SoundCloud Privacy Policy

Welcome to SoundCloud, a service provided by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG and its affiliates, including SoundCloud, Inc. and Repost Network Inc. (hereinafter “SoundCloud”). Capitalized terms used in this Privacy Policy that are not specifically defined shall have the meanings given to the applicable capitalized terms in the SoundCloud Terms of Use.

Your privacy is important to us. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, store, use, disclose and otherwise process your personal data when you use soundcloud.com and m.soundcloud.com (together, the “Website”), our mobile and desktop apps (the “Apps”) and all related sites, players, widgets, tools, data, software, APIs and other services provided by SoundCloud (the “Services”). This Privacy Policy applies to any Website, Apps, or Services by SoundCloud that refers to this Privacy Policy, i.e. by linking to it.

For employees with California residency, our privacy notice applicable to past, current, and prospective employees and similar individuals, as well as their beneficiaries and emergency contacts, can be accessed by clicking here.

This Privacy Policy explains the following, amongst other things:

Information relating to our use of cookies and similar technologies is set out in our Cookie Policy, which forms part of the Privacy Policy. When we refer to the Privacy Policy, we are referring to the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

Please take some time to read this Privacy Policy, along with our Terms of Use, in order to ensure you understand and are comfortable with our use and disclosure of your personal data and to understand the choices available to you.

Please note that this Privacy Policy only applies to the Website, Apps and Services (together, the “Platform”). When using the Platform, you may find links to other websites, apps and services, or tools that enable you to share information with other websites, apps and services. SoundCloud is not responsible for the privacy practices of these other websites, apps and services and we recommend that you review the privacy policies of each of these websites, apps or services before connecting your SoundCloud account or sharing any personal data.

If you do not agree to any of the provisions of this Privacy Policy, you should not use the Platform. If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, you can contact us through the Help Center or at dataprotection@soundcloud.com.

SoundCloud is committed to putting its users first and believes you should know what personal data we collect about you, why we collect it, and how we use and share it. That’s why we’ve designed this Privacy Policy to give you simple, clear, and actionable information about our privacy and data protection practices.

We believe users should also have meaningful choices over the personal data we collect, use and share as described in this Privacy Policy, your Settings and the Help Center. We encourage you to take full advantage of these tools.

Who Controls Your Data

With regard to data processing within the framework of SoundCloud’s internal administration and joint procedures through centralized systems, SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG, SoundCloud Inc. and Repost Network Inc. act as joint controllers. The joint processes particularly pertain to the operation and use of joint databases, platforms and IT systems. With respect to the joint processes, SoundCloud determines the purposes and means of processing. In a separate agreement on joint controllership pursuant to Article 26 GDPR, SoundCloud determines how the respective tasks and responsibilities of the processing of personal data are structured and who fulfils which data protection obligations. In particular, it is determined how an appropriate level of security and how your rights as a data subject can be ensured, how the information duties under data protection law can be jointly fulfilled and how potential data protection incidents can be monitored. This includes reporting and notification obligations.
In the event SoundCloud does not act as a joint controller, the sole controller, as given the meaning by data protection legislation, is either:

We may share your data within our corporate group of companies that are related by common ownership or control (“SoundCloud Group”) and the data of US users may be processed by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG on SoundCloud Inc.’s behalf. The personal data of users who have signed up for SoundCloud Monetization may be processed by Repost Network Inc. doing business as SoundCloud Direct on behalf of the respective Data Controller.

SoundCloud provides statistics and insights about the performance of a particular sound recording and its underlying composition uploaded to the Platform (“Track”). These statistics and insights are provided to any person (including Creators) or entity owning or controlling a Track (“Rightsholders”) and include information about how fans interact with their Tracks on the Platform to make Rightsholders better understand their fanbase ("Rightsholder Insights"). Rightsholder Insights are processed in joint controllership between SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG and the respective Rightsholder, subject to the applicable agreement to be found here.

