# MANIFESTO ## A declaration of digital independence **Technology should expand individual freedom, not turn your private life into a product.** At some point, we began confusing convenience with freedom. We came to accept that listening to music requires an account, that our preferences need to be analyzed, that our habits should feed algorithms, and that access to what we love can disappear when a subscription ends or a commercial agreement changes. All of this was presented as progress. And some of it truly is. Streaming made music more accessible. The internet brought artists and listeners closer together. Technology gave us possibilities that once seemed impossible. We don't want to deny those achievements. **We want to question the price we have come to pay for them.** ### Your privacy is not a bargaining chip. What you listen to, when you listen, how many times you repeat a song, or which artist accompanies your most personal moments shouldn't be commercially available information by default. We don't need to know your habits to offer a good music experience. We don't need to build a profile of you. We don't need to observe your behavior, anticipate your desires, or turn every interaction into another piece of data to exploit. An app can be smart without being invasive. It can understand your preferences without sending them to the developer. It can work for you without needing to know who you are. **Your private life is not part of our business model.** ### The internet should be a possibility, not an obligation. We believe in technology that connects when a connection makes sense. Looking up lyrics, finding artwork, discovering an update, or exploring community creations are valuable possibilities. But listening to a song already on your device shouldn't depend on a distant server. Your library shouldn't disappear because a company changed its strategy. Your experience shouldn't be interrupted because someone decided to shut down a service. Progress doesn't mean making everything depend on the internet. It means letting each person choose when they need it. **Offline doesn't mean outdated. Independence doesn't mean isolation.** ### Buying shouldn't mean renting forever. We believe that developing software takes work, time, knowledge, and investment. That work deserves to be paid for. But we also believe a purchase should mean something. When you purchase a version of our software, it is yours to keep using on compatible systems. A new version doesn't erase your right to use the previous one. Major improvements may come at a price. Those who have already supported the project should be recognized for it. We don't need to charge indefinitely for the same product to keep going. We don't need to turn every feature into a monthly payment. **We want you to stay because you like what we've built, not because leaving has become impossible.** ### Your library. Your choices. Your music remains your files. Your playlists and favorites should be able to come with you. You decide how to organize your collection, which artists to listen to, and what is worth preserving. Our software is a proprietary tool, developed through work that also deserves protection. But that ownership doesn't give us the right to take what belongs to your library. We don't intend to control what you listen to. We don't intend to judge your preferences. And we don't intend to turn your personal collection into an opportunity for surveillance. The player exists to play music. Not to police your life. ### Your musical memories belong to your private life. Music accompanies moments we don't always share with other people. A song can represent a trip, a loss, a relationship, a difficult period, or simply an ordinary afternoon. Those experiences are personal. That's why our music statistics are processed locally. Your history stays on your device, under your control, and you can view it or delete records. With Waves, you can turn part of that history into a recap. A week. A month. A year. A period of your life. You choose what to show, how to present it, and whom to share it with. We don't need to receive your history to create something beautiful from it. **What you listen to is your business. What you share is your choice.** ### A community should create possibilities, not new prisons. We believe in the value of collective creativity. Themes, templates, and experiences created by the community can turn an app into something much bigger than its original creators imagined. We want people to be able to create, share, and, when they choose, be paid for their own work. A store can help people discover those creations and fund the infrastructure that makes them available. But it shouldn't be the only path. Customization doesn't have to depend on a permanent connection, and what was legitimately acquired should remain usable under its license terms. The community should expand what is possible. Not restrict what was already yours. ### We don't need enemies to stand for an idea. We aren't against artists who want to be paid for their work. We aren't against companies that develop great services. We aren't against streaming, subscriptions, or technological advances. We are against practices that turn convenience into dependence, privacy into merchandise, and freedom of choice into an illusion. And what if those practices disappear one day? What if the industry starts offering fairer experiences, respecting privacy, and giving users back their autonomy? Then part of our mission will have been accomplished. We don't need to dominate a market to stand for an idea. We don't need to be the only alternative. **We would rather live in a world where our philosophy becomes common than in a market where our existence is necessary.** ### Technology should serve people again. We don't promise to build the world's biggest player. We don't promise to replace every existing service. We promise to pursue a simple idea: a modern, personal, lasting, and respectful music experience. An experience that doesn't require you to surrender your private life. That doesn't confuse innovation with dependence. That recognizes creators' work without turning users into a permanent source of revenue. That lets you enjoy the best of technology without giving up your autonomy. Because, in the end, we aren't trying to reinvent music. We're trying to reclaim something that should never have been lost. **The freedom to simply listen.** --- **Technology should expand individual freedom, not turn your private life into a product.** *This is our position. This is our commitment.*