Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 6, 2025

1. Introduction

Musiate ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website and use our music discovery platform.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Account Information (Optional)

• Username: Required for user accounts to track your music preferences
• Email Address: Optional - only collected if you choose to provide it for potential account recovery
• Password: Securely hashed and stored for account access
• Music Preferences: Artists you mark as "listened" or "hidden" to personalize your discovery experience

2.2 Admin Account Information

• Admin usernames and securely hashed passwords for content management
• Admin activity logs for security purposes

2.3 Automatically Collected Information

• IP address and browser information
• Usage data and website interactions
• Session cookies for website functionality
• Click tracking data (anonymous unless you have an account)
• Page navigation patterns
• Streaming platform preferences
• Discovery feature usage statistics

2.4 Analytics and Tracking Data

We automatically collect usage data to improve our service:

• Click Tracking: Which streaming links, artists, songs, and features you interact with
• Navigation Data: How you move through our website and discovery features
• Content Preferences: Which type of music content you're most interested in
• Platform Usage: Which streaming platforms you prefer to use
• Discovery Patterns: How you use our random discovery features and filters
• Artist Interactions: For logged-in users, we track which artists you mark as "listened" or "hidden"
• Session Information: Session identifiers for technical purposes
• Technical Data: User agent, referrer URLs, and page performance data

Important: Basic tracking data is collected anonymously. For users with accounts, some data is linked to your account to provide personalized experiences (like filtering out artists you've already discovered).

3. How We Use Your Information

• To provide and maintain our music discovery service
• To personalize your discovery experience by remembering your artist preferences
• To process premium subscriptions and payments (for artists/labels)
• To communicate with you about our services (only if you provided an email)
• To improve our platform and user experience
• To analyze usage patterns and optimize our discovery algorithms
• To understand which content and features are most popular
• To identify and fix technical issues
• To ensure the security and proper functioning of our website
• To comply with legal obligations

4. User Account Data

4.1 Account Creation

When you create an account:

• You must provide a username (publicly visible in some contexts)
• You may optionally provide an email address for account recovery
• We securely hash and store your password
• We create user preferences to track your music discovery history

4.2 Music Preference Tracking

For logged-in users, we track:

• Artists you mark as "listened" to avoid showing them in future discoveries
• Artists you mark as "hidden" to completely exclude them from your experience
• When these preferences were set and last updated
• Your discovery activity patterns to improve recommendations

4.3 Account Recovery

Important: If you do not provide an email address during registration, we cannot recover your account if you forget your password. Your account will be permanently inaccessible.

5. Donation Information

5.1 PayPal Donations

When you make a donation through our PayPal integration:

• Payment Processing: All donation transactions are processed securely by PayPal
• Personal Information: We do not collect or store your payment information - this is handled entirely by PayPal
• Transaction Records: PayPal may share basic transaction information (amount, date) with us for record-keeping
• No Refund Data: We do not store refund or chargeback information
• Anonymous Donations: Donations can be made anonymously through PayPal

5.2 Donation Privacy

Regarding donation privacy:

• We do not publish donor names or amounts unless you explicitly request recognition
• Donation information is not linked to your user account (if you have one)
• We do not use donation data for marketing or promotional purposes
• Donation records are kept for accounting and tax purposes only

6. Analytics and Service Improvement

We use the collected analytics data to:

• Understand how users discover and interact with music content
• Improve our recommendation algorithms and discovery features
• Optimize website performance and user interface
• Identify popular content and trending music preferences
• Enhance the overall user experience
• Make data-driven decisions about platform improvements
• Provide analytics insights to artists and management teams with premium subscriptions
• Help artists understand audience engagement and platform preferences

7. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information. We may share information only in the following circumstances:

• With your consent
• To comply with legal requirements
• With service providers who assist in our operations (payment processors, hosting providers)
• In connection with a business transfer or merger
• Analytics Insights for Premium Subscribers: We may share aggregated, anonymized analytics data with artists or their management teams who have premium subscriptions. This includes click statistics, platform preferences, and engagement metrics related to their content. No individual user data or personally identifiable information is ever shared.

User Preferences: Your individual artist preferences (listened/hidden status) are never shared with third parties, including the artists themselves.

8. Data Security

We implement appropriate security measures to protect your information:

• Passwords are securely hashed using industry-standard methods
• Database access is restricted and monitored
• HTTPS encryption for all data transmission
• Regular security updates and monitoring
• Access controls limiting staff access to user data

However, no internet transmission is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Your Rights and Choices

9.1 Account Management

• View and manage your artist preferences in your account dashboard
• Remove artists from your "listened" or "hidden" lists at any time
• Delete your account and all associated preference data
• Update your email address (if provided) for account recovery

9.2 GDPR Rights (EU Users)

If you are in the European Union, you have the right to:

• Access your personal data
• Correct inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your data
• Object to data processing
• Data portability
• Withdraw consent

9.3 Analytics Data Control

Regarding tracking and analytics:

• Choose "Essential Only" in our cookie banner to disable non-essential tracking
• Disable cookies in your browser settings
• Use private/incognito browsing mode
• Request deletion of your account-linked analytics data

10. Cookies and Tracking

We use essential cookies for website functionality and analytics cookies for tracking user interactions. Session cookies are set to expire after 30 days to keep you logged in across browser sessions. See our Cookie Policy for detailed information about cookie usage and your control options.

11. Third-Party Links

Our website contains links to music streaming platforms and other third-party websites. We are not responsible for their privacy practices. When you click on streaming links, you are leaving our site and entering the privacy policies of those platforms.

We track which streaming links you click to understand platform preferences, but we do not share this information with the streaming platforms.

12. Data Retention

• Account Data: Retained until you delete your account
• Artist Preferences: Retained until you remove them or delete your account
• Analytics Data: Anonymous tracking data is retained for operational purposes and service improvement
• Email Addresses: If provided, retained until you update or delete your account
• Session Data: Login sessions are maintained for up to 30 days or until you log out

We periodically review and may delete older analytics data that is no longer needed for service improvement.

13. Children's Privacy

Our service is not intended for children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16.

14. Account Deletion and Data Portability

14.1 Deleting Your Account

You can delete your account at any time, which will:

• Remove your username, email (if provided), and password
• Delete all your artist preferences and interaction history
• Anonymize any remaining analytics data linked to your account

14.2 Data Export

You can request an export of your account data, including:

• Your username and email (if provided)
• List of artists marked as "listened" or "hidden"
• Account creation and last activity dates

15. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

• Email: privacy[at]musiate.com

For specific questions about your account data or artist preferences, please include "Account Data Inquiry" in your subject line.

16. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new policy on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. Significant changes to our data collection practices will be highlighted prominently.