notice

Anonymous — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 17:15:03 +0000

�鶹Լ�� Alexa skills privacy notice

Your trust is very important to us. This means the �鶹Լ�� is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal data.

It is important that you read this notice so that you are aware of how and why we are using such information. This privacy notice describes how the �鶹Լ�� (“we”, “us”) collects and uses personal data about you when you use �鶹Լ�� Skills on Amazon Alexa, for example, the �鶹Լ��’s collection of data about what you’ve played, and how many times you used our Alexa Skills each week. You should also read about how Alexa works and how Alexa uses your personal data independently of the �鶹Լ��.

We collect some personal data about our users, like you. It's our job to tell you how we collect your personal data, how we record it, and how we use it. In this notice, you will see different names or terms used that you may not be familiar with, such as:

Data controller: This person (or group of people, like us) is in charge of the personal information we collect about you.
Data processor: This person processes your personal information for the data controller.
Personal data: This means any information that can be used to identify someone, such as a name, email address, date of birth, or how a person uses �鶹Լ�� Skills (such as which music, stories you listen to).

Why do we collect and use your personal data?

We will only collect your personal data when we need it to help us do our job and allow you to use �鶹Լ�� Skills.

When we've collected it, here's how we use your personal data:

For analytics, such as to understand how many people have used �鶹Լ�� Skills (if this service is a good use of the license fee); to help us improve �鶹Լ�� Skills experience.
Your listening history may be attributed to your �鶹Լ�� account profile which enables us to personalise your experience of the services provided by the �鶹Լ��.

What personal data do we collect?

If you are signed into a �鶹Լ�� account, the categories of personal data that we collect, store and use when you interact with the �鶹Լ�� Skill include the following:

Device identifiers – When you use �鶹Լ�� Skills, Amazon passes us a unique code that identifies your device. This identifier is further disguised by the �鶹Լ�� when we use it for analytics purposes. This makes sure that any data the �鶹Լ�� handle is kept as safe as possible.
Session information - When you use �鶹Լ�� Skills, we temporarily store information about the content you are listening to allow you to resume the content later. This data is stored for two weeks.
User activity – This refers to your interactive experiences, such as the music, radio podcast and news stories you listen to, when you pause or resume something, or when you skip, or ask for more details on a news story. When you use �鶹Լ�� Skills, we temporarily store the fact that you have used the skill to enable us to control which promotions or help messages that you hear. This data is stored for one year.

If you use �鶹Լ�� Skills without signing into a �鶹Լ�� account, the categories of personal data that we collect, store and use when you interact with the �鶹Լ�� Skills remains the same, except they will not be associated with the �鶹Լ�� account profile.

Who looks after your personal data?

We (the �鶹Լ��) are the data controllers of the personal data we collect from you – that means we are responsible for how and why your personal data are collected and used when you use �鶹Լ�� Skills.

We've got a good reason for using your personal data (the law calls it the ‘lawful basis for processing'), because that needs to happen for you to get the benefits from using �鶹Լ�� Skills, and we've made sure your rights are protected. The lawful basis for this processing is �鶹Լ��’s ‘legitimate Interest’, we have a legitimate Interest to process your personal data in order to provide you with the �鶹Լ�� Skills service.

How long will we keep your personal data?

Your personal data collected via �鶹Լ�� Alexa Skills will be retained in accordance with this Privacy Notice. If you delete your �鶹Լ�� account, your personal detail (such as name, email address, postcode, gender, year of birth) in your account will be permanently deleted. Your user activity data will be anonymised.

Do we share your personal data?

The �鶹Լ�� works with our approved third-party providers who help us to provide some of our services. These partners only process your personal data on behalf of the �鶹Լ�� and not independently of the �鶹Լ��. We currently use a third-party data analytics provider and a third-party data storage provider to deliver �鶹Լ�� Skills service.

Amazon may also access and analyse your use of �鶹Լ�� Skills and to the extent that any of that information is personal data, Amazon are an independent data controller of that personal data. You can find out more by reading Amazon’s Privacy Notice and you can see more details in Amazon's Terms of Use.

What are your rights?

You and your parents (if you are under 13 years old) have the right to:

Be told how we use your personal data.
Ask to see the personal data we hold.
Ask us to change personal data you think is wrong.
Ask us to remove personal data when it's not needed anymore.
Ask us to only use your personal data in certain ways.
Tell us you don't want your personal data to be processed.