For Users in the EU/EEA/U.K.: Legal Basis for Data Processing

The collection and processing of your data is governed by the law applicable to your respective Data Controller, as outlined above.
With that being said, SoundCloud follows European law and the GDPR where applicable. Data collection and processing under GDPR may be based on your consent (see Art. 6 lit. a) GDPR), contractual purposes (see Art. 6 lit. b) GDPR) or, in exceptional cases, for legitimate purposes, which we weigh against your data protection interests (see Art. 6 lit. f) GDPR). We have specified the legal bases for individual data processing activities in more detail below.
We may also use our user’s personal data under GDPR if:

Personal Data We Collect

Any personal data we collect falls into one of three general categories:

Personal Data You Provide

We ask for and collect the below personal data when you use the Platform. This personal data is necessary for the adequate performance of the platform, to meet the requirements of the contract present between you and us and to comply with our obligations thereunder.

You don’t need to register for a SoundCloud account in order to visit or use our Platform. However, certain Services require that you register for an account and, by doing so, you will need to provide us with certain personal data:

Personal Data We Collect Automatically

There is certain personal data that we collect automatically as the result of your use of the Platform, subject to the choices you make in your Settings, or through the use of cookies and other web analytics services as described in our Cookie Policy. This personal data generally includes:

Personal Data We Obtain From Third Parties

How We Use Your Personal Data

We use the personal data we collect from you for a range of different business purposes according to different legal bases of processing and subject to the choices you make in your Settings. We do this with the help of automated systems and decision making. Please be aware that when we refer to automated decision making, we will not use any profiling that produces legal effects concerning you or, similarly, significantly affects you. Automated decisions are concerned with content that may be more relevant for you than other content. We use your personal data to:

How We Share Your Personal Data

This section describes how the personal data collected or generated through your use of the Platform may be shared by you or by us.

Cookies and Similar Technology

As further described in our Cookie Policy we use cookies and similar technologies (e.g. pixels, local storage, and device identifiers) to recognize you and/or your device(s) on and off the Platform, and across devices. To the extent allowed by your settings or your device and in accordance with your choices, we also allow third parties to use cookies as described in our Cookie Policy in order to track user behavior on and off the Platform in order to show you ads based on your interests and preferences. You can control cookies through your browser and other tools as described in the Cookie Policy.

For users in the EU/EEA/U.K., please be aware any use of cookies is subject to your consent, except for technical storage or access for transmitting communication, or as strictly necessary to provide a service which was explicitly requested by a user. You will find information regarding the use of cookies from specific third parties when making the choice of cookies you want to allow within our cookie consent tool. Further information is provided in your account settings under “advertising”, where you may as well toggle your choices after your first decision.

International Data Transfers

SoundCloud operates globally and may share your personal data internally within the SoundCloud Group and third parties for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. Personal data collected within the EEA may, for example, be transferred to countries outside of the EEA for the purposes as described in this Privacy Policy. We utilize appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, or another legally approved mechanism, to ensure the lawful transfer of your personal data outside of the EEA. The Standard Contractual Clauses can be accessed at any time here. Alternatively, you can request these documents from us using the contact details given below.

Children

SoundCloud is not intended for use by children. Anyone under the age of 16 in the EEA and UK, or 13 in the United States and the rest of the world, is not permitted to use the Platform and must not attempt to register an account or submit any personal data to us. We do not knowingly collect any personal data from any person who is under the age of 16 or 13, as the case may be, or allow them to register an account. If it comes to our attention that we have collected personal data from a person under the age of 16 or 13, as applicable, we will delete this personal data as quickly as possible. If you have reason to believe that we may have collected any such personal data, please notify us immediately at dataprotection@soundcloud.com.

Our Activity On Social Networks

To allow us to communicate with you on third party social networks and inform you about our services, we run pages on third party social networks. If you visit our pages on any of these third party social media pages, we and the provider of the third party social media network are joint controllers regarding the processing operations thereby triggered, which concern personal data. We are not the original provider of these pages, but only use them within the scope of the options offered to us by the respective providers.

