A user-driven hi-fi database

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026/05/23

1. Cookies & Local Storage

We do not use third-party advertising cookies or cookie-based analytics on our website. The only cookies we use are strictly necessary for the website to function, secure our forms, and manage your session:

Session Cookies: Essential for core application security, maintaining your login session, and enabling user registration. These are temporary and automatically deleted when you close your browser.

"Remember Me" Cookie: A persistent cookie used only if you explicitly select "Remember me" during login, so you don't have to re-authenticate on your next visit.

Security & Bot Prevention (cf_clearance): We use Cloudflare Turnstile on certain forms to protect against automated abuse and bots. Turnstile may set a necessary cookie (cf_clearance) to establish that a real user is submitting the form. This is used strictly for security purposes and does not track you across other websites.

Usage analytics without cookies: We measure aggregated site usage on our own servers (see "Usage Analytics" below). This does not rely on analytics cookies or third-party tracking pixels.

2. Data We Collect and Why

To provide our services, we process personal data based on Contractual Necessity (to manage your account and deliver the service), Legitimate Interest (to secure, operate, and improve our website), and—where applicable—your Consent (for example, optional marketing emails):

Account Information: When you register, we collect information needed to identify and authenticate you, such as your username and email address. We store your password only in hashed form.

Profile & Preferences: We store settings and optional information you provide for your account, such as visibility preferences, profile images, and communication choices (including whether you wish to receive newsletters). You can update these in your account settings where available.

Content You Provide: We store information and files you voluntarily submit while using the site—for example, text, images, and other materials you upload or enter in connection with your account and with community features. Some content may remain visible on the site as part of the shared database after you delete your account (see Data Retention).

Usage Analytics: On visits to our public HTML pages, our application records aggregated usage statistics on our own infrastructure—such as the page viewed, referring site (if any), browser name and version, and date. We do not use third-party analytics services or analytics cookies for this. Data is stored in aggregated form (counts per day) and is not used to build individual advertising profiles. Legal basis: Legitimate Interest in understanding how the site is used and keeping it reliable.

Technical & Network Data: When you use our site, technical data such as IP addresses and browser types are temporarily processed by our infrastructure providers (including Cloudflare and rate-limiting systems) to ensure security, prevent abuse, and deliver the service.

3. Third-Party Service Providers (Data Processors)

We do not sell your data. We share your data only with trusted third-party service providers who help us run our application. Each provider is bound by strict data protection agreements:

Hosting & Database: Our application and primary databases are hosted on Heroku (Salesforce), which securely stores your account data.

Content Delivery & Security: We use Cloudflare as a reverse proxy and Content Delivery Network (CDN) to optimize performance and protect our website against malicious traffic, automated bots, and DDoS attacks. Cloudflare briefly processes network data (like IP addresses). Cloudflare Turnstile is also used on selected forms as described above.

Storage: User-uploaded files (such as images) are securely stored on Amazon Web Services (AWS) servers located within Europe.

Email Communication: We use Mailgun (configured to the EU region) to deliver service-related emails about your account and, if you have not opted out, newsletter emails. Your email address is shared with Mailgun solely to send these messages.

Error Tracking: We use Sentry to monitor application errors and performance. Error reports are sent from our servers; Sentry is configured with the default setting not to send personally identifiable information (such as IP addresses) with events. Stack traces and technical context help us diagnose failures. If enabled, your browser may also send Content Security Policy violation reports to Sentry when a page policy is breached; these reports contain technical details about the violation, not your account data.

4. International Data Transfers

While we prioritize storing data within the European Union (such as our AWS and Mailgun configurations), some of our infrastructure providers are based in the United States. To ensure your data remains protected, transfers to these entities are safeguarded by Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.

5. Data Retention

We retain personal data linked to your account for as long as your account is active, or as needed to provide the service.

If you delete your account, we remove your user record and personal data associated with it from our active production systems. Deletion is processed promptly; residual copies may persist for a limited time in backups, logs, or records held by our processors.

Content you contributed to the shared product and brand catalogue may remain on the site after deletion, without your username or email attached. Historical edit records may retain an internal user identifier for integrity of the changelog; this is not displayed as personal data on the public site.

Aggregated usage analytics are retained in summary form and are not tied to individual accounts.

6. Your Rights and Data Control

Depending on your location (such as the EU/EEA), you have the following rights regarding your data:

  • The right to access, correct, or update your personal information (much of this is available in your account settings).
  • The right to request the deletion of your data ("Right to be Forgotten")—you can delete your account from the account page, or contact us.
  • The right to data portability (to receive a copy of your data in a structured format)—contact us and we will provide your data manually.
  • The right to object to or restrict certain processing of your data.
  • The right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected].

7. Security

We take the security of your data seriously. We employ industry-standard technical and organizational measures (such as SSL encryption and password hashing) to protect your information from unauthorized access, disclosure, or destruction.

8. Changes to This Privacy Statement

We may update this Privacy Statement to reflect changes in our practices or
for legal reasons. Any updates will be posted on this page, and the "Last
updated" date will be revised accordingly.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about our Privacy Statement, please
contact us at [email protected].

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