The �鶹Լ�� can only help with your request if the information we hold in our system can identify you.

More information

If you have any questions about how we handle your personal data, or you wish to find out about your rights, please visit the �鶹Լ��'s Privacy and Cookies Policy.  This notice applies if there are any differences between this notice and the �鶹Լ��’s Privacy and Cookies Policy.

You will also be able to find out more information about how we process your personal data and how you can contact the �鶹Լ�� Data Protection Officer.

If you have a concern about the way the �鶹Լ�� has handled your personal data, you can raise your concern with the supervisory authority in the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) https://ico.org.uk/.

Updating this privacy notice

We will revise the privacy notice if there are significant changes to how we use your personal data.

Anonymous (not verified) 25 March 2021

Personalisation in �鶹Լ�� Sounds

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:42:28 +0000

Personalisation in �鶹Լ�� Sounds

When you're signed in to your �鶹Լ�� account, the whole �鶹Լ�� website becomes more personalised to you. It means we can:

Send you personalised programme recommendations based on what you’ve listened to
Remember how far through a programme you are, so you can pick up where you left off

With personalisation, you can also subscribe to your favourite programmes or bookmark episodes via My Sounds.

How do I turn off personalisation?

You can turn off personalisation in your �鶹Լ�� account settings. For more information on how to do this, visit the Using the �鶹Լ�� website.

Bear in mind, it may take a little while for any changes you make to come into effect. But you can speed things up by signing out of your �鶹Լ�� account and signing back in again.

Under 13 years of age?

If you’re under 13, personalisation will be turned off by default. To turn it on, you’ll need to link your �鶹Լ�� account with a parent or guardian's account and get their permission. The same goes if you want to turn it back off again. Visit the Using the �鶹Լ�� website for help with child accounts.

What happens if I turn off personalisation?

You won’t get personalised recommendations any more.

Turning off personalisation will also affect various other parts of the �鶹Լ��. You can find out more about personalisation across the �鶹Լ�� here.

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

Terms of use of �鶹Լ�� online services

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:43:36 +0000

The information detailed on the following page tells you how you may use �鶹Լ�� online services to access, view and/or listen to content that the �鶹Լ�� makes available to you through these services: Using the �鶹Լ��: Terms of Use

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

Do I need a TV licence to listen to �鶹Լ�� radio online?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:44:09 +0000

Do I need a TV licence to listen to �鶹Լ�� radio online?

You don't need a TV licence to use �鶹Լ�� Sounds. The law applies to watching and downloading TV programmes, including via �鶹Լ�� iPlayer.

For more details visit the TV Licensing website.

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

Can I play radio programmes in the classroom?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:45:00 +0000

Can I play radio programmes in the classroom?

Teachers are welcome to play �鶹Լ�� radio programmes to their classes. The playing or performing of copyright works, including sound recordings, in the course of the activities of educational establishments do not infringe copyright.

However, the �鶹Լ��'s agreements with rights holders prevent us from authorising copies of radio programme streams being made for this purpose.

We recommend you check the availability of the programme you wish to use in advance as it may not be available for long. You'll find more information about this in our How long are programmes available for? page.

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

�鶹Լ�� Sounds app privacy notice

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:45:00 +0000

�鶹Լ�� Sounds app privacy notice

Updated Monday 6 September

Your trust is very important to us. This means the �鶹Լ�� is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal data. It is important that you read this notice so that you are aware of how and why we are using such information. This privacy notice describes how we collect and use personal data about you during and after your relationship with us, in accordance with data protection law.

What will the �鶹Լ�� collect and how we will use it?

You will need to sign in to your �鶹Լ�� account to use the �鶹Լ�� Sounds app. We may use your account information to send important messages to you about the �鶹Լ�� Sounds app, such as when we update the Sounds Privacy Notice. When you use the �鶹Լ�� Sounds app, we will collect and process personal data about you to provide you with a personalised �鶹Լ�� Sounds experience and to improve �鶹Լ�� Sounds service.

Subscribed and Bookmarks

When you add subscriptions and bookmarks to content on My Sounds, the action is stored by the �鶹Լ�� to allow you to access these lists across devices (e.g. via the bbc.co.uk/sounds website).

