Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

MIDI Scout ("MIDI Scout," "we," "us," or "our") operates midiscout.com and develops the MIDISketch desktop application and audio plugin.

MIDI Scout is responsible for deciding how the personal information described in this policy is used. Privacy questions and requests can be sent to support@midiscout.com.

This policy applies to the MIDI Scout website, MIDI Scout accounts, purchases, license services, support communications, and MIDISketch.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Account Information

When you create a MIDI Scout account, we receive your email address and any basic profile information you provide through our authentication provider, Clerk. We use this information to authenticate you, manage your account, provide purchased products, recover licenses, and communicate with you about your account.

2.2 Purchases and Payments

Payments are processed by Stripe. MIDI Scout does not receive or store your full payment-card number. Stripe may provide us with information such as your email address, transaction or checkout-session identifier, payment status, purchased product, and other information needed to fulfill the purchase and maintain required financial records.

2.3 License Activation and Recovery

When you activate MIDISketch, the plugin sends the following information to our license server:

• The email address entered during activation
• The license key entered during activation
• A hardware-derived machine identifier
• Activation and last-verification timestamps

We use this information to verify license ownership, enforce the applicable machine activation limit (2 machines), prevent license abuse, provide license recovery and support, and issue a locally verifiable license file.

Our hosting and security providers may also process standard request information, including IP address and request headers, for delivery, security, abuse prevention, and rate limiting. An IP address is not used as MIDISketch's machine identifier.

Activation requires an internet connection. After a valid paid license is activated, MIDISketch verifies the signed license locally and can continue operating offline. Optional usage telemetry is never used to determine whether a license is valid.

2.4 Automatic Version Check

When the MIDISketch interface opens, it may request current version information from our license server. MIDISketch does not include your license key, email address, machine identifier, MIDI data, or project information in this version request. As with any internet request, our hosting provider may temporarily process the requesting IP address and standard request metadata. The version check does not affect a valid paid license and silently fails when you are offline.

2.5 Optional MIDISketch Usage Telemetry

MIDISketch includes optional basic usage telemetry. It is disabled by default and does not begin unless you enable "Share Basic Usage Data" in MIDISketch Preferences.

When enabled, MIDISketch sends one usage heartbeat per running MIDISketch process after a short delay. The payload contains:

• A randomly generated, persistent installation identifier
• The installed MIDISketch version
• The operating-system family (Windows, macOS, or Linux)
• The DAW or host name reported to MIDISketch

The random installation identifier is separate from the hardware-derived license machine identifier and is not intentionally connected to your MIDI Scout account, email address, or license key.

Usage telemetry does not contain: your name or email address, license key, machine identifier, MIDI notes or files, audio data, project names or contents, or information about which synths or presets you use.

We use this information to understand MIDISketch version adoption and prioritize DAW and platform compatibility work.

The legal basis for this optional processing is your consent. You can withdraw consent at any time by disabling "Share Basic Usage Data" in Preferences. Disabling stops future heartbeats and does not affect licensing, updates, or product functionality. To request access to or deletion of identifiable telemetry records, contact support@midiscout.com.

2.6 Trial Downloads and Email Communications

We may request an email address to provide a trial download, fulfill a requested license or recovery email, or send essential product and account communications. Marketing and product-news emails are sent only where permitted by law and, where required, after separate consent. You can unsubscribe using the link in an email or by contacting support@midiscout.com. Unsubscribing from marketing does not prevent necessary purchase receipts, license delivery, security notices, or responses to support requests.

2.7 Website Analytics

Subject to your cookie choices, we may use Google Analytics and Vercel Analytics to understand website traffic and performance. Analytics information may include pages viewed, referring URLs, approximate location derived from IP address, browser and device information, interactions with website controls, and download events. We do not use website analytics for targeted advertising. Nonessential analytics are not activated until consent where applicable.

2.8 Support Communications

When you contact support, we collect the information you provide, such as your email address, message contents, diagnostic information, attachments, and relevant purchase or license details. Please do not send MIDI projects, audio, passwords, or other sensitive information unless it is necessary for your support request.

2.9 Information Stored Locally

MIDISketch stores settings, trial state, license files, preferences, and related application data locally on your computer. Your MIDI notes, audio, hosted-synth state, presets, and project contents remain on your computer unless you independently choose to share them with us for support. MIDISketch does not currently collect automatic crash reports or analytics about your musical content.

