Privacy Policy

Who we are

Sonescent LLC is an independent audio software company based in Portland, Oregon. We develop and sell Cartigraph and other audio tools for mixing and mastering engineers. Our website is sonescent.com.

Contact: support@sonescent.com
Mailing address: 5441 S Macadam Ave, Ste R, Portland, OR 97239, United States

This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and disclose your personal information when you visit our site, purchase our software, or otherwise communicate with us. By using our services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this policy.

What information we collect

We collect only what is necessary to operate our business and deliver our software to you.

Contact details: your name, email address, and billing country when you purchase or register for a trial.

Financial information: payment details are collected and processed by Paddle, our payment provider and merchant of record (purchases before September 2026 were processed by Lemon Squeezy). Full payment details are never stored on Sonescent's servers.

License activation data: when you activate a Sonescent product, the plugin sends an identifier for your computer, taken from its hardware (a hash of hardware details on Windows, the hardware UUID on a Mac), and your computer's name to our licensing server, where both are associated with your license key. This is used to enforce your 3-machine seat limit, to help with support, and to tell whether a computer that ran a free trial went on to buy. It is not shared with third parties.

Free trial data: when you start a free trial, the plugin sends the same computer identifier to our licensing server, which records when the trial on that machine started (current versions also send your computer's name; we do not keep it for trials). We keep that record so a trial cannot be restarted on the same computer. Cartigraph and Cartigraph Suite 1.3.5 and later start the trial the first time you open the plugin window, check in once when the trial starts, and then run offline until the trial ends without checking in again or sending your computer's name. Older versions, and our other paid plugins for now, check in about every 12 hours whenever they are loaded without a license, during the trial and after it ends. This is used to run the 30-day trial and, counted across all trial users, to see how often people come back during a trial and how many go on to buy. Once activated, a license bought outright does not check in with our server; a rent-to-own license checks in to renew while its payments are running, and a free trial key checks in to renew during the last 10 days of its trial. Features that need our server, such as Cartigraph Listen (described below), contact it when you use them. Our plugins do not send usage data, crash reports, or anything about your projects, files or audio, and they never upload audio on their own.

Communications: information you include when contacting our support team.

Education discount applications: if you apply for the education discount, we keep the details you enter (name, email address, role, school, country, what you want and any comment) and our decision. Your proof is used only to check that you qualify: it is read by an automated check (Anthropic's API, see below) and emailed to the person reviewing your application. It is not stored in our systems, and once we have decided we delete the email that contains it. Our email provider (Resend) and Anthropic each keep their copy for up to 30 days under their own policies, and Anthropic may keep it longer only if it is flagged under its usage policy. The automated check's written summary of your proof is deleted 90 days after our decision. If you are approved, your one-time discount code in our payment provider (Paddle) carries your name and school.

Affiliate applications: if you apply to our affiliate program, we keep the details you enter (name, email address, PayPal email address, channel or website and the line about your audience) to review the application and, if you join, to run your account, track the sales your link brings in and pay your commissions.

Affiliate links: if you arrive through an affiliate's link (sonescent.com/r/...), your browser keeps that affiliate's link name for 30 days, in local storage rather than a cookie, so a purchase you make can be credited to them. The affiliate sees that a sale was made, which product and their commission, never your name or email address.

Site visits: we count visits to sonescent.com ourselves, without cookies. For each browser session we record the page, the link tag or site that sent you, and your country (from our host's country lookup), plus downloads and clicks on our own links. We do not record your IP address, browser details or any identifier for you, and we do not track you across other sites. When you sign up for a free product or a trial, we keep the name of the site that sent you (its domain only) with your signup.

Email marketing: when you enter your email address to get a free plugin, a free tool or a free trial, or when you buy from us, you are subscribing to our marketing emails (production tips, product updates and offers), and the page says so where you do it. We store your name and email address to send them. You can unsubscribe at any time with the link in every email. Like most email services, our email platform records whether our emails are opened and which links are clicked; our plugins do not track how you use them.

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for their marketing purposes.

How we use your information

• To process your purchase and deliver your license key
• To send transactional emails including order confirmation, license delivery, and activation support
• To manage your license seat count and provide technical support
• To send marketing emails (production tips, product updates and offers) if you have subscribed
• To understand how our website is used and which links bring people in, so we can improve it
• To see, counted across all trial users, how often people come back to a plugin during its free trial and how many go on to buy
• To detect and prevent fraud and unauthorized use of our licensing system
• To comply with applicable legal obligations

How we disclose your information

Service providers: we share information with third-party vendors who perform services on our behalf, including payment processing, hosting, license management, email delivery, and analytics.

