Privacy policy

1. Who we are

The Podcast App and thepodcastapp.dev are run by Magnolia Apps. Contact: support@thepodcastapp.dev.

You can use the app without an account. Subscribing, downloading and listening work signed out. Signing in (with Google or Apple) adds sync across devices.

2. Data we collect

Account and sync data (only if you sign in)

• Email address and name from your Google or Apple sign-in, and an account user ID.
• Podcast subscriptions, queue, saved episodes, listening history and playback positions.
• Premium status and subscription state.

Without sign-in, the app uses an anonymous ID so that Premium purchases, daily limits and AI features (such as chat history) work. That ID is not linked to your name or email.

Device and security data

• A push-notification token for your device.
• App-integrity checks (Firebase App Check with Play Integrity or App Attest) and anti-abuse signals.
• Device model, operating system version, app version and language, used for diagnostics.

Purchase data

• Store transaction records from the App Store or Google Play: product ID, purchase and expiry dates, and the result of our server's receipt check. We never see your card or payment details.

AI feature data

• Episode details (title, description, show name, chapters, duration) and transcript text.
• The questions you ask in episode chat and Podcast Brain, and the answers.
• What the Brain remembers from episodes you have heard, and claim tracking results if you use Premium.

3. Transcripts

Episode audio comes from public podcast feeds. We transcribe it on our own servers. When our servers cannot take a job, the audio is sent to Groq for transcription instead.

A transcript belongs to the episode, not to you. It is stored in a shared cache keyed to the episode so that every listener of that episode can use it without the audio being transcribed twice. The cache entry does not identify who asked for it.

4. Analytics and crash reports

In the app

The app uses Google Firebase for usage measurement and Firebase Crashlytics for crash reports.

• Usage measurement records events: screens opened, features used, counts and durations, error codes, plus app version, device model, operating system, language and an approximate location (country and region) that Google derives from your IP address. When you are signed in, events are linked to your account user ID.
• Analytics events do not contain your search terms, chat questions, email address or other text you type.
• Crash reports contain the technical details of the crash (stack trace, device and app information). They are used only to fix bugs and are not linked to your account. Reports wait on the device until the region check below allows them: the app sends eligible queued reports only after a later allowed session.
• Collection is off in the EU and EEA, the UK and Switzerland. Before turning anything on, the app asks our server whether your region allows it; if the answer is no, unknown or the check fails, collection stays off. Unsent crash reports from a region that turns out to be consent-required are deleted.
• There is no in-app switch for analytics. To have analytics data linked to your account deleted, email us.

On thepodcastapp.dev

• The website uses Google's measurement tag (ID G-D0FFX98VEJ). It loads only after our server confirms the visit is not from the EU and EEA, the UK or Switzerland and does not look like a bot.
• It records page views, clicks on download and store links, the referring page, browser and device type, and an approximate location derived from your IP address. The tag sets first-party cookies (named _ga) to count returning visits.
• IP anonymization is on; Google signals and ad personalization are off.
• To opt out, block cookies for thepodcastapp.dev, block googletagmanager.com in your browser or content blocker, or install Google's opt-out browser add-on.

We do not use analytics for advertising, ad measurement, data brokerage or tracking you across other companies' apps or websites. Google's handling is described in the Google Privacy Policy and how Google uses information from sites that use its services.

5. YouTube API Services

The app uses YouTube API Services to find and play video versions of podcast episodes. By using those features you agree to the YouTube Terms of Service, and Google's handling of the data is covered by the Google Privacy Policy.

• What the app reads: public YouTube data only. Our server searches public videos and channels with the YouTube Data API to match an episode to its video, and reads the matched video's ID, title, channel and duration.
• What we store: the episode-to-video match (video ID, title, channel, duration). It is stored with the episode and shared by all listeners, not with your account. The app keeps a copy on your device. Our server also counts how many video lookups each account makes per day, to enforce a daily limit.
• What goes to Google: when you play a video version, YouTube's embedded player loads inside the app, and Google receives the same playback information it receives when a video is watched on YouTube.
• Your YouTube account: the app never asks for access to your YouTube account and cannot see your YouTube history, subscriptions or playlists. If you signed in to the app with Google, that sign-in shares only your name and email; you can remove it at any time on Google's third-party access page.

6. How we use data

• To run the player, sync, your account and your subscription.
• To make transcripts, chapters, summaries, Smart Ad-Skip markers, episode chat and Podcast Brain answers.
• To recommend shows and episodes.
• To find and fix bugs and keep the service reliable.
• To stop abuse and enforce our Terms, and to meet legal obligations.

We do not sell your data and do not show ads.

7. Service providers

These are every outside service that receives data from the app or the website, and what each one receives.

Their privacy policies: Firebase, Google (Gemini, YouTube, Analytics), Groq, Podcast Index, Apple, Cloudflare.

8. Recommendations

Recommendations use the shows you follow and the episodes you play. You can turn them off in Settings with Personalized suggestions.

9. How long we keep data

• Account and sync data: until you delete your account.
• Recommendation data: up to 90 days.
• AI summaries and chat history: generally up to 180 days, and deleted with your account.
• Shared episode transcripts: generally up to 180 days. They are not linked to you.
• Purchase records: while your account exists, then 120 days after you delete it (for store refunds and disputes), then deleted.
• Analytics and crash reports: under Google's retention settings for Firebase and the website measurement tag.

10. Where data is stored

• App data you create is stored on your device.
• Cloud data is stored in Firebase and Google Cloud and may be processed outside your country with appropriate safeguards.

11. Your rights and choices

• You can ask us for a copy of your data, or to correct or delete it.
• You can delete your account in the app, or follow the account deletion steps.
• You can turn off notifications and personalized suggestions in Settings.
• Privacy requests: support@thepodcastapp.dev.

12. Security

All traffic uses HTTPS. Cloud data is protected by sign-in and access rules, and the app checks its own integrity before using AI features. No system is completely secure.

13. Children

The app is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13.

14. Changes to this policy

When this policy changes, we update the effective date at the top and say what changed. Material changes may also be announced in the app.

15. Contact

Questions or privacy requests: support@thepodcastapp.dev.