3. Why We Use Information and Our Legal Bases

Depending on your location, we rely on the following grounds:

• Contract: To provide accounts, purchases, downloads, licenses, activation, recovery, and support you request.
• Legal obligation: To maintain records required for accounting, tax, fraud-prevention, and regulatory purposes.
• Consent: For optional MIDISketch usage telemetry, nonessential website analytics, and marketing where consent is required.
• Legitimate interests: To secure our systems, prevent abuse, maintain compatibility, provide version information, diagnose service problems, and protect MIDI Scout and its customers.

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. How We Share Information

We disclose information only as necessary to operate MIDI Scout, fulfill purchases and licenses, provide support, comply with law, or protect our services. Our service providers include:

• Clerk · Account authentication and management. Privacy Policy
• Stripe · Payment processing. Privacy Policy
• Supabase · Database and license-record storage. Privacy Policy
• Vercel · Website and API hosting. Privacy Policy
• Resend · Transactional and requested email delivery.
• Upstash · API rate limiting and abuse prevention.
• Google Analytics · Consent-based website analytics. Privacy Policy

We may also disclose information when required by law or legal process, to investigate fraud or security incidents, or as part of a merger, acquisition, or sale of business assets, subject to appropriate confidentiality protections.

MIDI Scout does not sell personal information. We do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising or targeted advertising.

5. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use essential cookies and local-storage technologies for authentication, security, account sessions, payment workflows, and remembering privacy choices. With your consent where required, we may use analytics cookies or similar technologies to measure website traffic and interactions.

You can accept or reject nonessential analytics through the website consent banner. You may also restrict cookies through your browser, although blocking essential cookies may prevent account or checkout functionality.

The MIDISketch desktop application does not use browser cookies. Its optional usage-telemetry preference is stored locally in the application's settings.

6. Data Retention

• Account information: Until the account is deleted, followed by removal from active systems within 90 days unless a retention obligation applies.
• Purchase and financial records: Up to seven years, or longer if required by applicable tax or legal obligations.
• License and activation records: For the lifetime of the license and as long as reasonably necessary to provide perpetual license verification, recovery, and fraud prevention.
• Raw optional usage telemetry: No longer than 12 months.
• Aggregated telemetry: Statistics that can no longer reasonably identify an installation may be retained indefinitely.
• Website analytics: No longer than 14 months, unless a shorter period is configured.
• Marketing email information: Until you unsubscribe or request deletion. We may retain a minimal suppression record to prevent further marketing.
• Support communications: Normally up to three years after the support request is closed.
• Security and server logs: Normally no longer than 30 days, unless needed to investigate abuse, fraud, security incidents, or legal claims.

7. Data Security

We use administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information. These measures include HTTPS/TLS encryption in transit, access controls, restricted database credentials, cryptographically signed license files, rate limiting, and payment processing handled by Stripe. No transmission or storage system is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• Request access to personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of information
• Request restriction of or object to certain processing
• Receive certain information in a portable format
• Withdraw consent at any time
• Opt out of marketing communications

These rights may be subject to exceptions. For example, we may retain information needed to comply with law, prevent fraud, resolve disputes, or maintain minimal license-ownership records.

To make a request, email support@midiscout.com. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request.

European Economic Area and United Kingdom users may lodge a complaint with their local data-protection authority. California residents may obtain additional information from the California Attorney General.

9. International Processing

MIDI Scout and several of our service providers operate in the United States. Information may therefore be transferred to or processed in countries whose privacy laws differ from those where you live. Where required, we use recognized transfer mechanisms and contractual safeguards provided by our service providers, such as applicable Standard Contractual Clauses.

10. Children's Privacy

MIDI Scout is not directed to children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us, contact support@midiscout.com so we can investigate and delete it where appropriate.

11. Automated Decisions

License activation and validation use automated checks to determine whether a key is valid and within its activation limit. If you believe an activation was incorrectly refused, contact support@midiscout.com for human review. We do not use personal information for automated profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects unrelated to license administration.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy as MIDISketch, our website, or legal requirements change. We will post the updated policy here and revise the "Last updated" date. If a material change affects consent-based processing, we will provide additional notice or request new consent where required.

13. Contact

For privacy questions, access or deletion requests, consent withdrawal, or complaints, contact:

MIDI Scout
support@midiscout.com