You can remove these entries via the My Sounds section in the app or via bbc.co.uk/sounds/my.
Analytics

The �鶹Լ�� uses cookies and similar technologies to understand how audiences interact with our services, content (such as podcasts and radio) and marketing messages. The categories of personal data processed by our data processors include the following:

IP address to determine which UK city/region you are in, or which country/continent you are in if outside of the UK
Activity data, such as time when you first used this app and programmes you listened to and interacted with
Your device information, such as device type and OS version

For Android devices, the following personal data is also processed:

Which sites referred you to download and use this app
Personal data such as unique identifier, �鶹Լ�� Account data, type of campaign seen, social media channel used will be collected. We will aggregate it for reporting purposes

You can “opt out” from our data processor’s tracking by filling the “Forget My Device” form in this link : https://www.appsflyer.com/optout

For Apple devices, we receive aggregated attribution reports from Apple, which are not linked to you or your device. These reports contain no personal data. You can read the Apple Privacy Policy if you want to know more about how Apple uses your personal data including your device information used to prepare the aggregate reports.

Playback position, completion and recommendations
When you select programmes to play in the �鶹Լ�� Sounds app, we store your history and your progression through the programme. This allows you to pick up where you left off on a different platform.

We also use this information to recommend programmes to you in the ‘Recommendations’ module found on the Listen page in the �鶹Լ�� Sounds app.
Push notification

If you choose to receive push notifications and in-app messages, the �鶹Լ�� will use selected data processors to process the personal data listed below on our behalf:
Device ID assigned to your device
The name that you gave us when you registered your �鶹Լ�� account
Activity data, such as programmes you listened to and interacted with
�鶹Լ�� user ID associated with your �鶹Լ�� account

Push notifications and in-app messages include series availability, future releases, reminders and related content that may be of interest to you. You can stop receiving push notifications and in-app messages at any time by switching the app or �鶹Լ�� account setting to “off.”

Who is the Data Controller?

The �鶹Լ�� is the “data controller” of the personal data about you. This means that the �鶹Լ�� decides what your personal data is used for, and the ways in which it is processed. For the avoidance of doubt, your personal data will be collected and processed solely for the purposes set out in this privacy notice. As the data controller, the �鶹Լ�� has the responsibility to comply, and to demonstrate compliance with, data protection law.

Lawful basis for processing your personal information
When you use the �鶹Լ�� Sounds app we have a legitimate interest to process the personal data about you to authenticate your �鶹Լ�� Account, provide you with �鶹Լ�� content, access to the �鶹Լ�� Sounds app, provide you with a personalised experience and improve your �鶹Լ�� Sounds experience.

We can also provide you with personalised emails, such as personalised newsletters, and to do so, we first require your consent. You can sign up to receiving personalised emails and newsletters by turning on the “Discover more with the �鶹Լ��” toggle in your account email preferences.

Retaining your information

When you use the �鶹Լ�� Sounds app we have a legitimate interest to process the personal data about you to authenticate your �鶹Լ�� Account, provide you with �鶹Լ�� content, access to the �鶹Լ�� Sounds app, provide you with a personalised experience and improve your �鶹Լ�� Sounds experience.

We can also provide you with personalised emails, such as personalised newsletters, and to do so, we first require your consent. You can sign up to receiving personalised emails and newsletters by turning on the “Discover more with the �鶹Լ��” toggle in your account email preferences.

Sharing your information

When we transfer some limited personal information outside of the EEA, we make sure that our contracts include safeguards for the transfer of your personal information outside the EEA. The selected data processors listed in this privacy notice have entered an appropriate contract, which ensures they only use your personal data on behalf of the �鶹Լ�� and not independently of the �鶹Լ��.

Your rights and more information

You have rights under data protection law.

You can request a copy of the personal data �鶹Լ�� stores about you.

You have the right to ask for the personal data we collect about you to be deleted however there are limitations and exceptions to this right which may entitle the �鶹Լ�� to refuse your request.

In certain circumstances, you have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data or to object to the processing of your personal data.

You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal data to you or to another organisation, in certain circumstances.

You can contact Data Protection Officer if you have questions or you wish to find out more details about your rights, please visit the �鶹Լ��’s Privacy and Cookies Policy at www.bbc.co.uk/privacy. Please note that the description of the personal data collected and how it is used set out in this notice applies to the exclusion of anything to the contrary set out in the �鶹Լ��’s Privacy and Cookies Policy.

Updating this privacy notice

We will revise the privacy notice if there are significant changes to how we use your personal data. The date of the most recent revisions will appear on this page.

