tag:help.beatunes.com,2009-07-24:/discussions/questions/4452-toolssubmit-library-to-server-toolssubmit-fingerprints-to-serverbeaTunes: Discussion 2015-03-02T20:52:36Ztag:help.beatunes.com,2009-07-24:Comment/361011322015-02-21T08:51:58Z2015-02-21T08:51:58ZTools/"Submit Library to server" & Tools/"Submit Fingerprints to server"<div><p>Hey Grace,</p>
<p>in beaTunes, audio metadata import is based on user submitted
metadata and fingerprints. Without them it simply wouldn't
work.</p>
<p>Thus submitting them helps build the database. Other users may
benefit. This makes most sense, when the metadata quality is high.
The submitted data <strong>does not</strong> contain any people
identifiers like email addresses or names. All I care about are
things like artist name, key, BPM, etc. The actual audio data is
never transferred. Fingerprints are based on acoustical data
only.</p>
<p>BTW, the same thing also happens implicitly when you enable "use
online resources" in any of the analysis tasks, because to use the
database, you have to send your metadata. Otherwise matching your
songs to reference data is impossible.</p>
<p>Again, beaTunes <strong>does not</strong> tie any of this
metadata to any real life identifiers like your name, email or IP
address. However, each user is assigned a random id which is stored
on both your computer and in the database. Because it's a random
identifier it is impossible for me to look at the data in the
database and make a connection to you as a person.</p>
<p>The same is true for songs: Each one of your local songs is
assigned a random id (either by iTunes or beaTunes). Again, knowing
that id, does not give me any knowledge of you as a person. But it
allows the server to maintain connections once they are made. This
means that the next time you analyze something with "use online
resources" turned on, the server does not have to go on a big
search to find reference data, if it has done this before. You
present it with a personal song id, it realizes it has seen it
before and knows what reference data it belongs to. This makes
things way more efficient, while maintaining your privacy.</p>
<p>I hope this explains how that data is handled.</p>
<p>Cheers,</p>
<p>-hendrik</p></div>hendriktag:help.beatunes.com,2009-07-24:Comment/361011322015-02-28T12:09:28Z2015-02-28T12:09:29ZTools/"Submit Library to server" & Tools/"Submit Fingerprints to server"<div><p>I'm not so concerned about privacy (I'm sure Hendrik isn't
snooping; for the broader issue, Google the name "Snowden"). A
follow-on question: should we only submit our data when we are sure
of it being fairly accurate? Overall, Beattunes has done a good job
of tagging but there still are errors. FWIW, I do not trust the
"duplicates" feature as I have lost or misplaced songs. Perhaps
some guidelines on what you'd like submitted. For example, is there
any value in my uploading my preened library data, when most of
that data came from Beatunes or similar services?</p></div>Bentag:help.beatunes.com,2009-07-24:Comment/361011322015-03-02T20:52:36Z2015-03-02T20:52:36ZTools/"Submit Library to server" & Tools/"Submit Fingerprints to server"<div><blockquote>
<p>should we only submit our data when we are sure of it being
fairly accurate?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Of course I like accurate data better, but even if it's not
super-accurate, it does not matter. The database averages metadata
and removes outliers. So some bad data really does not matter too
much.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>FWIW, I do not trust the "duplicates" feature as I have lost or
misplaced songs.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Please let me know, if you have any concrete problems.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>For example, is there any value in my uploading my preened
library data, when most of that data came from Beatunes or similar
services?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Let's say it definitely does not hurt.</p>
<p>-hendrik</p></div>hendrik