Last updated: 15 January 2025
This page explains what information this site collects when you visit, why, how long it is kept, and what you can do about it. Rapicorn Audio is a small, independent website about free and open-source music and audio software, and we try to collect as little as possible.
The Short Version
- We do not ask you to create an account, and you can read everything on this site without giving us your name or email address.
- Our web server keeps standard technical logs, like almost every website does.
- This site, and any analytics or advertising partners we use, may set cookies. Where the law requires it, we ask for your consent first.
- Embedded videos or social posts can let those platforms collect data about you.
- Tools on this site run in your browser where we say so. That means your files and inputs stay on your device.
- We do not sell your personal data.
- You can ask what we hold about you and ask us to delete it.
Who “We” Are
On this page, “we”, “us” and “this site” mean Rapicorn Audio at rapicorn.org and the people who run it. We are responsible for deciding how information collected through this site is used.
Information We Collect
Server logs
When your browser requests a page, our web server (or our hosting provider’s server) automatically records some technical details. These typically include:
- your IP address
- the date and time of the request
- the page or file requested
- the referring page, if your browser sends one
- your browser type and operating system (the “user agent”)
- whether the request succeeded or produced an error
We use these logs to keep the site running, fix broken pages, understand load, and spot abuse such as spam, scraping or attacks. We do not use server logs to build profiles of individual readers.
Information you choose to send us
If you contact us, for example to suggest a correction or a piece of software we should cover, we receive whatever you include in your message. That usually means your email address, your name if you give it, and the content of your message. We use this only to read and reply to you, and to keep a record of corrections.
Comments and submissions
If we ever offer comments, forms or newsletter sign-ups, we will collect only what the form asks for. We will explain on the form itself what the information is used for.
Cookies
Cookies are small text files a website stores in your browser. Similar technologies, such as local storage and tracking pixels, work in comparable ways. We treat them the same way on this page.
Cookies set by this site
We may use a small number of cookies or local storage entries that the site needs to work properly. Examples include remembering your cookie consent choice or a display preference such as a light or dark theme. These do not track you across other websites.
Analytics cookies
We may use an analytics service to understand which pages are read, how people find the site, and which devices they use. This helps us decide what to write about and what to fix. Analytics tools can collect information such as pages visited, time on page, approximate location (usually country or city level), device type and referring site.
Where possible, we choose settings that reduce what is collected, such as shortening IP addresses before storage. Where your local law requires consent for analytics, we will not load these cookies until you agree.
Advertising cookies
To keep this site free, we may show advertising now or in the future. Advertising partners can use cookies and similar technologies to:
- show ads and measure whether they were seen or clicked
- limit how often you see the same ad
- in some cases, show ads based on your interests, using data collected across many websites
These partners act under their own privacy policies. Where the law requires it, we will ask for your consent before personalised advertising cookies are set. You can usually choose to see non-personalised ads instead.
Managing cookies
You have several options:
- Use the cookie settings on this site (where shown) to change or withdraw your consent at any time.
- Block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Every major browser lets you do this.
- Use your browser’s private or incognito mode, which clears cookies when you close the window.
- Opt out of interest-based ads through industry tools such as Your Online Choices (in Europe) or the Digital Advertising Alliance’s consumer choice tools (in the US), and through the ad settings in your Google or other platform accounts.
Blocking cookies will not stop you reading this site. Some features, such as remembering your preferences, may stop working.
Embedded Content From Other Sites
Articles on this site may include embedded content such as YouTube videos, audio players, code snippets or social media posts. Embedded content behaves exactly as if you had visited the other site directly.
That means those services may:
- set their own cookies
- collect your IP address and browser details
- track your interaction with the embedded content, especially if you are logged in to their service
We do not control what these services collect. Their own privacy policies apply. Where we can, we use privacy-friendlier embed options (for example, a video embed mode that does not set cookies until you press play) or show a placeholder until you choose to load the content.
Tools That Run in Your Browser
Some pages on this site may offer small tools, such as calculators, converters or audio utilities. Where a tool says it runs in your browser, all processing happens on your own device. Any files or values you enter are not uploaded to our server, and we cannot see them.
If a tool ever needs to send data to a server to work, we will say so clearly on that tool’s page before you use it.
How We Use Information
We use the information described above to:
- deliver pages to you and keep the site secure and working
- understand which content is useful and improve it
- respond to messages and corrections
- show and measure advertising, if we run ads
- meet any legal obligations
Where data protection laws require a legal basis, we rely on our legitimate interest in running and securing a website (for server logs and essential cookies), your consent (for analytics and advertising cookies where consent is required), and your request (when you contact us).
Who We Share Information With
We share information only where it is needed to run the site:
- Hosting and infrastructure providers, who store and serve the site and its logs.
- Analytics and advertising partners, if we use them, as described in the cookies section.
- Embedded content providers, when you view their embedded content.
- Authorities, if we are legally required to, or if it is necessary to protect the site or other people from harm or abuse.
These providers may process data in other countries. Where data protection law requires it, transfers are covered by appropriate safeguards offered by those providers, such as standard contractual clauses.
We Do Not Sell Your Personal Data
We do not sell, rent or trade your personal data. We do not hand over reader lists or contact details to anyone for their own marketing.
If we use advertising partners that personalise ads, some privacy laws may treat that kind of data sharing as a “sale” or “sharing” in a legal sense. In that case, we will give you a clear way to opt out, and you can also use the browser and industry controls described above.
How Long We Keep Data
We keep information only as long as we need it:
- Server logs: kept for a limited period for security and troubleshooting, then deleted or anonymised. Logs connected to an ongoing security issue may be kept until that issue is resolved.
- Analytics data: kept in line with the retention settings of the analytics service, which we set to the shortest practical period.
- Messages you send us: kept for as long as needed to deal with your message, and then for a reasonable time afterwards in case of follow-up. Correction requests may be kept longer as a record of changes to our articles.
- Cookies: each cookie has its own expiry date. You can delete them at any time in your browser.
Your Rights
Depending on where you live, laws such as the GDPR, the UK GDPR or US state privacy laws like the CCPA give you rights over your personal data. Even where no law requires it, we will try to honour these requests:
- Access: ask what personal data we hold about you.
- Correction: ask us to fix data that is wrong.
- Deletion: ask us to delete your data.
- Objection and restriction: ask us to stop or limit certain uses of your data.
- Withdraw consent: change your cookie choices at any time, without affecting anything done before.
- Portability: ask for a copy of data you gave us in a usable format.
- Opt out: ask us not to use your data for personalised advertising.
To make a request, contact us using the contact details provided on this site. We may need to ask for some information to confirm the request is genuinely from you. This matters most for server logs, which are linked to IP addresses rather than names. We will respond within the time limits set by applicable law, and we will not charge you for a reasonable request.
If you are not happy with our response, you may have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.
Children
This site is written for a general audience and is not aimed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
Security
We take reasonable steps to protect the information we hold. This includes serving the site over HTTPS, limiting who can access logs and messages, and keeping software up to date. No website can promise perfect security, but we keep what we collect small, which limits the risk.
Changes to This Policy
We will update this page when the site changes, for example if we add new analytics, advertising, comments or tools. The “Last updated” date at the top will always show when the policy last changed. For significant changes, we will make the update clear on the site.
Contact
If you have a question about this policy or your data, please reach us through the contact details published on this site. We read every message and will get back to you.