Is SoundCloud GDPR compliant?

What does SoundCloud do?

Embedded audio players. The player contacts SoundCloud and stores an identifier when the page loads, not when someone presses play, which is the distinction that matters here.

Does SoundCloud need consent?

Yes. SoundCloud is Embedded media, which is never strictly necessary for a website to function. Under ePrivacy Article 5(3), and its national transpositions, storing or reading anything on the device for that purpose requires consent first, and that consent has to be as easy to refuse as it is to give.

ePrivacy Art. 5(3) · TDDDG § 25 (DE) · TKG 2021 § 165(3) (AT) · GDPR Art. 6(1)(a)

Does SoundCloud send data outside the EEA?

Yes. SoundCloud processes data outside the European Economic Area, so you need a transfer mechanism under Chapter V and you have to say so in your privacy policy. In practice this means standard contractual clauses, or a provider certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.

GDPR Art. 44 · GDPR Art. 46

How do we detect SoundCloud?

We load your page in a real browser as a first-time visitor who clicks nothing, then look at what it contacted. SoundCloud is recognised by requests to soundcloud.com and sndcdn.com, and we report whether it merely loaded or actually sent data, and whether it set a cookie before any choice was made.