Privacy Policy

Effective date: 16 October 2025

Welcome to OnlineTuner.org — a free, privacy-friendly online tuner that runs in your browser. We minimise data collection and process information responsibly and transparently under the GDPR/UK-GDPR and CCPA/CPRA.

1. Who We Are (Data Controller)

OnlineTuner.org is the data controller for processing that occurs on this website. You can contact us via the contact page on our site.

2. What We Collect (Summary)

• Functional preferences (first-party cookies/local storage): small, anonymous values to remember your tuner settings (e.g., instrument, tuning, volume). These are used only for functionality and contain no personally identifiable information (PII).
• Anonymous usage data (Matomo): we run a self-hosted Matomo instance configured without cookies, with IP anonymisation and aggregated reporting only. No PII is collected.
• Advertising (BuySellAds): we display ads via BuySellAds (BSA). BSA and its partners may set third-party cookies for ad delivery and measurement under their own policies.

We do not operate accounts, newsletters, or forms and we do not collect contact details.

3. Purposes & Legal Bases (GDPR/UK-GDPR)

• Essential functionality: remembering tuner preferences to provide the service you requested. Legal basis: strictly necessary under ePrivacy / legitimate interests.
• Analytics (Matomo, no cookies): measuring aggregated performance and reliability. Legal basis: legitimate interests (site quality and security), with proportional safeguards.
• Advertising (BSA): funding the service via ads. In the EEA/UK, non-essential ad cookies load only with your consent.

4. Advertising & Consent

We work only with BuySellAds. In the EEA/UK, we request consent before any BSA ad cookies are set. If you decline, we restrict to contextual/non-personalised ads where possible or reduce advertising.

Disable ads (global): You can disable ads at any time using the “Cookies / Ad Settings” link in our site footer. When disabled, we do not load BSA tags and no third-party ad cookies are placed.

5. Cookies

• Functional cookies/local storage (first-party): used solely to remember your tuner preferences. Blocking them may reduce functionality.
• Advertising cookies (third-party): set by BuySellAds and their partners for ad delivery/measurement. Manage via our consent prompt (EEA/UK), the footer “Cookies / Ad Settings” link (global), and/or your browser settings.

6. Analytics

Matomo is fully self-hosted, cookie-less, and stores only anonymised, aggregated metrics on our servers. No PII is collected and raw IPs are not stored.

7. Sharing & Recipients

• BuySellAds (independent partner): our sole advertising partner. Any data they collect via their tags/cookies is handled under their own privacy policy.
• Legal/security: we may disclose information if required by law or to protect the rights, property, or safety of OnlineTuner.org or its users.

OnlineTuner.org does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We do not “sell” or “share” personal information as defined by the CPRA.

8. Retention

• Preferences: stored locally in your browser until you clear them.
• Analytics: retained only in aggregated, anonymised form for as long as needed to track site performance.

9. International Transfers

We host analytics on our own servers. Our advertising partner (BuySellAds) may transfer data outside your country (e.g., to the United States). Where applicable, they rely on appropriate safeguards such as EU Standard Contractual Clauses and UK addenda or other lawful mechanisms. See their documentation for details.

10. Your Rights (GDPR/UK-GDPR)

Where applicable, you may have rights to access, rectify, erase, restrict, or object to processing, and to data portability. Because we do not process personal data about you in our systems, these rights typically do not apply to us directly. For data collected by BuySellAds, please use the controls and contact options in their privacy policy.

You may withdraw consent to advertising cookies at any time via our consent banner (EEA/UK) or disable ads via the footer link. Withdrawal does not affect prior lawful processing.

11. California Privacy Notice (CCPA/CPRA)

• Our practice: OnlineTuner.org does not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined by CPRA.
• BuySellAds: BSA may act as an independent business with its own collection and use of identifiers/internet activity via third-party cookies. Any “sale” or “sharing” (if applicable) would be by BSA under its policy, not by us.
• How to avoid third-party ad cookies on our site: use the footer “Cookies / Ad Settings” link to disable ads. This prevents BSA tags from loading on our pages.
• Your CPRA rights: right to know, delete, correct, and to opt-out of sale/sharing. To exercise rights for any information handled by BSA, use the tools and contact options in BSA’s privacy policy. We will honour valid, verifiable consumer requests for any personal information we control (noting we generally do not hold such data).

12. Children

Our service is not directed to children under 13 (or the applicable age of consent). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy to reflect technical or legal changes. The latest version will always be posted here.

14. Contact

For questions or requests about this policy, please contact us via the contact page on OnlineTuner.org.