Privacy Policy

Effective date: July 22, 2026

Aftertaste is operated by Aftertaste LLC, a Washington limited liability company (“Aftertaste,” “we,” “us”). This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. It applies to the Aftertaste iOS app, the web app at aftertaste.app, and aftertaste.com (together, the “Service”).

The short version: we collect what we need to run a social app about movies and TV — your account info and what you choose to post. We don't run ads, we don't use tracking or analytics cookies, and we don't sell your information to anyone.

Information we collect

Information you give us. When you create an account: email address, username, and password (stored only as a secure cryptographic hash — we cannot see your password). Optionally: a display name, profile photo, and profile details. As you use Aftertaste: your reviews, ratings, posts, comments, likes, lists, bookmarks, watch progress, taste preferences, and messages to other users.

Information collected automatically. Basic technical data needed to operate the Service: IP address, device and browser type, and logs of requests to our servers. We use an authentication cookie to keep you signed in — this is a strictly necessary cookie, and it is the only kind we use. We do not use advertising, analytics, or tracking cookies.

Face ID / Touch ID. If you enable biometric login, authentication happens entirely on your device through Apple's systems. Your biometric data never leaves your device and is never transmitted to or stored by us.

How we use your information

We use your information to operate the Service: maintain your account, display your posts and lists to the people you've shared them with, deliver notifications you've enabled, recommend movies and shows based on your tastes, respond to support requests, and keep the Service safe and secure. We may send transactional emails (such as password resets). We do not send marketing email without your consent.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for advertising.

Chef and AI features

Chef, our recommendation feature, uses OpenAI's API. When you request a recommendation, we send OpenAI the information needed to produce it — such as your stated preferences, genres, moods, and relevant parts of your viewing and rating history. We do not send OpenAI your email address, password, or private messages. OpenAI processes this data as a service provider under its API terms, which prohibit using API data to train its models by default. If you don't use Chef, no data is sent to OpenAI.

Service providers

We share information only with the vendors required to run the Service, and only for that purpose:

Movie and TV metadata (posters, titles, cast) is supplied by TMDB; requests for this content don't include your personal information. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

Data retention and deletion

We keep your information while your account is active. You can delete your account at any time in the app's settings; deletion removes your account and personal information from our production systems, with residual copies removed from backups on a rolling basis within 90 days. Content you posted to shared spaces (for example, comments in another user's thread) may be anonymized rather than deleted to preserve conversations.

Your rights

You can access and update your account information in the app. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights — such as requesting a copy of your data or its deletion. Contact us at the email below and we'll honor these requests regardless of where you live. We respond within 30 days.

We do not “sell” or “share” personal information as defined by the California Consumer Privacy Act, and we do not process personal information for targeted advertising.

Security

We use industry-standard measures: TLS encryption in transit, hashed passwords, scoped credentials for our vendors, and access limited to what operating the Service requires. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects your personal information, we will notify you as required by law.

Children

Aftertaste is not directed at children under 13, and you must be at least 13 to create an account. If we learn we've collected personal information from a child under 13, we will delete it. Parents who believe this has happened can contact us at the email below.

International users

Aftertaste is operated from the United States and your information is processed on US servers. If you use the Service from outside the US, you consent to this transfer.

Changes to this policy

We'll post any changes here and update the effective date. For material changes, we'll notify you in the app or by email before they take effect.

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