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

What does HLS and MPEG-DASH mean?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:45:45 +0000

What does HLS and MPEG-DASH mean?

These are 'chunked HTTP' streaming protocols. They work by breaking the content into small (a few seconds) chunks that can be delivered as separate files rather than a constant stream of content. The advantage of this method is that it makes use of the 'bursty' nature of the internet and does not rely on a constant bandwidth being available.

HLS stands for HTTP Live Streaming and was developed by Apple to serve its iOS and Mac OS devices. It is also widely available for other devices, notably Android. Apple made the specification public by publishing it as a draft IEEE RFC. HLS usually makes use of MPEG -2 transport stream technology which carries a separate licensing cost which deters some manufacturers from implementing it in their devices. It is a simple protocol that is quite easy to implement.
MPEG-DASH stands for Motion Pictures Expert Group Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP. This is a new completely open source protocol that is just starting to be adopted by content producers and client implementations. It has the simplicity of HLS whilst being free of additional licencing other than that required by the codecs.

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

What are the codecs, bitrates and protocols used for �鶹Լ�� radio online?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:47:06 +0000

What are the codecs, bitrates and protocols used for �鶹Լ�� radio online?

Since 2015, all of �鶹Լ�� radio's online content has been produced by the Audio Factory platform that provides the same quality and device support for all of our stations.

Audio Factory is the �鶹Լ��’s internal name for its audio streaming infrastructure. It is not related to the radio production company of the same name or with the website www.audiofactory.co.uk.

Audio Factory encodes �鶹Լ�� radio content using the following codecs and bitrates:

Profile	Codec	Bitrate	Channels
1	AAC-LC	320kbs	Stereo
2	AAC-LC	128kbs	Stereo
3	HE-AACv1	96kbs	Stereo
4	HE-AACv1	48kbs	Stereo
2a	MP3	128kbs	Stereo

Not all of these bitrates are necessarily supported by all devices at all times. For example, a mobile phone may only be offered the lower bitrate streams when on mobile data to ensure the connection is more reliable and a better listening experience is achieved. Also, some devices may only be able to cope with a single bitrate and so may not offer the other options, e.g. some internet radios.

Audio Factory does not support the WMA (Windows Media Audio) encoding or delivery protocol.

Audio Factory packages and delivers �鶹Լ�� radio using the following protocols:

Protocol	Profiles	Target devices
HLS	1, 2, 3 & 4	Smartphones, tablets and IP radios and streamers
MPEG-DASH	1, 2, 3 & 4	Format to replace HDS and some HLS uses
ICY (Shoutcast)	2a	Low end internet radio devices and 3rd party apps

With the exception of Radio 3 HD, we no longer provide ICY (Shoutcast) streams using the AAC+ codec. MP3 at 128kbs was chosen following advice from a number of internet radio device manufacturers regarding the codec and streaming protocols supported by the largest possible number of their legacy devices. Newer internet radio devices should be able to make use of the HLS and/or MPEG-DASH protocols using the higher quality AAC+ codec.

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

�鶹Լ�� Sounds accessibility information

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:50:03 +0000

�鶹Լ�� Sounds accessibility information

We’re committed to making our broadcasts and online services as accessible as possible, including our media player which is used for playing audio and video content across www.bbc.co.uk. It has been built following the principles of inclusive design so everyone, regardless of ability, can enjoy �鶹Լ�� on-demand and live content across desktop, tablet and mobile. This page outlines how people can use the player and its accessibility features.

The media player is constantly evolving and so is its accessibility.

Keyboard

The media player is fully keyboard accessible allowing users to tab around the player controls both in the page and in full screen. Use Enter to activate buttons or space bar when playing media in full screen. Use the arrow keys to increase or decrease the volume as well as forward and rewind the timeline. Buttons have clear highlighted states to support navigation regardless of whether you are using a mouse, keyboard or other means of input.

Screen readers

We have built in accessibility from the outset and will continue to make the media player progressively more accessible to screen reader users as it evolves. The accessibility of the player may, however, be affected due to changes in versions of the media player, the browser or the screen reader. While some of these issues are within our control others may be down to 3rd party partners, including media player or browser vendors or the screen reader. We research, user test and carry out technical testing regularly in order to ensure accessibility continues to be maintained and that we are giving users what they want.

