Privacy Policy
Last updated October 10, 2026
See also the Terms of Use, the Software License Agreement and Cookie Settings.
1. Who we are
Techne is run by Techne.fm, a business based in the United States. We are the data controller for the personal data described here. You can reach us at support@techne.fm; a postal address is available on request.
This policy covers techne.fm, the forum, our plugins and the Techne Hub desktop app, and the emails we send.
2. What we collect, and why
We collect only what the service needs. Here is each purpose, the data behind it, and the legal basis we rely on under EU and UK data protection law.
| Purpose | Data | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Your account | Email, name, avatar and the sign-in method you chose (Google, Discord or email link). A handle and avatar colour if you set one. | Contract: we need it to give you an account. |
| Purchases and memberships | What you bought or claimed, when, the price, tax, the country used for tax, your Stripe customer id, and the last four digits and brand of your card. Stripe holds the card itself. | Contract, and legal obligation for tax and accounting records. |
| Plugin activation | Your email, license key, the product, your platform, a SHA-256 hash of your computer’s hardware id (IOPlatformUUID on macOS, MachineGuid on Windows) and the computer’s name. The plugin checks in periodically to confirm the license. | Contract: to count seats and let you tell machines apart on your Devices page. Deactivate a machine there to delete its activation. |
| Techne Hub | A sign-in from the Hub (via a device code), the Hub version, when it was last seen, and events such as installs, downloads and update checks. | Contract for the sign-in; legitimate interest in knowing that installs and updates work. |
| Forum and profile | Posts, replies, reactions, reports, and your public profile. | Contract: it is the service you asked for. Posts are public. |
| Which emails we sent you, whether they bounced, and whether you opened or clicked them. Unsubscribes are kept so we honour them. | Contract for receipts, sign-in links and account notices. Consent for marketing (see below). Legitimate interest in keeping our sending clean. | |
| Listening and site activity | Which pages you visit, which tracks you play and how much of them, downloads, and when you were last online. Signed-in plays are linked to your account so you can see your own history; anonymous ones to a visitor cookie. | Legitimate interest in understanding how releases are listened to and keeping the site working. The first-party cookies carry no profile. |
| Referrals and campaigns | The referral code or campaign tags on the link you arrived from, and a hashed IP, device type and country for that landing. | Legitimate interest in paying referrers correctly and detecting abuse. |
| Advertising measurement | Meta Pixel events (page view, add to cart, purchase) tied to Meta’s own cookies, plus a hashed email sent server-side for a purchase or lead. | Consent: only after you accept on the cookie notice. Decline and the pixel is not loaded. |
| Surveys | Your answers to a questionnaire such as /next. Signed in, they are kept with your account; otherwise with the anonymous visitor cookie, so a second visit edits your first answer. If you came from one of our emails, that we sent it to you. Your email only if you ask for early builds. | Legitimate interest in deciding what to make. Consent for the early-builds email, which you can withdraw by asking us. |
| Support | What you write to us and our replies. | Legitimate interest in answering you. |
We do not sell personal data, and we do not use it to make automated decisions that have legal or similarly serious effects on you.
3. Marketing emails
Marketing is separate from your account and optional. We send you new releases and offers only if you asked for them: by ticking the box on the sign-in form, joining the Signal List in the footer, or unlocking a free pack or plugin with your email where the form says so. Creating an account on its own does not sign you up.
Every marketing email has an unsubscribe link, and one click is enough. Receipts, sign-in links, license keys, renewal and price-change notices continue as long as you have an account, because the service does not work without them.
4. Cookies and analytics
We do not run a third-party analytics service. The cookies below are first-party and set by us, except the Meta Pixel, which loads only after you accept on the cookie notice. No personal data is sold or shared with advertisers.
When you arrive via a referral link (techne.fm/r/…) we set two first-party
cookies: an anonymous visitor key (tcn_vid, 1 year) and the referral code (tcn_ref, 30 days). They are used only to attribute that visit and any pre-save or store click to
the person who shared the link, to count each visitor once, and to detect abuse. They
contain no personal information and are not linked to your account.
When you play music on Techne we record playback events (which track, how much of it was
heard, and whether it was completed) against the visitor key above and a short-lived session
cookie (tcn_sid, 30 minutes). If you are signed in, plays are also linked to
your account so we can show you your own listening history. This data is used to understand
how releases are listened to and to attribute listens to referral links; it is never shared
with advertisers.