Legal requirements: we may disclose information when required by law or to protect the rights and safety of Sonescent, our customers, or others.

Business transfers: in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.

Third-party services

Paddle (paddle.com): merchant of record and payment processing. Handles international tax compliance. Lemon Squeezy (lemonsqueezy.com) served this role for purchases made before September 2026.

Cloudflare (cloudflare.com): website hosting (Cloudflare Pages) and our licensing backend (Workers and D1), which processes activation and trial requests, stores license records and our own visit counts, and stores Cartigraph Listen audio (R2).

Resend (resend.com): transactional email delivery for license keys, order confirmations and download links, and the review email for education applications. Resend keeps sent emails, including attachments, for up to 30 days.

Anthropic (anthropic.com): the automated check of education discount proof. The uploaded file and the application details are sent to Anthropic's API to produce a summary for our reviewer. Anthropic deletes API inputs and outputs within 30 days (longer only if they are flagged under its usage policy) and does not use API data to train its models. We do not store the file.

MailerLite (mailerlite.com): email marketing platform for subscribers who have opted in to tips, product updates and offers.

Cartigraph Listen (mobile app and web player)

Cartigraph Listen lets licensed users send audio snapshots from the Cartigraph plugin to their own private listening library, reachable from the Cartigraph Listen mobile app and at sonescent.com/listen. When you use it, we process: your email address (to sign you in and associate your library with your license), your license key and machine identifier (to authenticate uploads from the plugin), and the audio you choose to upload (stored so you can stream it back on your devices). Nothing is uploaded unless you choose Send to Listen in the plugin; Cartigraph never uploads or monitors your audio on its own.

Your audio is private to your license: it is stored on Cloudflare R2, is never shared with third parties, is not used for any purpose other than playing it back to you, and is never analyzed for advertising or training. If you create a share link for a snapshot, anyone with that link can listen until the link expires or you revoke it, and can leave notes under a name they type; share links are removed within a day of the snapshot being deleted. Your library keeps your 30 most recent snapshots and 5 most recent references (5 and 2 on a free trial key); older ones are deleted automatically unless you pin them, and you can delete any upload immediately from the app or web player. A trial key's library is deleted 30 days after its trial ends unless you buy. Sign-in sessions last 30 days. The app contains no advertising and no third-party tracking.

Cookies

We set no analytics or advertising cookies. Sonescent.com uses only cookies strictly necessary for core functionality, for example those set by our payment provider when you open the checkout. The site also uses your browser's local storage (not cookies) to remember the link that brought you here and an affiliate link for 30 days, to count a visit once per browser session, to keep you signed in to Cartigraph Listen and your account page, and to remember the name you type when leaving a note on a shared snapshot. You may clear these or disable cookies in your browser settings at any time.

Data retention

We retain your purchase and license records for the life of your license and for seven years afterward for legal compliance purposes. Email marketing data, including your signup, is retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion.

• Trial records (the computer identifier and when its trial started) are kept so a trial cannot be restarted on the same computer.
• Records of failed license activations and of emails that failed to send are deleted after 90 days.
• Site visit, download and link counts are deleted after 24 months.
• Education applications: the email containing your proof is deleted once we have decided, the automated summary 90 days after the decision, and the application details and decision are kept to answer questions about your discount.
• Cartigraph Listen audio follows the library limits above, and is deleted at once when you delete it.

Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information. No security system is perfect, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

International transfers

Sonescent is based in the United States. If you are located outside the US, your data may be transferred to and processed in the United States. If we transfer personal information out of the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we rely on recognized transfer mechanisms including the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses.

Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the following rights:

• Right to access: request access to personal information we hold about you.
• Right to correct: request that we correct inaccurate information.
• Right to delete: request deletion of your personal information.
• Right to portability: request a copy of your data in a portable format.
• Right to opt out: opt out of marketing emails at any time via the unsubscribe link in any email.
• Right to appeal: if we decline your request, you may appeal by contacting us or lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@sonescent.com. We will respond within 30 days.

Children's privacy

Our products are not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it promptly.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Continued use of our services after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

support@sonescent.com
Sonescent LLC
5441 S Macadam Ave, Ste R
Portland, OR 97239, United States