Last updated 13 August 2026
Sample Notes is operated by Micaiah Bethune, trading as Sample Notes ("we", "us"), of 2389 Main St., Ste. 100, Glastonbury, CT 06033, United States. This policy explains what we collect when you use samplenotes.app, why, and who else sees it.
We have tried to write this in plain language rather than boilerplate. If anything here is unclear, email privacy@samplenotes.app and we will explain it.
We set one cookie: a session cookie that keeps you signed in after you click your login link. It is httpOnly, meaning scripts in your browser cannot read it, and it exists only to identify your account to our server. It is strictly necessary for the service to work, so there is no consent banner to dismiss. Clearing it signs you out.
This is the part worth reading carefully. Sample Notes keeps one shared library of analyses rather than a private one per person. When you analyse a record nobody has covered yet, that analysis is added to the library and becomes available to every other user.
This is deliberate. It is why tempo and key are free on every record in the library, why an analysis someone else commissioned is available to you instantly, and why the service gets cheaper to run as it grows rather than more expensive.
What this means for you in practice:
Search boxes are not private diaries, but they are not nothing either. Type record titles into it, not personal information.
| Purpose | Basis |
|---|---|
| Sign you in and keep you signed in | Performing our contract with you |
| Run analyses, track credits, and enforce plan limits | Performing our contract with you |
| Take payment, handle renewals, refunds and disputes | Performing our contract; legal obligation for tax records |
| Send transactional email — login links, receipts, service notices | Performing our contract with you |
| Build and maintain the shared library | Our legitimate interest in providing a viable service |
| Detect and prevent abuse of the free tier and of the service generally | Our legitimate interest in not being defrauded |
We do not send marketing email unless you have asked us to. If we ever start, there will be an unsubscribe link in every message and it will work.
We use a small number of service providers. Each receives only what it needs to do its job.
| Provider | What it receives | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe | Email address, purchase details, card data you enter directly with them | Payments, subscriptions, invoices and tax calculation |
| Resend | Email address and message content | Sending login links and receipts |
| Google (Gemini API) | The record title you searched for. No account identifiers, no email address. | Generating the analysis |
| Apple (iTunes Search API) | The record title you searched for | Cover art and the 30-second preview clip we measure tempo and key from |
| Neon | Hosts our database | Storage |
| Render | Runs our application servers | Hosting |
| Cloudflare | DNS for our domain | Routing traffic to us |
We will also disclose information if we are legally required to, or where it is necessary to establish or defend a legal claim. If our business is ever sold or merged, account data would transfer as part of it, and we would tell you before that happened.
Our servers and database are in the United States. Our providers may process data in other countries. If you are in the UK, the EU or another region with data-transfer rules, using the service involves your information being transferred to and processed in the United States.
Whatever jurisdiction you are in, you can ask us to:
Email privacy@samplenotes.app from the address on your account and we will respond within 30 days. We will not charge you for this, and we will not make the service worse for you because you asked.
If you are in California: we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined by the CCPA, and we will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights. If you are in the UK or EU, you may complain to your data protection authority, though we would rather you gave us the chance to fix it first.
Traffic is encrypted in transit. Login tokens are stored hashed, never in plain text, so someone reading our database could not sign in as you. Card data never touches our systems. Access to production data is limited to those who need it to operate the service.
No service can promise perfect security, and we are not going to. If a breach affects your personal data, we will tell you and the relevant regulator, promptly and without minimising it.
Sample Notes is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their information. You must be 18 or older to buy a subscription. If you believe a child has given us personal information, email us and we will delete it.
If we make a material change to this policy, we will email account holders before it takes effect. The date at the top always reflects the current version.
Micaiah Bethune, trading as Sample Notes
2389 Main St., Ste. 100
Glastonbury, CT 06033, United States
privacy@samplenotes.app