Screen reader support

The media player is optimised to work with the following screen readers and browser combinations:

The latest two versions of NVDA on Windows with Internet Explorer and Firefox
iOS 12.2 or above using VoiceOver
The latest two versions of Mac OS X VoiceOver with Chrome and Firefox when opted into using our HTML5 Player

Other screen readers may work, but we don’t test against them and so are unable to offer support.

How to access the media player

If you are using Jaws and it works for you, you’ll need to disable Virtual Cursor mode. NVDA users should enable focus mode. Keyboard commands are:

Tab - to move forward through the buttons
Shift + Tab - to move backwards through the buttons
Arrow keys - to increase/decrease the volume and fast forward and rewind
Spacebar or Enter - to activate buttons
ESC - to exit full screen

Transcripts

We have recently started trialing transcripts and subtitles on �鶹Լ�� Sounds. Please see the following page for more information: Transcript and Subtitling trial on �鶹Լ�� Sounds

You can access transcripts for In Touch on �鶹Լ�� Radio 4 by visiting the specific episode page on the website. Transcripts are also available for most Reith Lectures individual episode pages on the website.

Some browsers and devices may offer live captions when listening to a live or on demand programme. Information on this can be found within the accessibility options of that browser or device.

Please read the following page for advice on what you need to do to keep enjoying our content if you are dependent on Flash for accessibility features: Why am I seeing an error message when I try to play �鶹Լ�� audio and video?

How does the �鶹Լ�� ensure Sounds is accessible to all?

Mobile app

Our aim is that the Sounds app is accessible and fully functional to those with accessibility needs. Before we begin any work, the accessibility requirements or impact on current accessibility is discussed. Specific tests are then run using accessibility features (e.g. screen reader and increased text sizes) as part of our quality assurance process to ensure we adhere to our Mobile Accessibility Guidelines. If issues are identified our practice is to resolve them before progressing any further with the work. If there is any reason why this is not possible we follow the same triage practice as with any other issue to ensure no critical issues are introduced into live.

It is worth noting that there are instances where we are dependent on others systems to resolve the issue (for example it may be a constraint of the OS) in which case we escalate as best we can to the parties involved.

We also perform full accessibility reviews at regular intervals, ideally monthly or when major UI changes have been implemented. Any defects in live are recorded, reviewed and fixed on a regular basis to try to ensure that there are no significant usability issues.

Smart Speakers - Alexa

Smart speakers and voice assistants are seen as beneficial for users with visual, motor and cognitive accessibility needs, and we strive to make �鶹Լ�� Sounds experiences on smart speakers as easy-to-navigate as possible.

For major feature releases we conduct equality impact assessments, to ensure that we are considering all user groups, and making efforts to cater for any accessibility needs which are identified. We triage, and prioritise the resolution of, any accessibility concerns or issues raised by audience members using �鶹Լ�� Sounds on smart speakers.

It is worth noting that �鶹Լ�� Sounds experiences on smart speakers rely on 3rd party hardware and technology providers - where we cannot resolve issues raised to us, we will always escalate to our partners, and work with them to resolve issues in a timely manner.

Finally, we continue to assess, review and improve our strategy for ensuring �鶹Լ�� Sounds products on smart speakers are built with all audience members in mind, and that accessibility needs are properly considered.

TV app

�鶹Լ�� Sounds TV Screen Readers.

The Sounds TV application has also been built with accessibility in mind from the start, with screen reader support for both Standard Navigation and Review mode where devices support it.

The experience we are able to provide will vary depending on the TV device being used, the web browser on the device and the maturity of the screen reader which has been implemented by the TV manufacturer.

The provision of screen readers on TV devices is a developing space, and whilst there have been significant improvements recently, screen readers are often implemented inconsistently or sometimes not at all. Even some newer TV devices do not always fully adhere to the relevant standards which can produce varying results. We are however committed to working with our partners to help improve the experience as much as possible.

The Sounds TV application is designed to work with devices that support the HTML 5 and Aria specifications.

Known issues

The sign in screens are not fully screen reader capable. These screens are being worked on to improve the compatibility with TV screen readers.
Using Talkback on a Google TV device can cause the app to become unusable

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

What permissions are needed for the �鶹Լ�� Sounds app on Amazon Fire and Android?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:50:44 +0000

What permissions are needed for the �鶹Լ�� Sounds app on Amazon Fire and Android?

You can find out which permissions are needed for the �鶹Լ�� Sounds app on Amazon Fire and Android in their respective app stores:

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019