Soundcloud
Summary
Soundcloud is a music sharing service that allows professionals as well as indie artists to share their work. The service can be used for free and comes with an optional Premium subscription as well.
Privacy Checklist
Is any kind of biometric data collected (health, heart, voice, etc.)?
Are you able to delete your data / the data collected about you?
Does it use cookies, telemetry, or third-party tracking scripts?
Is the privacy policy user-friendly (easy to understand)?
Does it have parental controls?
Does it use encryption to protect your data both in-transit and at-rest?
Does it get regular software and / or firmware updates?
Does it require you to create a strong password?
Is there a system in place for managing security vulnerabilities?
Does it have a privacy policy?
How Can It Snoop?
Does it have a camera or request / require access to a camera?
Does it have a microphone or request / require access to a microphone?
Does it track your location or request / require access to location data?
Account Requirements
Does it require an email address to use?
Does it require a phone number to use?
Does it require an address (home or office) to use?
Payment Options
Are you able to use a credit card as a payment option?
Are you able to use a cryptocurrency as a payment option?
Are you able to use PayPal as a payment option?
Are you able to use cash or gift cards as a payment option?
What Could Go Wrong?
Soundcloud shares your personal information such as your name, email, and IP address with third parties such as Facebook in order to target you with personalized ads. Facebook is also known for selling personal information gathered from its users, so if Soundcloud has your information, chances are it will be given to Facebook and sold off to third parties. Be warned of this risk before using this service.
How Does It Share Your Data?
Soundcloud may share your personal information with service providers and content partners, as well as advertisers and social media companies like Facebook in order to target you with personalized ads and ads pertaining to Soundcloud products on third party websites.
Good Things
- Provides indie artists with a platform to share their music.
- Unlimited track skips.
- Cool social elements.
Bad Things
- Privacy concerns.
- Search results can be confusing.
- Some major-label music is not available using the free version.