Privacy Policy

MediaCircle collects the information needed to operate and personalize the service:

• Account and profile data: email address, name, username, optional phone number, ZIP code and country, profile photo, biography, authentication identifiers, and account settings.
• Content and social activity: messages, Circle and List content, comments, reactions, invitations, connection activity, AI chat prompts and responses, feedback, and other content you choose to submit.
• Media preferences and activity: searches, ratings, watch and reading lists, streaming providers, podcast subscriptions and listening state, recommendation feedback, training responses, public List votes, game scores, and Netflix viewing history you choose to import.
• Device and usage data: push-notification tokens, app platform and version, device time zone, presence and feature-visit records, a randomized analytics device identifier, screens and features used, action outcomes, and limited operational diagnostics.
• Local streaming-device data: when you save a nearby device for Watch Now, we store its name, local IP address, platform, model, and available serial identifier with your account.
• Photos and videos: profile photos and other media you explicitly select or upload.

Firebase Authentication securely manages sign-in credentials. MediaCircle does not receive or store your raw password.

We use this information to operate and secure your account; provide messaging, Circles, Lists, notifications, search, playback, and media-management features; personalize recommendations; remember preferences; measure feature usage and reliability; and provide support.

Your name, username, profile photo, and content you share may be visible to users who can access the relevant connection, Circle, List, conversation, leaderboard, or public discovery surface.

ZIP code and country are used as coarse location inputs for regional media availability. MediaCircle does not use them to determine your precise location.

On Android, local streaming-device discovery may require the Nearby Devices or location permission because the operating system gates Wi-Fi scanning behind those permissions. MediaCircle does not collect or store GPS coordinates for this feature.

We do not sell or rent personal data. We do not use your data to track you across apps or websites owned by other companies, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.

When product analytics is enabled in a MediaCircle build, we use Mixpanel to understand how the app is used so we can improve it.

Analytics records may include the screens you view, the features you use such as search, recommendations, and chat, whether those actions succeed or fail and how long they take, and basic technical details such as your app version, platform, and whether you are signed in.

These records are associated with your account identifier so we can understand a single person’s experience across a session. We may also share your display name and username with Mixpanel so that sessions can be attributed to your account.

We do not send your password, payment details, precise location, or the contents of your private messages to Mixpanel.

Analytics data is used only to operate and improve MediaCircle. It is never sold, is not used for advertising, and is not used to track you across other apps or websites.

We process this data on the basis of our legitimate interest in understanding and improving how MediaCircle works. You can object at any time in the app under Info > Privacy by turning off Product analytics. This stops tracking and requests deletion of previously collected analytics data. If you cannot access the app, email support@mediacircle.app. If you delete your account, we also request deletion of your analytics data. Mixpanel processes deletion requests asynchronously, and processing may take up to 30 days.

On the public Daily Games pages at mediacircle.app/games, we also use Mixpanel to measure anonymous website usage. This includes pages viewed, whether a visitor starts or finishes a game, share actions, which app prompts were visible, and which App Store, Google Play, or app-open links were clicked. These website records are not linked to a MediaCircle account. We disable Mixpanel IP geolocation for this collection. We do not send puzzle answers, clue text, grid contents, or typed letters.

On the public marketing site at mediacircle.app, we also use Mixpanel to measure anonymous website usage. This includes pages viewed, which navigation and download links were clicked, which homepage sections were visible, whether preview videos played or were unmuted, and which App Store, Google Play, or app-open links were clicked. These website records are not linked to a MediaCircle account. We disable Mixpanel IP geolocation for this collection. We do not send form contents, passwords, or full page URLs. A random anonymous identifier may persist in local storage so we can tell if the same browser returns.

If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, we do not load Mixpanel on public website pages. You can also email support@mediacircle.app to object to website analytics.

We use Google Firebase for authentication, databases, storage, notifications, and server infrastructure; Expo for push-notification delivery; Mixpanel for product analytics when analytics is enabled; Postmark for authentication email; and SendGrid for operational and support email delivery.

AI chat prompts, Netflix summaries, and related feature inputs may be processed by OpenAI or Cerebras to generate the response or analysis you requested.

We also request media metadata and availability from providers such as TMDB, Watchmode, Spotify, OpenLibrary, Last.fm, Podcast Index, The New York Times, and other licensed data sources. Requests are limited to what is needed to provide the feature.

Third-party apps or websites you choose to open, such as streaming providers, operate under their own privacy policies.

We retain account data while your account is active and as needed to provide the service. Deletion-request audit records may be retained for up to 13 months for security, legal compliance, and accountability, then are removed automatically.

After account deletion, messages and contributions in shared Circles or conversations may remain so other members retain conversation and activity history. Your profile is removed and clients may identify the author as a deleted user. Non-user-keyed aggregate ratings and statistics may also remain.

Data sent between the app and our servers travels over encrypted HTTPS connections and is stored on Google Cloud Platform and Firebase with access restricted to authorized MediaCircle personnel. No storage or transmission system can be guaranteed completely secure.

Exception: when you use Watch Now to control a streaming device on your own home network, the app may talk to that device directly over your local network, which may be unencrypted because that is what those devices support. No personal information leaves your network in that exchange.

You can permanently delete your account from Settings > Delete Account. See the account deletion instructions for the complete in-app steps.

If you cannot access the app, email support@mediacircle.app from the address associated with your account with the subject “Account Deletion Request.”

We initiate deletion of account-linked data, including linked analytics data, when your account is deleted. External deletion processors may take up to 30 days to complete.

The shared-history and aggregate exceptions described above may remain after account deletion.

MediaCircle is intended for people age 13 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

If our data practices change in the future, we will update this Privacy Policy and, where required, notify users before the changes take effect.

If you have questions, contact us at support@mediacircle.app.

Website: https://mediacircle.app