Starcast
Privacy Policy
This policy covers the Starcast app for iPhone and the servers it talks to. Questions go to support@starcastapp.com.
The short version
- You don't need an account. Signing in is optional and only used for corrections. We don't run ads or tracking, and the app has no third-party analytics or tracking code. The app sends one anonymous count a day so we know how many people use it; you can switch it off in Settings.
- Your library, listening history and private feeds stay on your phone and in your own iCloud. We can't see them.
- We never sell or share what you listen to or who you follow. Not to advertisers, not to data buyers, not to anyone.
- A few features send small amounts of information to our servers. Each one is listed below.
What stays on your device
Your subscriptions, follows, queue, downloads, playback positions and listening history are stored on your device. If you use iCloud, the app syncs them through your own private iCloud database, which Apple holds and we cannot read.
Private (subscriber-only) feed addresses never leave your device except to fetch that feed from the podcast's own host.
What the app sends, and to whom
Podcast hosts. Like every podcast app, Starcast downloads feeds and episodes directly from the companies that host each podcast. They see your IP address and device type, as they would with any podcast app. Their own privacy policies apply. Some podcasts include tracking or ad measurement in their audio links; that is controlled by the podcast, not by us.
Apple. Searching for shows uses Apple's public podcast directory. Purchases and free trials are handled entirely by Apple. We receive confirmation that you have Pro, never your name, email or payment details.
Wikipedia and Wikidata. Photos and basic facts about public figures are loaded from Wikimedia's public services.
Our servers (run on Cloudflare):
- The People Index. The app downloads a public list of who has appeared on which shows. The download does not identify you. Like all web servers, Cloudflare briefly processes your IP address to deliver it.
- Requests and corrections. When you tap Request or report a mistake, we store what you sent (a show's address, a person's name, or the correction) and when. We do not store your IP address. To stop abuse we keep a scrambled code made from it that changes every day and can't be turned back into the address. Answering a “was this person on this episode?” question sends the episode, the person's name and your answer, nothing else.
- Transcripts, to credit guests (optional, off until you say yes). Your phone makes transcripts itself, and the audio never leaves it. If you choose “Help improve guest credits”, the app sends us the first 15 minutes of text of each transcript it makes, with which episode it is. It does not send your account, your name or your device ID, and we do not store your IP address (only the same daily scrambled code as above, to limit abuse). We use the text only to learn who appears on the episode. We never show it to anyone else, and we delete it once it has been read, usually within a day. You can switch this off in Settings.
- Account (optional). If you sign in with Apple, we ask Apple for nothing about you: not your name and not your email. We keep a scrambled ID made from the one Apple gives Starcast, the day you signed in, and how many corrections you've sent, so your corrections count as one person. Your corrections are stored under that ID instead of the daily code. If we've set it up with Apple, we also keep a token that lets us ask Apple to end Starcast's access when you delete your account.
- Guest alerts (optional). If you turn on alerts, the app sends us your device's push address and the list of people you follow, so we can tell you when they appear somewhere new. Turning alerts off, or not allowing notifications, deletes your device from our alert list. We never receive your private feeds or listening history for this. We also count totals from this list (how many devices have alerts on, and which people are followed by at least three devices), only to run and improve Starcast.
- New episodes right away (on unless you turn it off). The app sends us your device's push address and the web addresses of the public shows you subscribe to. Our server checks those shows for new episodes and, when one publishes, sends your device a silent signal so the app can fetch it. Private feeds (paid or members-only shows) are never sent. Turning "New episodes right away" off in Settings deletes your device and its list from our server.
- Anonymous usage count (optional). Once a day, the first time you open the app, it sends a count with no identifier: whether you have Pro, the month you started using Starcast, the app and iOS version, and roughly how many shows and people you have (for example "6-20"). It never includes what you listen to, which shows or people, or anything that could tell two days from the same phone apart. We keep only running totals, never the individual counts, and we don't store your IP address. Turn it off in Settings, under "Share anonymous usage counts".
- Anonymous loves (optional). When you tap the heart on an episode or a person, the app tells us which one, with its title or name, so we can count what listeners love most. It also counts, the same way, each episode you finish, so a small show's favorite can stand out as much as a big one's. Each love or finish carries a code made on your phone that is different for every episode and person, so a phone counts once and can take its own love back, but no one, including us, can link your loves to each other or to you. No account, device ID or IP address is stored with it, and loves on private feeds are never sent. Your Loved list itself stays on your phone. Turn it off in Settings, under "Share loves anonymously".
The website waitlist
If you join the waitlist on starcastapp.com, we keep your email address, whether you ticked “test the beta” and “I host or guest on podcasts”, and the date you joined. It is stored on Cloudflare, which runs our servers. We use it only to email you about Starcast’s beta and launch, from our own email, and never share it. We don’t store your IP address with it. To be taken off the list, email support@starcastapp.com or reply to any email we send; we delete the list once Starcast has launched and the early-user offer has ended.
Emails you send us
If you write to support, including through “Send feedback” in the app, we get what any email carries: your address and what you wrote. “Send feedback” adds the app version, build and iOS version to the draft, which you can see and edit before sending.
People in Starcast
Starcast shows which public podcast episodes people have appeared on, built from public podcast feeds, episode descriptions and public reference sources such as Wikipedia and Wikidata. Automated tools, including AI, help read public episode descriptions; none of your personal data is sent to them.
If you appear in Starcast and want something corrected or removed, see our corrections and removal policy. People in the EU and UK can also object to this processing under GDPR; we rely on legitimate interests (helping listeners find public appearances) and will weigh any objection.
How long we keep things
- Requests and corrections: until they've been processed, and then up to 12 months.
- Your account: until you delete it in Settings, which removes it from our servers right away. Corrections you already sent stay, but nothing links them to you any more.
- Alert and new-episode registrations: until you turn them off or the device stops accepting pushes.
- Usage counts: only as totals, which contain nothing about any one person.
- Loves: as one anonymous row per love until it is taken back, and as totals.
- The waitlist: until you ask to leave it, and no longer than the end of the early-user offer after launch.
- Support emails: in our inbox for as long as they help answer you, and deleted on request.
- Server logs at Cloudflare: per Cloudflare's standard retention.
Your choices and rights
You can turn off alerts, new episodes right away, the anonymous usage count and anonymous loves, sign out, or delete your account at any time in Settings. You can ask us what we hold about you, or ask us to delete it, at support@starcastapp.com. Unless you sign in, most of what we hold can't be tied to you anyway. Residents of the EU, UK, California and other places with privacy laws have these rights by law, and we offer them to everyone.
Children
Starcast is not directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect information from them.
Changes
If this policy changes, we'll update the date above. If the change is significant, we'll say so in the app.