Privacy Policy for SoundTale

Effective Date: 10.11.2025

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy describes how Ges. bürgerlichen Rechts Sobolewski, Paulsen & Westphal ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and protects your information when you use our mobile application SoundTale (the "App") on any platform, including the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, and Microsoft Store.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your data in an open and transparent manner. This policy is in accordance with major privacy regulations, including the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR/DSGVO).

Our servers, provided by Netcup, are located in within the European Union.

2. What Information We Collect

We collect information in the following ways to provide and improve our service:

A. Information You Provide Directly

  • Account Data: When you create a SoundTale account, we collect your Username and Email Address.
  • Subscription Data: To process your subscription, we may receive and store receipt data from the app store (Google, Apple, or Microsoft).

B. Information We Collect Automatically

  • Device & Technical Data: We collect Device IDs and Unique Device Identifiers to link your account to your device.
  • Usage Data ("App Activity"): We track your interactions within the App (e.g., features used, time spent). This data is collected purely for internal analytics to understand how our App is used, identify bugs, and improve functionality.

C. Information from Third-Party Payment Processors

  • Payment Processing: We use the in-app purchase systems of Google, Apple, and Microsoft to process subscription payments. We do not collect or store your payment card details. We only receive confirmation of the payment and the aforementioned receipt data to fulfill your order.

3. How We Use Your Data (Purpose of Processing)

We use your data for specific, limited purposes:

  • To Provide App Functionality: To create and maintain your account, authenticate you as a user, and provide the core services of the App.
  • To Fulfill User Orders: To process your subscription and manage its status.
  • For Fraud Prevention: To prevent misuse of our services, such as our free trial system.
  • For Analytics and App Improvement: To analyze how you use the App so we can improve its performance, design, and features.
  • To Comply with Legal Obligations: To meet our legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

We do not use your personal data for advertising. We do not and will not sell your personal data to any third party.

4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

Under the GDPR, we process your data based on the following legal grounds:

  • Contractual Necessity (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR): We process your Account Data, Device Data, and Subscription Data to fulfill our service contract with you (i.e., to provide the App and its subscription features).
  • Legitimate Interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR):
    • We process your Usage Data for analytics based on our legitimate interest in improving our App.
    • We process a hashed Device ID for fraud prevention based on our legitimate interest in protecting our service from misuse.

5. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell or share your personal data with third parties for their own marketing purposes. We only disclose your data in the following limited circumstances:

  • Service Providers (Data Processors): We use third-party companies to help us operate our service. These are:
    • Payment Processors: Google (Play Store), Apple (App Store), and Microsoft (Microsoft Store) process your payments.
    • Cloud Hosting: Our App and database are hosted by Netcup, a German company. All data is stored on servers located in Germany.
  • Legal Requirements: We may disclose your data if required to do so by law or in response to a valid request from a public authority.

6. Data Security

We take the security of your data seriously. We implement technical and organizational measures to protect it, including:

  • Encryption: All data transferred between your device and our servers is encrypted using standard security protocols (e.g., SSL/TLS).
  • Hashing: Sensitive data is hashed when stored on our servers.
  • Data Minimization: We only collect the data that is necessary for the purposes described in this policy.
  • Secure Hosting: Our servers are provided by Netcup in Germany, which adheres to high EU security and data protection standards.

7. Data Retention & Account Deletion

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collected it.

  • Account Data: We keep your Username and Email Address for as long as your account is active.
  • Account Deletion: You can delete your account at any time. Upon deletion, your primary account data (Username, Email, etc.) will be permanently removed.
  • Fraud Prevention Exception: After account deletion, we retain only a hashed and secured version of your Device ID. This data is stored in a separate, highly secured database and is accessed only for the automated purpose of checking for new account creation to prevent free trial misuse. This processing is based on our legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) and is minimized to protect your privacy.

8. Your Privacy Rights (GDPR)

As a user, especially one covered by the GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

  • Right to Access: You have the right to request a copy of the data we hold about you.
  • Right to Rectification: You have the right to correct any inaccurate or incomplete data we hold about you.
  • Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): You have the right to request the deletion of your personal data (subject to our retention policy for fraud prevention, as described above).
  • Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your data in certain circumstances.
  • Right to Data Portability: You have the right to receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
  • Right to Object: You have the right to object to our processing of your data where we rely on legitimate interest as our legal basis.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at contact@soundtale.net. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority.

9. Children's Privacy

Our App is not intended for use by children under the age of 16 (in the EU/UK) or 13 (in the US). We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us immediately so we can remove it.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we will notify you through the App or by other means. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. The "Effective Date" at the top of this policy indicates when it was last revised.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

Ges. bürgerlichen Rechts Sobolewski, Paulsen & Westphal
Email: contact@soundtale.net