For our EU/EEA/U.K. based users, we would like to point out that your personal data may also be processed outside of the EU, EEA, or the U.K. Use of these networks may therefore involve data protection risks for you since the protection of your rights may be difficult, e.g. your right to information, erasure, objection, etc. Processing on social networks frequently takes place directly for advertising purposes or for the analysis of user behavior by network providers, and we have no control over this. If the provider creates user profiles, cookies are often used or user behavior may be assigned directly to your own member profile on the respective social network (if you are logged in).

The processing operations of personal data described are carried out on the basis of our legitimate interests and the legitimate interests of the respective provider in order to communicate with you in a timely manner or to inform you about our services. If you get asked to grant your consent to the respective providers to process your personal data as a user, your consent is the legal basis for this processing.

Since we have no access to these providers’ databases, we would like to point out that you would be best situated to exercise your rights (e.g. to information, rectification, erasure, etc.) directly with the respective provider. More information on the processing of your personal data on social networks and your options for exercising your right to object or your right of revocation (opt out) is listed below for each of the social network providers we use:

Your Choices and Controls

We work to give you meaningful choices regarding the amount of personal data you provide to us, and the control you have over that personal data.

Exercising Your EU/EEA/U.K. Privacy Rights

If you are a user residing in the EU/EEA/U.K., you may exercise any of the rights described in this section through the Help Center or by contacting us at dataprotection@soundcloud.com. Please note that we may ask you to verify your identity before taking further action on your request.

Notice to Users Who Are Residents of Certain U.S. States

If you are a resident of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia, this section applies to you. Some state privacy laws require additional disclosures, which we cover in this section.

Collection, Disclosure, Sale and Sharing of Personal Data

Above, we explain how SoundCloud collects, uses, and discloses information about you. Below we use two charts to communicate the same information, in accordance with requirements under certain state privacy laws. In addition to the information below, as we explain above, we also share your public profile information and information about your interactions with Artists’ content (such as what you listen to and how often you listen) with those Artists.

Categories of Personal Data that we plan to collect and have collected and disclosed within the preceding 12 months Disclosed to Which Categories of Recipients for Operational Business Purposes How We Use Personal Data
Identifiers, such as your name, email address, residential address, date of birth, profile picture, social security number, as well as IP addresses, device IDs, anonymous Repost user IDs, and other similar identifiers Affiliates; service providers; business partners; joint marketing partners; content partners; social networks; contest sponsors; legal authorities We may use this personal data to operate, manage, and maintain our business, to provide our products and services, and to accomplish our business purposes and objectives, including, for example, to:
  • To operate and maintain the Platform and your SoundCloud account and to provide you with access to and use of the Platform
  • To identify you as the creator of the Tracks that you upload and the comments that you post
  • To provide our newsletter to subscribers
  • To market and sell our products and services
  • To provide personalized content and ads
  • To perform market research studies and development
  • To perform data and business analytics
  • To detect and prevent fraud, spam, abuse, security incidents, or other suspicious activity
  • To perform identity verification and authentication and prevent unauthorized or illegal activity
  • To process Subscription payments
  • To operate and maintain SoundCloud Monetization To process user inquiries and requests
  • To perform security investigations and other risk assessments
  • To undertake quality assurance measures
  • To maintain our systems and infrastructure
  • To comply with law or exercise or defend legal claims
  • To prevent or take action against activities that are, or may be, in breach of our Terms of Use, Community Guidelines or applicable law
  • To perform accounting, conduct audits and other internal functions
  • and To otherwise operate our business and achieve our business objectives
Personal data as defined in the California customer records law, such as name, contact information, financial information, and tax identification number Affiliates; service providers; business partners; joint marketing partners; contest sponsors; legal authorities
Characteristics about you that you choose to provide when you register an account on the Platform, which may include characteristics of protected classifications under California or federal law, such as age and gender Affiliates; service providers; business partners; joint marketing partners; social networks; contest sponsors
Commercial information, such as revenue and/or transaction information related to your content and use of the Platform and SoundCloud Monetization Affiliates; service providers; business partners; joint marketing partners; contest sponsors
Financial, tax, and payment information you provide when you create an account or use certain features of the Platform Affiliates; service providers; business partners; legal authorities
Internet or network activity information, such as (browsing history, search history and interactions with our online properties or ads) Affiliates; service providers
General location data, such as approximate location derived from IP address Affiliates; service providers; contest sponsors
Audio, images, text, and other electronic information, such as the content you distribute through the Platform Affiliates; service providers; operating systems and platforms
Inferences drawn from any of the personal data listed above to create a profile or summary about, for example, an individual’s preferences and characteristics Affiliates; service providers; ad networks

