Ultimate Guitar
- The policy allows AI training; it does not describe an opt-out.
- Your data is used for personalized ads, including by third-party ad companies.
- Data is shared with partners and affiliates; you can opt out.
- The documents do not say who can read your content.
They keep account data for years, train guitar AI on your audio, run ads with LiveRamp, and auto-renew with few refunds.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
- Uses your content for AI training with no opt-out
Collected
Account info, your tabs and posts, device and IP data, social-network details, and guitar audio in Practice Mode.
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Privacy policy
“If you access our Service from a social network like Facebook, Ultimate Guitar receives certain information about you from the social network automatically.”
Training
They run the service, market to you, target ads, and train a guitar-practice AI on your recordings.
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Privacy policy
“Training our AI (Artificial Intelligence) model used in Mobile App’s Practice Mode functionality to better identify user guitar performance”
Sharing
Staff, vendors, advertisers, LiveRamp, group companies, and law enforcement can get your data.
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Privacy policy
“When you use our website, we share information that we collect from you, such as your email (in hashed form), IP address or information about your browser or operating system, with our identity partners/service providers, including LiveRamp Inc.”
Kept
Most account and content data is kept until you delete it or for 10 years after you stop using the product.
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Privacy policy
“Retention Period: until the user deletes their account or for 10 years after user inactivity in product (whichever comes last).”
Controls
You can edit your profile, cookie and marketing settings, or email them to ask for deletion.
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Privacy policy
“You can access, download, review, update and correct Personal Data you have provided us by visiting your account Profile Settings Page.”
Fine print
Subscriptions auto-renew and are mostly non-refundable; they can close you without notice; you them.
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Terms of service
“All fees and charges are nonrefundable. You will receive an email notice approximately 30 days prior to the Renewal Date.”
Expand “Read the exact line” to see the source alongside the explanation.
What you can turn off
The controls and opt-outs their own documents describe, and where they say to find them.
Opt out of LiveRamp advertising IDs
https://optout.liveramp.com/opt_out and Cookie Banner Settings
Turn off marketing emails and tailored ads
Notification Settings, Cookie Banner Settings, or Profile page
Delete or correct your account data
Profile Settings Page or email [email protected]
Cancel auto-renew before the period ends
Account Settings, or https://help.ultimate-guitar.com/en/articles/6741667-how-to-cancel-subscription (App Store/Play Store for in-app plans)
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
If you use Practice Mode, they use your guitar recordings to train their AI. They do not describe a separate training off-switch.
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Privacy policy
“Training our AI (Artificial Intelligence) model used in Mobile App’s Practice Mode functionality to better identify user guitar performance (Mobile applications only; AI functionality usage is voluntary for users)”
For example, a clip of you playing a riff could be used to improve how the app grades other players.
They send hashed email and device data to an identity company so you can be targeted with ads across sites.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“When you use our website, we share information that we collect from you, such as your email (in hashed form), IP address or information about your browser or operating system, with our identity partners/service providers, including LiveRamp Inc.”
For example, visiting guitar tabs could help advertisers follow you with instrument ads on other websites.
They can shut off your account right away if they think you broke the rules, without warning you first.
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Terms of service
“We may terminate this Agreement, restrict, suspend or terminate your use of the Service immediately and without notice or , if you violate, breach or fail to comply with this Agreement in any way”
For example, a disputed tab post could get your login blocked before you can export your playlists.
If someone sues them because of how you used the site or your login, you may have to pay their legal bills.
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Terms of service
“You agree to and hold us harmless against any losses, expenses, costs or damages (including our reasonable attorneys' fees, expert fees' and other reasonable costs of litigation or proceedings) arising from, incurred as a result of, or in any manner related to any claim or action based upon (a) your breach of, or failure to comply with, the terms and conditions of this Agreement, (b) your use of the Service, and/or (c) the use of the Service by any other person using your IDs.”
For example, if a tab you uploaded sparks a copyright fight, they can ask you to cover their lawyer costs.
Paid plans keep charging unless you cancel, and they generally will not give the money back.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“All fees and charges are nonrefundable. You will receive an email notice approximately 30 days prior to the Renewal Date.”
