This Privacy Policy explains what personal data UkuTabs.com (operated by Jonas, also referred to here as "I," "me," or "my") collects when you visit the site, why I collect it, who I share it with, and what rights you have under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable US state privacy laws.
1. Who I Am
UkuTabs is a free ukulele resource (chord arrangements, tablatures, learning guides, tools) that I (Jonas) have run since March 2012. For GDPR purposes, I am the "data controller" for UkuTabs.com.
Contact: [email protected]
2. What I Collect
2.1 Information you give me
- Account registration: username, email address, hashed password. Optional profile fields (avatar, bio, social links) you choose to add.
- Newsletter: email address (and optionally first name) when you subscribe.
- Comments: the comment text, your display name, email address, and (if filled) website URL.
- Contact form / email: whatever you choose to send me.
- User-submitted chord arrangements: the content itself plus the account that submitted it.
2.2 Information collected automatically
- Server logs: IP address, user-agent, requested URL, referrer, timestamp. Used for security, abuse prevention, and basic traffic understanding. Logs are rotated regularly.
- Internal site search queries: what was searched, how many results were returned, and (if logged in) your user ID. Helps me spot missing songs and broken search behaviour. Search logs are removed automatically after 7 days.
- Login activity: last login timestamp and login count, used to identify long-inactive accounts (see Retention).
- Anonymous analytics: see Section 4.1 below.
3. Legal Basis & How I Use It
Under GDPR I rely on the following legal bases:
- Consent. For non-essential cookies (analytics, advertising) and for newsletter sign-up. You can withdraw consent at any time.
- Contract. To provide the account features you signed up for (favourites, profile, comments).
- Legitimate interests. Keeping the site secure and free of abuse (server logs, spam detection), and understanding aggregate traffic.
- Legal obligation. When I have to retain or disclose data to comply with applicable law.
4. Third-Party Services
UkuTabs uses a small number of third parties to run the site. Each operates under its own privacy policy. I do not sell your personal data to anyone.
4.1 Analytics: Google Analytics
I use Google Analytics with IP anonymisation enabled to understand aggregate traffic patterns (which pages are popular, how visitors arrive). Analytics cookies are only set after you accept them in the cookie banner. Google Privacy Policy.
4.2 Advertising: Freestar
UkuTabs displays advertising via Freestar (Publisher First, Inc. dba Freestar). Freestar and its partners may use cookies and similar technologies to deliver and measure ads. On your first visit you'll be asked through a Consent Management Platform whether you agree. You can change your choice at any time. Logged-in users with a Premium account see no ads at all. Freestar Privacy Policy.
4.3 Delivery & Security: Cloudflare
UkuTabs uses Cloudflare as a content-delivery network and security layer. Cloudflare processes your IP address and request metadata to route traffic and block malicious requests. Cloudflare Privacy Policy.
4.4 YouTube embeds
Song pages may embed official music videos via the YouTube IFrame Player. When a video loads, YouTube/Google may set cookies and process data under their own terms. I use the privacy-enhanced embed mode where available, and I retrieve and cache only the video ID and limited metadata (title, channel) to render the player. I do not collect personal data through YouTube. Google Privacy Policy.
4.5 Newsletter: MailerLite
The UkuTabs newsletter is sent via MailerLite. When you subscribe, your email address (and optionally your first name) is stored on MailerLite's platform together with subscription metadata (date, source, open/click activity). You can unsubscribe with one click from any newsletter I send. MailerLite Privacy Policy.
4.6 Anti-spam: Akismet
Comments are filtered through Akismet to block spam. Akismet may process commenter metadata (IP address, user-agent, comment content) for that purpose. Akismet Privacy Policy.
4.7 Avatars: Gravatar
If you leave a comment with an email address that is registered with Gravatar, your Gravatar avatar will be displayed next to your comment. A hashed version of your email is sent to Gravatar to retrieve the image. Gravatar / Automattic Privacy Policy.
4.8 Artwork: Last.fm
Artist images and album artwork shown on UkuTabs may be retrieved from public Last.fm endpoints or other public sources. No personal data about you is sent to these services as part of normal browsing.
4.9 Image optimisation: Imagify
Images uploaded to UkuTabs (post images, editorial illustrations, occasional user-submitted artwork) are sent to Imagify (operated by WP Media SAS) for compression before they're served. Imagify processes only the image file itself — no information about you as a visitor is involved. Imagify Privacy Policy.
