Privacy Policy

Who we are

Picly (“we”, “us”) runs the Picly app and website at picly.app. This policy covers both. For questions or privacy requests, email support@picly.app.

The short version

• You can swipe and join a movie night as a guest without an account. Guest picks stay in your browser; an account is only needed to save them, host movie nights and add friends.
• We keep what's needed to show you movies and match you with friends.
• We don't sell your personal information, and we don't share it for advertising.
• We don't use advertising trackers or third-party analytics services. Our usage stats are stored in our own database, plus a few events in our hosting provider's (Base44) built-in app analytics.
• There are no ads in Picly. Where-to-watch links are plain links: we don't earn anything when you tap them.

Your account

When you sign up we store your email address and an account ID. Passwords are handled by our hosting and sign-in provider (Base44) and we never see them. If you sign in with Google, see “Signing in with Google” below.

Your profile holds the username, display name and emoji you pick, your streaming services, your rewatch preference and display settings.

Signing in with Google

If you choose “Continue with Google”, Google shares only basic sign-in information with us, through our sign-in provider (Base44), using the standard sign-in permissions (the openid, email and profile scopes): your name, your email address, your Google account ID and, if you have one, your profile picture.

We use this information only to create your account and sign you in, and to suggest a display name (your first name), which you can change. We don't use your profile picture in the app, and we don't ask for access to your Google contacts, Gmail, Drive, calendar or any other Google data.

We don't sell Google user data, use it for advertising, or share it with anyone except Base44, which hosts the app and handles sign-in for us. Our use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

We keep this information while you have an account and delete it when your account is deleted (see “How long we keep data” and “Your choices” below). You can also remove Picly's access at any time in your Google Account settings under Third-party apps & services; to delete what we already hold, email support@picly.app.

Your swipes and movie nights

We store each swipe you make (like Into it, Probably not, Never or Seen it) so we can learn your taste and keep titles you've ruled out away from you.

We also keep a log of the cards we showed you and what you did with each: the movie, its place in your deck, why it was picked for you (for example a taste match or a movie to learn more about your taste), your swipe and the time. We use it to improve recommendations. Only our team can see it.

From your swipes and your votes in movie nights we build a taste profile (for example which genres, decades, movie lengths and how well-known or well-reviewed you tend to like) and keep it with your account. We use it to pick your next cards and to shape the movies shown in movie nights you're in. Votes in a movie night count less than your own swipes.

For movie nights (sessions) we store who joined, the answers to the vibe questions, the votes cast in that session and the matches. Sessions close after about 48 hours.

If you link up with friends, we store that friend connection.

Guest mode (no account)

When you swipe as a guest, your picks are kept in your browser, not in an account. To pick which movies to show you next, your browser sends the IDs of movies you've already swiped; we use that list for that request only and don't store it.

To improve recommendations, our server keeps a log of the cards shown to guests and what was done with each (the movie, its place in the deck, why it was picked, the swipe and the time), stored with a hashed (scrambled) version of the random ID in your browser, never a name or email. In movie nights, guest votes are logged the same way with a hashed seat key.

When you join a movie night as a guest, we store the name (optional) and emoji you pick, a random guest key, a hashed (scrambled) version of your browser's guest pass and of the random ID in your browser, your votes in that night, and any Never or Seen it picks you bring so the group isn't shown those movies. This lets the group match and stops a removed guest from rejoining.

Your browser also keeps a claim code for each movie night you join as a guest; we store only a hashed version. It lets you move that night's spot, votes, Never and Seen it picks and matches to an account later, even after the movie night is over.

When the movie night closes (after about 48 hours), we erase the guest pass and the browser ID. 30 days later, if you haven't made an account, we erase the claim code and the picks you brought, and the name becomes “Guest”. The night's votes and matches are kept without anything that identifies you.

If you make an account or log in in the same browser, we copy your guest picks into your account (you'll see a message when that happens) and then clear them from the browser. If you were in a movie night as a guest (within 30 days of it closing), your spot, that night's votes and matches, and any movie you watched move to your account and the guest spot is closed. Those votes help your taste profile but never count as a Yes or like on their own. We log that this happened, with counts and the name of the sign-up prompt or button you last tapped (for example “first match”), and whether the account was new or existing, so we can see how many guests sign up and which prompts help.

