Last updated: September 2026
Overview
Melomaniac is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding your information.
Information We Collect
Account Information
When you create an account, we collect:
- Email address (required for account creation and login)
- Username (publicly visible — does not need to be your real name. We do not verify identity.)
- Password (encrypted, never stored in plain text)
- Referral code used at signup (to attribute invitation)
- Country (optional, self-selected)
Content You Create
We store content you voluntarily create:
- Liner notes (public by default, unless profile is set to private)
- Lists (public and shareable)
- Echoes on liner notes
- Stack and queue (albums you save)
- Profile information (bio, avatar, listening format preference)
Membership Data
We store your membership tier (Founding Melomaniac or Subscriber). Payment processing is handled entirely by Stripe — we do not store card numbers, payment details, or any financial information on our servers. Stripe's privacy policy governs how your payment data is handled. We receive only confirmation of payment status from Stripe.
Usage Data
We collect basic usage data:
- IP address (for security and rate limiting)
- Browser type and version
- Pages visited and actions taken
- Timestamps of activity
- Device type (mobile, tablet or desktop)
- The site that referred you to us, and your approximate country (worked out from your IP address by Cloudflare, never your precise location)
- Error reports when something breaks: the page, browser and technical details of the error
Email Addresses Without an Account
If you request an invite, join the waitlist, sign up for Listening Club emails, or add an email to a bug report, we store that email address (and your name, if you give it) only to reply or send what you asked for.
How We Use Your Information
- To provide and maintain the service
- To authenticate your account and prevent fraud
- To send transactional emails (account verification, password reset)
- To send community notifications where you have explicitly opted in (Listening Club reminders, newsletter)
- To enforce our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines
- To improve the platform based on usage patterns
What We Don't Do
- We never sell your data to third parties
- We never share your email address publicly or with advertisers
- We don't use tracking pixels or advertising networks
- We don't send unsolicited marketing emails — community emails are opt-in only
Image Metadata
When you upload images (avatars), we automatically strip EXIF metadata including location data, camera information, and timestamps to protect your privacy.
Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Access your personal data
- Correct inaccurate data
- Delete your account at any time from your profile page (or email legal@melomaniac.fm)
- Request a copy of your data (email legal@melomaniac.fm)
- Set your profile to private
- Opt out of community notification emails at any time via your account settings
Data Retention
We retain your data as long as your account is active. When you delete your account, your personal information (email, profile, follows, stack, queue, drafts and private lists) is removed straight away. Published liner notes, replies and public lists stay on the site but are no longer linked to you; they show as an unknown listener (for example “Unknown 12”) with no profile. If your profile was private when you deleted it, that content stays hidden. Backups containing your data are overwritten within 30 days.
Security
We use industry-standard security measures including encryption, secure authentication, rate limiting, IP blocking, and regular security audits. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure.
Third-Party Services
We use the following third-party services:
- Supabase (database and authentication hosting)
- Stripe (payment processing — we do not store payment data)
- Resend (transactional and notification email delivery)
- Cloudflare (CDN and DDoS protection)
- Cloudflare Turnstile (bot protection)
- MusicBrainz (album metadata)
- Cover Art Archive (album artwork)
- Sentry (error reporting)
- Our website and server hosting providers
Each service has its own privacy policy and security practices.
Cookies and Local Storage
We don't use advertising or analytics cookies. Your browser stores a few essential items so the site works: your sign-in session, whether you've dismissed an announcement, and an unsaved liner note draft. Cloudflare may set a security cookie to protect the site from bots. None of these track you across other websites.
Where Your Data Is Stored
Some of the services above store data outside Australia, including in the United States. We choose providers with strong security practices and only share what each service needs to do its job.
Complaints
If you're concerned about how we've handled your personal information, email legal@melomaniac.fm and we'll respond within 30 days. If you're not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.
Children's Privacy
Melomaniac is not intended for users under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes via email or a notice on the platform.
Contact
Questions about this privacy policy? Contact us at legal@melomaniac.fm