Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how FoundEar, Inc. (“FoundEar,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, shares, and protects personal information when you use the FoundEar app, the foundear.app website, and related services (the “Service”). It also describes the choices you have.

1. Information you give us

• Account details: your email address, username, display name, and password credentials used to sign in.
• Profile content: a bio, interests, photo, and other details you choose to add, including information you provide when you claim or verify a creative profile.
• Content you create: mixtapes, notes, dedications, ratings, posts, reports you submit, and messages.
• Support and feedback: information you send us, including an optional reason if you delete your account.

2. Information we collect automatically

• Usage data: the features you use and in-app actions, which we use to operate and improve the Service.
• Device data: device type, operating system, app version, and general diagnostics.
• Advertising identifiers: on mobile, identifiers used for advertising only where you have granted permission (see Advertising below).

3. How we use your information

• to provide, maintain, and improve the Service;
• to create and secure your account and authenticate you when you sign in;
• to show you credits, discovery, mixtapes, and the social connections that are the point of FoundEar;
• to process subscriptions, one-time purchases, and, for eligible creators, payouts;
• to keep the Service safe, including detecting and acting on abuse, spam, and content that breaks our rules;
• to communicate with you about the Service and respond to your requests;
• to comply with legal obligations.

We rely on the legal bases of performing our contract with you, our legitimate interests in operating and securing the Service, your consent where we ask for it (for example, for personalized advertising), and compliance with law.

4. How your information is shared

We do not sell your personal information. We share information in these limited ways:

• With other users: your public profile, mixtapes you make public, and other content you choose to share are visible to others. You control much of this, including a private option for your discovery archive.
• With service providers who process data on our behalf under contract, including:
  • Supabase for database, authentication, and storage;
  • RevenueCat and the relevant app store (Apple, Google) for subscriptions and purchases;
  • Stripe for creator payouts, where enabled;
  • Google AdMob for advertising, where applicable;
  • Spotify and Apple Music for music previews and playback you initiate.
• For legal reasons: when required by law, to enforce our terms, or to protect the rights, safety, and property of FoundEar, our users, or the public.
• In a business transfer: if FoundEar is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, subject to this Policy.

5. Music services

When you play or preview music, that playback is provided by the relevant music service (for example, Spotify or Apple Music) under its own terms and privacy policy. If you connect a music account, you do so through that service, and its handling of your data is governed by its policy, not this one.

6. Advertising and tracking choices

The Service may show advertising through Google AdMob. On Apple devices, we ask for your permission before using the device’s advertising identifier for personalized ads, and we honor your choice. If you do not allow tracking, you may still see ads, but they will be less personalized. You can change this at any time in your device settings.

7. Your rights and choices

• Access and correction: you can view and edit your profile information in the app.
• Deletion: you can delete your account from within the app, in Profile settings. Deleting your account removes your personal data from the Service, subject to limited copies we must keep by law or in short-term backups.
• Privacy controls: you can make your discovery archive private, block other users, and control what you share.
• Regional rights: depending on where you live, you may have additional rights, such as to access, correct, delete, or port your data, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to withdraw consent. To exercise any of these, contact us at privacy@foundear.app. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

8. Data retention

We keep your information for as long as your account is active and as needed to provide the Service. When you delete your account, we delete or de-identify your personal data within a reasonable period, except where we must retain it to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements. Account-deletion feedback you choose to give is stored in a way that is not tied to your identity.

9. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including encryption in transit and access controls. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Children’s privacy

The Service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child under 13 has given us personal information, contact us at privacy@foundear.app and we will delete it. Where a higher minimum age applies by law, that age applies.

11. International transfers

FoundEar is based in the United States, and your information may be processed in the United States and other countries where we or our service providers operate. Those countries may have different data protection laws. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards for these transfers.

12. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the effective date above and, where appropriate, notify you in the app. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect means you accept the updated Policy.

13. Contact us