Guest usage events (for example, a guest started swiping or saw a sign-up prompt) are stored with the random browser ID, never with a name or email.

Usage and timing data

We log simple usage events to understand what works and fix what doesn't, for example: a session was started, a link was shared, a where-to-watch link was tapped.

We also log timing events with timestamps, such as how long it took from opening a link to your first swipe, to joining a session, or to your first match.

Before you sign in, we log one anonymous “page opened” event per visit with a random ID stored in your browser (not your name or email), so we can see how many visitors leave before signing up. If you later sign in on that browser, we can link that earlier visit to your account.

If a link you opened carried a short campaign code (for example ?src=newsletter), we save that code once with your account so we know which channel brought you.

These records are stored in our own database. For signed-in users, three events (account set up, movie night started and where-to-watch link tapped) are also recorded in Base44's built-in app analytics, which is part of our hosting. We don't use Google Analytics or any other third-party analytics or advertising service.

Cookies and browser storage

We keep a few things in your browser's storage: your sign-in token, light/dark mode, the visit timer and random ID above, where to send you after sign-up, and, in guest mode, your guest picks, guest passes and claim codes for movie nights you joined (kept up to 30 days after the night closes) and the guest name you typed. Clearing your browser's site data removes them.

The app itself doesn't set cookies. Our sign-in provider (Base44) may use a cookie or browser storage that's needed to keep you signed in. We don't use advertising, tracking or analytics cookies.

Who can see what

• Your swipes and taste profile are private to you. When we shape a movie night's movies from everyone's tastes, the others see the movies, never your profile or which movies were picked because of you.
• People in a movie night with you see your first name or nickname and emoji (never your email), plus that night's votes and matches. A guest's Never and Seen it picks are used to filter that night's movies and are visible to the app running for the other people in it.
• Linked friends see your username, display name and emoji — never your email.
• Our team can see account and usage data when needed to run, support and protect the app.

Who we share data with

• Base44 hosts the app and its database, handles sign-in (including sign-up code emails) and provides the built-in app analytics described above.
• Google, if you use Google sign-in (see “Signing in with Google”). Our pages also load fonts from Google Fonts, which receives your IP address and browser details when it serves them.
• Streaming services and partners, only when you tap a where-to-watch link: you leave our app and their privacy policy applies.
• Movie and availability info comes from the Streaming Availability API by Movie of the Night. We don't send them any of your personal information.
• Some movie details and search results come from TMDB (The Movie Database). When a search doesn't find a movie in our own catalog, our server may send the words you typed to TMDB, never who you are.
• Authorities, if the law requires it.

We don't sell your personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

Security and abuse prevention

We use rate limits to stop spam and abuse. To do that we briefly use your IP address in memory; we don't store it with your data. Our hosting providers may keep standard server logs.

How long we keep data

Your account information (including what Google shared at sign-in), profile, swipes, taste profile and card log are kept until you delete them or ask us to delete your account. Movie nights close after about 48 hours, and guest information is erased on the schedule described under “Guest mode”. Usage and timing records are kept as long as they're needed to run and improve the app; when we delete your account we also delete the usage records tied to it or remove anything that identifies you from them.

Votes and matches in a movie night you were part of may be kept for the other people in it, without your name or email. Our hosting provider may keep standard server logs and backups for a limited time under its own policies.

Your choices

• Edit your profile and services any time in Profile & Settings.
• “Delete my data” in Profile & Settings removes your profile, swipes, taste profile and the log of cards shown to you, and unlinks your friends.
• To delete your account entirely (including your sign-in details and any information Google shared with us), or to ask for a copy of your data, email support@picly.app from the email address on your account. We'll confirm the request and let you know when it's done.
• If you signed in with Google, you can also remove Picly's access in your Google Account settings. That stops future sign-ins through Google but doesn't delete what we already hold, so email us too if you want it deleted.

Children

Picly isn't meant for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their information.

Changes

If we change this policy we'll update the “Last updated” date above, and tell you in the app for anything significant.

Contact

Picly runs picly.app. Questions, privacy or deletion requests: support@picly.app