For example, if you forget to cancel a yearly plan, you still pay for the next year even if you stop using it.
If you go quiet without deleting the account, they can keep your profile and content for a decade.
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Privacy policy
“Retention Period: until the user deletes their account or for 10 years after user inactivity in product (whichever comes last).”
For example, an old username, email, and tabs could still sit in their systems 10 years after you last logged in.
Signing in with a social network can hand them data about your friends, not just you.
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Privacy policy
“The social network ID numbers and other public data for your friends;”
For example, Facebook login might send them your friends’ public IDs along with your name and photo.
Guitar audio for the AI is not kept as a long-term file; they say it is thrown away after processing, within a day.
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Privacy policy
“We would not use the recordings for any other purpose and will discard them once they have been processed.”
For example, yesterday’s Practice Mode take should not still be sitting in a personal audio archive.
You still own your tabs and posts, but you give them a license to show and distribute them on the service.
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Terms of service
“Ultimate Guitar does not claim any ownership rights in User Generated Content that you transmit, submit, display or publish ("post") on, through or in connection with the Service.”
For example, a tab you wrote stays yours, yet they can display it in the app and related widgets.
They set a minimum age of 13, but they do not describe checking IDs.
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Privacy policy
“Children under 13 are not allowed to use Ultimate Guitar.”
For example, a 12-year-old could still type a birthday that says they are older.
They describe basic security like firewalls, intrusion detection, and backups, but they also say they assume no if data leaks.
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Privacy policy
“Specific measures we use include to-date secure network architectures that contain firewalls and intrusion detection devices and backups.”
For example, they claim servers sit behind firewalls, yet a hack could still leave you without a promised payout.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- service providers
- Outside companies that handle your data on the app's instructions, such as a cloud host or an email sender. For example, the company that stores the app's files in the cloud sees your data but only does what the app tells it.
- retention
- How long a company keeps your data before deleting it. For example, a policy might keep your messages for 30 days after you delete them, or for as long as it likes.
- personal data
- Any information that is about you or can be linked to you, from your name to your phone's ID. For example, your email, your IP address and the list of apps on your phone are all personal data.
- limitation of liability
- A cap on what the company will ever pay you if something goes wrong, often only what you paid in the last year. For example, if a leak of your data costs you thousands, the most you may get back is a month's subscription fee.
- indemnify
- You promise to pay the company's legal costs and losses if your use of the service gets it sued. For example, if you post a song you do not own and the label sues the app, you owe the app's lawyer bills.
How we got here · grade F · score 26/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 2 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
Besides account and content, they collect device IDs, IP, in-site browsing, social-network data including friends’ IDs, gender, birthday, and physical location from social networks.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
Practice Mode can record your guitar playing to train their AI. They say they discard the audio after processing, within one day.
Are your chats and uploads used to train AI models, and is that off by default?
Using Practice Mode means they train the guitar AI on your audio under legitimate interest. They do not describe an opt-out other than not using that feature.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
Not stated in the documents.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
They work with third-party advertisers and LiveRamp so hashed email and device data can be used for interest-based ads. Cookie settings and a LiveRamp opt-out are mentioned.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They share with vendors, group companies, advertisers, and promotional partners, and they point California users to a do-not-sell-or-share page and cookie settings.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
They say they do not own your posts. You give a worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to use that content on and in connection with the service.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You can ask them to delete data or use profile settings. Many categories are kept until account deletion or 10 years after inactivity.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
Not stated in the documents.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They describe firewalls, intrusion detection, backups, and restricted server access, and they disclaim liability if data is disclosed anyway.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
Under-13s are not allowed, and outside the US you must meet your country’s consent age. They do not describe ID checks.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The policies are dated, but they can change them by posting, and keeping using the service counts as agreeing.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They may restrict or end your access immediately without notice if they decide you broke the agreement.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is as-is, liability is generally capped at $100, and you must indemnify them for claims tied to your use or your login.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Subscriptions auto-renew. They email about 30 days before renewal. They say all fees are nonrefundable, with only limited exceptions for some longer plans in the first 14 days.
The privacy policy is 6,453 words at a college level (Flesch reading ease 41.1); the terms are 7,029 words at a college level.
