1. Who we are
The data controller is Richard Boyd.
Contact: hello@podrecs.uk
We operate the PodRecs mobile app and its backend API.
2. Scope
This policy describes how we collect and use personal data when you use PodRecs. It is intended to meet the transparency requirements of the UK GDPR and the EU GDPR where those laws apply.
3. Personal data we collect
Depending on how you use the app, we may process:
• Account and profile: email address (for passwordless magic-link sign-in, or an email address provided by Sign in with Apple), display name, app UI language preference, discovery/chart region (country), discovery mix preference (Familiar, Balanced, or Experimental), whether you allow explicit podcasts in new Discover recommendations, avatar seed/style, onboarding and tutorial completion timestamps, and Apple Podcasts return-prompt preferences.
• Authentication and security: information needed to operate magic-link and Sign in with Apple sign-in and app sessions (including technical identifiers such as a stable Apple account id when you use Sign in with Apple, plus timestamps; we do not expose raw magic-link secrets to the app).
• Preferences and usage: theme/category ratings, recommendation history and actions (e.g. saved, not for me, already listen), similar-podcast reactions, taste refinements derived from your actions, free-tier Discover daily usage counts, cached taste insight summaries generated for your profile, and related data used to personalise recommendations.
• Premium Make a request (Premium only): natural-language prompts you submit and related session data used to generate request-based recommendations.
• Subscriptions: PodRecs Premium entitlement status we store after purchase or restore (e.g. active/inactive, expiry, product identifier, store). We do not receive or store your payment card details; Apple processes App Store payments.
• Technical data: limited data incident to running and securing the API (e.g. request metadata, operational logs as configured on our hosting providers).
We do not use third-party analytics or crash-reporting products beyond what is described here.
We do not intend to collect special-category data. Please do not submit such information in any free-text fields, including Make a request prompts.
4. Why we use your data and legal bases
We rely on:
• Performance of a contract (and steps before entering it): providing the app, account, onboarding, recommendations, PodRecs Premium where subscribed, and related features.
• Legitimate interests: securing the service, preventing abuse, maintaining reliability, and improving the product in a proportionate way that respects your rights.
Where we rely on legitimate interests, you may object to certain processing (see section 9).
5. Where we store and process personal data
Primary database (Neon Postgres): personal data is stored in Neon, in region aws-eu-west-2 (London, United Kingdom).
Application hosting (API): our backend runs on Railway, with compute in Amsterdam, Netherlands (European Union). Requests to the API are processed there; the API connects to Neon and to the providers listed below.
Because infrastructure spans the UK and EU, processing may occur in both. Transfers between the UK and EEA are subject to the UK-EU data protection framework (including adequacy and related arrangements).
6. Processors and others who receive data
We use providers strictly to operate the service:
• Neon - hosted Postgres database (London region).
• Railway - API hosting (Amsterdam region).
• MailerSend - sending magic-link emails.
• DiceBear - generated avatar image rendering in the mobile app.
• RapidAPI / podcast API provider - server-side podcast metadata, charts, and episode lists (API keys stay on our servers).
• Podcast Index - we maintain a server-side mirror of the public Podcast Index feed catalog (refreshed periodically from their published dataset) to match feeds by RSS URL, resolve Apple Podcasts links where possible, and apply publisher explicit-content flags. The app does not contact Podcast Index directly; this mirrored feed metadata is catalog data, not personal data about you.
• Apple - Sign in with Apple when you choose that option on iOS; App Store in-app purchases and subscription billing on iOS (payment data is handled by Apple, not stored by us); and the iTunes Search API, used server-side to resolve Apple Podcasts links after certain actions.
• RevenueCat - subscription management on iOS; we pass your PodRecs account identifier so purchases and restores can be linked to your account.
• OpenRouter - server-side AI features including taste insight summaries, similar-podcast suggestions, fresh discovery candidate generation, and Premium Make a request. Prompts may include your taste signals, category ratings, saved or reacted show titles, discovery region, and text you submit. Some requests may use web search grounding. API keys are not exposed to the app. We also log usage metadata (e.g. feature, model, token counts) in our database for operational purposes.
Some of these providers may process data outside the UK/EEA. Where that happens, we use appropriate safeguards recognised under UK and EU law (such as Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK Addendum where relevant, and supplementary measures as appropriate), as offered by the providers.
7. International transfers
Some processors may be established outside the UK or EEA. Where data is transferred internationally, we implement safeguards recognised under UK and EU law (e.g. adequacy decisions and/or Standard Contractual Clauses / UK Addendum as applicable).
8. Retention
We keep personal data only for as long as needed to provide the service and meet legal obligations.
Resetting your account clears most profile and activity data but keeps your email account, PodRecs Premium entitlement where applicable, and subscription linkage.
Deleting your account removes account-related personal data from our database, except where we must retain minimal information to comply with law or establish/defend legal claims. Deleting your account does not by itself cancel an Apple App Store subscription; you must cancel that separately in your Apple ID settings if you no longer wish to be billed.
Operational logs on hosting providers may be retained for their standard retention periods; we configure processing to be proportionate.
9. Your rights
Under UK GDPR / EU GDPR you may have the right to access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection (in certain cases), and data portability (where applicable).
You can download a copy of much of the personal data we hold via Settings -> Download your data (CSV) in the app. You can delete your account via Settings -> Delete account.
To exercise other rights or ask questions, email hello@podrecs.uk. We may need to verify your identity.
You may complain to the ICO (UK): https://ico.org.uk. If you are in the EU, you may also contact your local supervisory authority.
10. Security
We use technical and organisational measures appropriate to the risk (including hashing sensitive tokens at rest and keeping API secrets off the device). No method of transmission or storage is completely secure.
11. Children
The service is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 13. If you believe we have, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
Optional explicit-content filtering in Discover is not a substitute for parental supervision.
12. Changes
We may update this policy from time to time. We will change the Last updated date above; material changes may also be communicated in-app or by email where appropriate.