We disclose the following categories of personal information to third parties for the purpose of advertising to you on non-affiliated sites and services and to inform the ads we show you on our Platform, including to measure and improve the effectiveness of advertising (see the “Advertising on the Platform” and “Ads about SoundCloud” section above for more information). These activities may be considered “sales” or “sharing” or use of personal information for “targeted advertising” under certain State Laws.

Category of Personal Data Categories of Third Parties
Identifiers Advertising partners
Internet or network activity information, such as (browsing history, search history and interactions with our online properties or ads) Advertising partners
Characteristics about you that you choose to provide when you register an account on the Platform, which may include characteristics of protected classifications under California or federal law, such as age and gender Advertising partners
General location data, such as approximate location derived from IP address Advertising partners
Inferences drawn from any of the personal data listed above to create a profile or summary about, for example, an individual’s preferences and characteristics Advertising partners

We do not knowingly sell or share the personal data of individuals ages 13–15 without consent.

Individual Rights and Requests
If you are a California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah or Virginia resident, you may, subject to applicable law, make the following requests, to which SoundCloud will respond consistent with our obligations under applicable law:

To make a Request to Know, a Request for a Copy, a Request to Correct, or a Request to Delete, please use the Help Center or contact us at dataprotection@soundcloud.com or +1 833 993 2002. We will verify and respond to your request consistent with applicable law, taking into account the type and sensitivity of the personal data subject to the request. We may request additional personal data from you in order to verify your identity and protect against fraudulent requests, such as your email address or a picture and then use that information to match it with information we already have. If you maintain a password-protected account with us, we may verify your identity through our existing authentication practices for your account and require you to re-authenticate yourself before disclosing, correcting, or deleting your personal data. If you make a Request to Delete, we may ask you to confirm your request before we delete your personal data.

If you want to make a Request to Know, a Request for a Copy, a Request to Correct, or a Request to Delete as an authorized agent on behalf of another individual, you may use the submission methods noted above. Not all kinds of requests can be made by authorized agents in all states. As part of our verification process, we may request that you provide, as applicable, proof concerning your status as an authorized agent. In addition, we may require that the individual who is the subject of the request verify their identity, as set forth above or confirm that they provided you (the agent) with permission to submit the request.

Contact Information

If you have questions or complaints about this Privacy Policy or our practices, please contact our Data Protection Officer by email at dataprotection@soundcloud.com or write to our Data Protection Officer at SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG, Rheinsberger Str. 76/77 10115 Berlin, Germany Attention: Data Protection Officer.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time at our sole discretion. If we make changes to this Privacy Policy, we will post the revised Privacy Policy on the Platform and update the “Last Amended” date below. Please be sure to periodically check this page to ensure that you are aware of any changes to this Privacy Policy. Any material changes to this Privacy Policy will be communicated to registered users by a notification to their account and/or by posting a notice of the change on the Website. Your continued access to or use of the Platform after the effective date of such changes will be subject to the revised Privacy Policy.

Last Amended: December 2024

Link to prior versions
You will find a link to prior versions of our Privacy Policy below.