Viewography Privacy Policy

Updated November 12, 2026 · Questions: support@viewography.app

The short version. Viewography has no accounts and no servers that receive your library. We don't sell or share your personal data, and we collect only the View Buddies and beta request details listed below. If you turn on View Buddies, only the parts you choose are shared, and only with people you invite.

Your library stays on your device. Your titles, watch history (rewatches included), ratings, owned titles and settings are stored on your iPhone.

Watched with. Names you add as "watched with" stay on your devices. They're kept in your library and its backups, and never shared with View Buddies or anyone else.

iCloud backup. When iCloud Drive is on, Viewography saves a recovery copy of your library to your own iCloud account. Apple stores it; we can't see it. You can also export backups to a place you choose.

Movie and TV information. To show titles, images, search results and where to watch, Viewography sends requests to TMDB and Trakt. They receive your network address and what's needed for the request (like a search or a title ID), never your watch history or ratings. Streaming availability comes from JustWatch through TMDB.

Trakt import. If you import from Trakt, Viewography sends the username you enter to Trakt and downloads that public history to your device. You don't sign in, and nothing is sent back to Trakt.

View Buddies. View Buddies is off until you turn it on. It uses your iCloud account, so there's no separate sign-up.

• What's shared. You pick each category: Watchlist (up to 500 titles), History (the last 12 months, rewatches included), Ratings (movies and shows), Stats (all-time totals only) and Activity (shows you start and finish, last 30 days). Every category starts off. Streaming services and prices, owned titles, where you watched and settings are never shared. A title you hide is left out of everything.
• Share with a buddy. You can send any buddy a title with a note of up to 140 characters. It's stored in your iCloud, where only the two of you can read it. We can't see it. Your buddy gets a notification, which can show the note on their lock screen if they allow previews. Your app deletes it from your iCloud after 90 days, or sooner if you remove that buddy or leave View Buddies. Your buddy's phone keeps a copy to show it for up to 90 days from when you sent it. That copy is deleted sooner if either of you removes or blocks the other, or leaves View Buddies: right away on the phone that removes or blocks, and on the other phone the next time it syncs. If they say thanks, their iCloud also keeps a copy of the title and note until either of you removes or blocks the other, or leaves View Buddies. A title your buddy already added to their own Watchlist stays in their library.
• Who sees it. Only buddies you invite with a one-time link or QR code, or whose invite you accept. Nobody can search for you or add you by username. An invite link works for one person for 7 days, and you're told who joined with it.
• Invites. While an invite is open, Viewography's public iCloud database holds your display name, @username and the categories you share, so the person you invite can see who it's from. It's deleted when they join, when you cancel the invite, or the next time you open Viewography after its 7 days are up. When you accept someone's invite, your display name and an iCloud link to what you share with them are stored there too, so they're told you joined and can see what you share. The link works only for them. Both are deleted when you leave View Buddies.
• Your profile. Your buddies see the display name and @username you choose, and your initials. Your username is reserved in Viewography's public iCloud database so no one else can take it.
• Where it's stored. What you share lives in your own iCloud account and is shared through Apple's iCloud sharing. We can't see it. Your buddies' apps keep a temporary copy to show it to them. To alert a buddy when you share a title, say thanks or use Our List, your app leaves a short-lived record in Viewography's public iCloud database. It holds a random key and the kind of alert, with no names or titles, and your app deletes it after a day. If your buddy's app is closed, Apple's push service delivers the alert. It shows your first name and what you did, like "shared a title with you", never the title or note.
• Our List. Titles you and one buddy add to a shared list, and whether each of you has watched them, are stored in the starter's iCloud and visible only to the two of you. The invite reaches your buddy through an iCloud link in Viewography's public iCloud database. The link works only for them, and it's deleted when they join or the list ends. Leaving ends the list for both.
• Reports. If you report someone, Viewography stores their @username, the reason you picked and the app version, so we can review it. Reports have no free text and aren't shown to the person reported.
• Stopping. Turn a category off and it's removed from what your buddies see. Pause stops updates. Remove or Block takes someone out right away. Leave View Buddies deletes everything you shared, ends every connection and releases your username. Your buddies' copies, including titles you sent them, go away the next time their app syncs. Titles a buddy already added to their own Watchlist stay in their library. Your library on your iPhone is never changed.

No tracking. There are no ads, trackers or third-party analytics. Optional diagnostic logs stay on your device unless you choose to share them.

Feedback. "Send feedback" opens an email draft with your app version, iOS version and device model. Nothing else is attached. We use your email only to reply.

TestFlight. If you test through TestFlight, Apple shares crash reports and any feedback you submit with us, plus your name and email if you were invited by email. Apple's privacy policy covers its own collection.

Beta requests. If you ask to join the beta at viewography.app/beta, the form collects your name, your email address and your iPhone model. It's sent through FormSubmit, a form delivery service, to support@viewography.app. We use it only to send your TestFlight invitation. To have it deleted, email support@viewography.app. We'll delete your request and, if you like, take you out of the beta. FormSubmit's privacy policy covers its own handling.

Deleting your data. Deleting the app removes your library from the iPhone. To remove View Buddies data, use Leave View Buddies first. To remove the iCloud recovery copy, go to Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Manage Storage. Exported backups stay wherever you saved them.

Children. Viewography isn't directed to children under 13.

Changes. We'll post updates here with a new date.