What we collect

• Sign-in — your mobile number or email address, used to verify it's you.
• Profile — your display name and, if you add one, an avatar or photo.
• Preferences — the genres, languages, actors, directors and eras you pick when setting up.
• Activity — what you bookmark, watch, like, rate, review, skip or mark as not interested.
• Contacts — only the single contact you choose from your phone's contact picker when adding a friend or sending an invite. CineLyst cannot read your address book.
• Usage — basic analytics such as which screens and features are used, so we can fix problems.

Why we collect it

• Sign-in details — to create and secure your account.
• Preferences and activity — to build your recommendations, mood picks and search results.
• The contact you pick — only to send that one friend request or invite.
• Usage data — to find bugs and improve the app.

We do not use your data for advertising and we do not sell it.

Your consent

You give consent when you create an account and each time you choose to share something, such as picking a contact. You can withdraw it at any time by editing your preferences, turning off notifications, or deleting your account — withdrawing is as easy as giving.

Who we share it with

We never sell or rent your data. A small number of providers help us run the app:

• Google Firebase — sign-in, database, notifications
• Supabase — our film database
• Google Cloud — our backend service
• OpenAI — processes your search text when you use AI search
• Resend — sends email one-time passcodes

Each one handles data under its own terms and only to provide these services to us.

Where film information comes from

Film and series details come from TMDB and IMDb. These are content sources, not places we send your data to — we never share your account, preferences or activity with them.

One thing worth knowing: posters and artwork load straight from TMDB's servers to your device, so TMDB can see your device's IP address and which images it loads, in the same way any website you visit can. IMDb ratings reach us as a bulk file download on our own servers, so IMDb receives nothing about you at all.

Where it's stored

Your film data and recommendations are stored in India (Mumbai). Some providers, such as Firebase and OpenAI, may process data on servers outside India. We only use providers that commit to appropriate safeguards.

How long we keep it

We keep your data for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account we remove your profile, preferences, activity and reviews. Anonymous statistics that cannot identify you may be kept.

Your rights

You can view and edit your preferences at any time in Profile, correct your name or photo, and permanently delete your account and data from Profile → Delete account. You can also ask us what data we hold about you, or raise a complaint with our Grievance Officer below.

Keeping it safe

Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Our database is locked down with row-level security so it can only be read the way the app intends, our API keys never ship inside the app, and sign-in is verified through Firebase.

Children

CineLyst is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect data from them. If you believe a child under 13 has given us data, email support@cinelyst.in and we will delete it. If you are not old enough to agree to this on your own, please use CineLyst with a parent or guardian.

Changes to this policy

If we make a significant change we'll update this page and, where it matters, tell you in the app.