Saving user data from the Spotify API

[LucianG]

Hello,

I'm currently toying around with the Spotify api to create a mobile app that "matches" people based on their top artists, tracks, and genres.

For this, I need to save the user data (top 50 tracks and artists, from the Personalization API) and fetch them back as needed.

So basically if User A signed in the app with its Spotify account, its data is saved in my DB.

After that, if User B wants to see if he is a match with User A the server will provide information about both User A and User B, for instance, what artist they both like.

There is this point in the TOS about user data:

"Spotify user data can be cached only for operating your SDA. If a Spotify user logs out of your SDA or becomes inactive, you will delete any Spotify Content related to that user stored on your servers. To be clear, you are not permitted to store Spotify Content related to a Spotify user or otherwise request user data if a Spotify user is not using your SDA"

As far as I understand, it's ok to save the user data in an external server/DB as long as I delete that data as soon as the user logs out from my app, is that right?

I'm asking because at the same time there is this restriction stated in the TOS:

"Do not transfer Spotify Content to unauthorized third parties, including (i) directly or indirectly transferring any data (including aggregate, anonymous or derivative data) received from Spotify to, or use such data in connection with, any ad network, ad exchange, data broker, or other advertising or monetization-related toolset, even if a user consents to such transfer or use; or (ii) to another music service that competes with Spotify or the Spotify Service."

[LucianG]

I'm replying in the hope that the post will be viewed by someone.

[kumakichi]

What is the situation of the matter?

[LucianG]

Hi kumakichi,

I cannot tell you for sure an answer, I'll link you down below the same question on StackOverflow but I didn't receive a concrete answer there either.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/62628318/saving-user-data-from-spotify-api

What I can tell you is what I do in my app:

1. First of all, I don't save Spotify Data 1:1 but I rather have my own data derivated from Spotify one. So one could argue that I'm not actually saving Spotify data but my data.

2. I allow the user to delete anything related to him and his data at any time

3. I delete user data after a certain time of inactivity.

I cannot say for sure that these 3 points will make your app 100% complaint to Spotify terms, by those terms are quite ambiguous and also Spotify team seems quite hard to reach.

I think those 3 points (at least the first 2) are decent. 

Also, another thing that I wanted to mention is that my app is non-commercial. Things might be different for commercial apps.