Always on
better-auth.session_token(7 days): Keeps you signed in. Carries a random session token, sent only to techne.fm and never readable by scripts. On techne.fm it is prefixed __Secure-.tcn_vid(1 year): Anonymous visitor key: counts each visitor once, credits a referral link, and helps detect abuse. Not linked to your account.tcn_sid(30 minutes, extended while you browse): Anonymous session id: groups the plays of one sitting so we can tell how a release is listened to.tcn_ref(30 days): The referral code from a techne.fm/r/… link, so that visit and any pre-save or purchase can be credited to the person who shared it.tcn_utm(30 days): The campaign tags (utm_*) on the link you arrived from, so a later purchase can be matched to that campaign.tcn_mkt(24 hours): Set only if you tick "Send me new releases and offers" on the sign-in form. Remembers that choice until your account exists, then is no longer needed.tcn_last_welcome(1 year): When you last saw the welcome page, so it can greet you as a returning member.tt_lead(30 days): After you unlock a free plugin with your email: ties the download to that unlock. Never readable by scripts.techne_dismissed_banners(1 year): Which announcement banners you have closed, so they stay closed.sp_cv, sp_state, sp_slug(10 minutes): Only during a Spotify pre-save: the security state for the round trip to Spotify and back.
Only with your consent
_fbp(90 days, set by Meta): Meta Pixel: a browser id Meta uses to measure whether an ad led to a visit or purchase._fbc(90 days, set by Meta): Meta Pixel: the click id (fbclid) from a Meta ad link, so a purchase can be matched to the ad. Written when you arrive from such a link.
On your device only (browser storage, never sent to us)
techne:cookie-consent: Your answer to the cookie notice (accepted or rejected) and when you gave it.theme: Light, dark, or follow the system.
You can manage your cookie preferences at any time by visiting our Cookie Settings page.
5. Who we share it with
We share data only with the services that run Techne, and only what each needs. None of them may use it for their own purposes.
| Service | What it does for us | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe | Payments, card storage, subscription billing, tax calculation, receipts. | USA (Stripe Payments Europe for EU customers) |
| Vercel | Hosts the website and its server code. | USA |
| Neon | Our Postgres database. | USA (us-east-1) |
| Fly.io | Background worker: encodes audio, builds downloads, sends queued email. | USA |
| Cloudflare R2 | File storage for releases, crates, plugin installers and artwork. | USA, served from Cloudflare’s global network |
| Microsoft Azure Communication Services | Sends our email (receipts, sign-in links, newsletters). | USA |
| Amazon SES | Will replace Azure for sending email; same data. | USA |
| Google and Discord | Sign-in, only if you choose them. They give us your name, email and avatar. | USA |
| Meta | Meta Pixel for advertising measurement, only with your consent. | USA (Meta Platforms Ireland for EU users) |
| Ghost | Our earlier newsletter platform. Legacy subscriber list, being retired. | Hosted by Ghost |
We may also disclose data if the law requires it, to protect our rights or someone's safety, or to a buyer if the business changes hands, in which case this policy still applies.
6. International transfers
Our data is stored in the United States. If you are in the EU, the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, that is a transfer outside your region. Each provider above handles it under the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, or a certification under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework where the provider holds one. Ask us if you want a copy of the relevant terms.
7. How long we keep it
| Data | Kept for |
|---|---|
| Account details | While your account exists. Deleted when you delete the account. |
| Purchase and license records | While your account exists, plus the 7 years tax law requires. Kept against the email you bought with so you can recover purchases if you come back. |
| Plugin activations | Until you deactivate the machine or the license ends. |
| Techne Hub sign-ins | Until you sign the computer out from your Devices page. |
| Hub events (installs, downloads, update checks) | 12 months. |
| Online-now and page-activity rows | 30 days. |
| Checkout attempts that did not complete | 90 days. |
| Forum posts | Until you delete them. Tell us if you want them removed with your account. |
| Unsubscribed and bounced email addresses | Kept as a suppression list so we never email them again. |
| Survey answers | 24 months after the survey closes. |
| Support email | As long as needed to resolve the question, then deleted. |
Deleting your account from account settings removes your personal data straight away, apart from the purchase and license records above and the suppression list.
8. Your rights
Wherever you live, you can:
- ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
- correct it (most of it from your account page);
- delete it (delete your account, or ask us);
- get the data you gave us in a portable format;
- object to processing based on our legitimate interests; and
- withdraw consent at any time: unsubscribe from marketing with the link in any email, and change cookie choices on the Cookie Settings page.
Email support@techne.fm from the address on your account and we will act within a month. There is no charge.
EU, EEA and UK. You also have the right to complain to your data protection authority. In the UK that is the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk). We would rather hear from you first.
California. Under the CCPA you have the right to know what we collect, to delete it, to correct it, and not to be treated differently for exercising those rights. We do not sell personal data. The Meta Pixel may count as "sharing" for cross-context behavioural advertising; declining cookies turns it off, which is how you opt out.
9. Security
Everything travels over TLS. There are no passwords to leak: you sign in with a one-time link or a provider. Session and license tokens are stored hashed, the application reaches the database through a least-privilege role with row-level security, and card details never touch our servers. No system is perfectly secure, so if you think your account has been misused, tell us straight away.
10. Children's Privacy
Techne is not directed toward children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect data from minors.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Updates will appear on this page with a revised "last updated" date. If a change matters to how we use your data, we will email account holders before it takes effect.
12. Contact
Techne.fm
Postal address on request
support@techne.fm