4.10 Comments: wpDiscuz
Comments on UkuTabs are powered by the self-hosted wpDiscuz plugin, which runs on the same DigitalOcean infrastructure as the rest of the site. When you leave a comment, wpDiscuz stores your display name, email address, IP address, and the comment text in the UkuTabs database. Comments are filtered through Akismet (see 4.6) before being published.
5. Cookies and Similar Technologies
I use cookies for three things:
- Strictly necessary. Login session, your cookie-consent choice, the player and chord-display preferences you set (chord colour, text size, tuning). These are always active because the site can't work without them.
- Analytics (optional). Google Analytics. Only set after you opt in.
- Advertising (optional). Freestar and its partners. Managed through the Consent Management Platform on your first visit.
You can clear or block cookies in your browser at any time. Doing so may break some features (e.g. you'll be logged out, your chord-colour preference will reset).
Some browsers expose additional advertising signals such as Chrome's Topics API. Where you have accepted advertising cookies on UkuTabs, my advertising partners may read this signal to deliver more relevant ads. You can withdraw consent at any time from the "Privacy Manager" / "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link in the footer, or by disabling Topics in your browser settings.
6. Your Rights (GDPR)
If you live in the EEA, the UK, or Switzerland, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Access. Request a copy of the personal data I hold about you.
- Rectification. Ask me to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Erasure ("right to be forgotten"). Ask me to delete your account and associated data, subject to lawful retention obligations.
- Restriction. Ask me to limit how I use your data while a request is being handled.
- Portability. Receive your account data in a common, machine-readable format.
- Objection. Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
- Withdraw consent. At any time, where processing is based on consent (e.g. newsletter, analytics cookies).
- Lodge a complaint. With your local data-protection supervisory authority.
To exercise any of these rights, email [email protected]. I respond within 30 days. There's no charge unless requests are clearly excessive or repetitive.
7. Data Retention
- Account data. Kept while your account is active. Accounts that have been inactive for over 3 years and hold no content (no submitted tabs, comments or saved favourites) are automatically deleted during periodic cleanups. You can also ask me to delete yours at any time.
- Newsletter. Until you unsubscribe.
- Comments. Kept so that follow-up comments can be auto-approved. You can ask me to delete yours at any time.
- Server logs. Rotated automatically (typically within 30 days).
- Search logs. 7 days.
- Analytics. Per Google Analytics retention settings (currently 14 months).
7a. US State Residents' Rights
If you live in California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, or another US state with applicable privacy legislation, you have additional rights including:
- The right to know what categories of personal information I collect and disclose.
- The right to delete personal information I have collected from you.
- The right to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising.
- The right to correct inaccurate personal information.
- The right to non-discrimination for exercising your rights.
You can opt out of the sale/sharing of personal information via the "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link in the footer, or by enabling the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal in your browser — I honour it automatically. To exercise other rights, email [email protected] with proof of state residency.
8. International Transfers
UkuTabs is hosted on DigitalOcean infrastructure located in the United States. This means that personal data you provide directly (account details, comments, newsletter subscription, contact-form messages) and data collected automatically (server logs, cookies) is transferred to and stored in the US.
Several of the processors I use (Google, MailerLite, Cloudflare, Akismet, Gravatar, Freestar) are likewise based in or transfer data to the US.
For all of these transfers I rely on appropriate safeguards under Chapter V of the GDPR. DigitalOcean's Data Processing Agreement incorporates the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, and the third-party processors above rely on the SCCs and/or certification under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework.
You have the right to request a copy of the safeguards in place for any specific transfer.
9. Security
I take sensible precautions to protect your data:
- Full HTTPS/TLS encryption on every connection (currently A+ on SSL Labs).
- Passwords stored as one-way hashes, never in plain text.
- Server-level firewall, regular security updates, restricted admin access protected by strong credentials and where possible two-factor authentication.
- Cloudflare WAF in front of the origin to block common attacks.
No system can be 100% secure. If a breach affecting your personal data occurs, I'll notify you and the relevant supervisory authority as required by GDPR.
10. Children's Privacy
UkuTabs is not directed at children under 16. I do not knowingly collect personal data from children under that age. If you believe a child has registered an account, please contact me and I'll remove the account and any associated data.
11. Automated Decision-Making
I do not use your personal data for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you.
12. Changes to This Policy
I may update this Privacy Policy as the site evolves or as the law changes. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will be highlighted on the site or by email where appropriate.
13. Contact
Questions about this policy, your data, or how to exercise your rights? Email [email protected] (subject line "Privacy request") or use the contact form.