Privacy Policy

Who we are

Cinema Hound is a movie discovery website and Android app operated by Simon Ronald. This policy explains how information is handled when you use Cinema Hound. For privacy questions or requests, use the contact form and choose “Commercial query”, with “Privacy” in your message.

Delete your account and data

Open Delete account and data, sign in with the Google account you used for Cinema Hound, confirm the account shown and submit the deletion. The same page is linked from Android Settings under “Google account & cloud sync”. Verified self-service requests delete the active cloud account immediately. You can also use the deletion request contact form on that page if you cannot sign in; we verify ownership and aim to complete verified requests within 30 days.

Deletion removes your stored Google identifier and display name, cloud Saved, Seen, thumbs up/down and Trash lists, website preferences and account-linked analytics. Existing account sessions and Android sync credentials stop working. Your Google account is not deleted. Copies on your devices and exported backups are separate: use “Clear lists and settings on this phone” in Android Settings, or clear Cinema Hound site data for guest browser copies. Connecting again creates a new account and may upload lists still on your device.

Restricted encrypted recovery copies can retain deleted data for up to 13 months under our 30 daily, 8 weekly and 12 monthly backup rotation. Deletion is enforced before restored accounts return to service. A separate restricted deletion record (former account number, keyed identity hash and deletion date) is retained for 13 months to enforce this. Unlinked raw analytics and catalogue-update measurements expire after 90 days; aggregate statistics may remain. Security logs, correspondence and legally required records follow the retention purposes described below.

Information we collect and why

• Guest website use: Saved, Seen, Trash and preferences are stored in your browser. Movie searches and the list information needed to filter results are sent to the Cinema Hound server to perform searches. Guest lists are not saved as an account on the server.
• Android cloud sync: When you choose Sign in with Google, the app sends a Google identity token for verification and synchronises your Saved, Seen, thumbs up/down and Trash lists with your Cinema Hound account. Offline changes stay on the phone until a successful sync. The account connection token is encrypted using Android Keystore and excluded from device backups. Disconnecting stops sync and keeps the library on the phone; it does not delete the server copy.
• Google sign-in, when enabled: Google supplies an identity token containing a Google account identifier and basic profile information, including your display name, email address and a profile photo URL when available. The email address can be used during identity verification and to recognise the operator account; it is not used to send marketing messages. Cinema Hound verifies that token and stores your Google identifier and display name to identify your account. Your movie lists are stored on the server so you can access them from connected Android devices and other browsers. Website search preferences are also stored with your account; Android search and appearance settings stay on the device. We do not receive your Google password or request access to Gmail, contacts or Drive. The app and website use that photo URL to display your account icon; your device requests the image from Google. Google sign-in is optional.
• Contact messages: We collect the name, reply email, message category and message you provide, plus any optional platform or device information. These details are used to assess your enquiry, investigate problems and contact you if needed. A reply is not guaranteed. Messages are delivered to the operator’s email service, which uses Gmail.
• Technical information: The web server may record IP addresses, request URLs, timestamps, browser information and errors. This information helps operate the service, diagnose faults and prevent abuse. Form protections may use session information and a temporary record derived from your IP address to limit repeated submissions.

Please avoid sending passwords, financial details or sensitive personal information in searches or contact messages. We do not sell your personal information or use your movie lists for advertising.

Browser storage, cookies and verification

The website uses local storage for guest movie lists, appearance and discovery preferences. Essential session cookies support form security and, when enabled, sign-in. Signed-in sessions stay active for up to one year after your last use and refresh while you use the site. Sign out on shared devices. Clearing local storage removes guest lists; clearing session cookies may sign you out. You can export a library backup before clearing browser data.

Contact forms may use a self-hosted proof-of-work verification check to discourage automated submissions. This check runs in your browser and is verified by Cinema Hound; it does not require an advertising CAPTCHA service.

Usage analytics

We use first-party analytics hosted on the Cinema Hound server to understand website growth, referrals, feature usage and service reliability. We do not use advertising trackers or third-party analytics services.

• Website visits: random browser and visit identifiers, timestamps, page paths, referring website domains, campaign labels, broad device type and Cinema Hound version. We do not save full referring URLs or raw IP addresses in the analytics database.
• Feature usage: tabs, sorts, search result counts, movie details opened, recommendation impressions, movie IDs and list actions, trend expansions, sharing actions, external-link categories and sanitised error codes. Search text, complete saved lists and message contents are not copied into analytics.
• Accounts: activity may be associated with an internal account ID after sign-in. Account creation and last-login timestamps support account reporting. Analytics does not copy your email address or Google sign-in credentials.
• Catalogue refreshes: request times, response status, record counts, response size and duration are counted separately from website traffic. The Android app sends a random installation identifier and a new random identifier for each refresh, so we can distinguish installations and group the pages of one refresh. The server also records whether the request came from Android, how many catalogue records were delivered, response size and duration. These identifiers are not linked to an Android account; personal lists, searches, Google credentials and contact details are not sent with catalogue refresh requests.

Raw website activity and catalogue-request records are retained for 90 days. Aggregate totals are retained longer. Account timing records may be retained for account reporting. The site owner’s own browsing and recognised bots are excluded from website measurements.

We respect Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control signals. Random browser and visit identifiers are stored in your browser. Clearing site storage removes these identifiers. Essential session cookies also protect analytics submissions against cross-site requests.

Google Search Console provides separate, aggregate information about Google search visibility. It does not require an analytics tracker on your browser.

Optional Android crash reporting

Crash reporting is on by default. You can turn it on or off in Android Settings → Crash reporting. When enabled, error and crash reports include a random report identifier, occurrence time, app version, Android API version, broad manufacturer/model, error type and stack locations (code filenames, symbols and line/column numbers). Android 11 and later can also report that the app stopped responding or suffered a native process crash, without reading memory dumps or trace contents. A test button sends a harmless report and does not crash the app.

Reports do not include raw error messages, account or installation identifiers, email addresses, Google credentials, movie lists, searches, screenshots, file contents or device serial numbers. They go directly to Cinema Hound’s server over HTTPS to diagnose failures and improve reliability. There is no third-party crash-reporting SDK or advertising use. Access is restricted to the operator.

Unsent reports stay in private storage on your phone, outside Android backup, for up to 7 days, with a maximum of 10 queued reports. They retry when the app opens/resumes or when you send a test report. Turning reporting off removes queued reports; clearing phone lists/settings also turns it off and clears the queue. Reports already uploaded remain for up to 90 days (with a maximum of 5,000 recent reports). Restricted encrypted recovery backups may retain an older copy for up to 13 months. Reports are not associated with a Cinema Hound account, so cloud account deletion cannot identify them. Ordinary server security logs and short-lived, keyed connection hashes used for rate limiting are handled as technical security information.

External services

Google’s sign-in component, when used, connects to Google and is subject to Google’s Privacy Policy. External movie and source links take you to other websites with their own policies. Choosing “Find trailer on YouTube” opens a YouTube search containing the movie title and year. Your browser or the YouTube app then connects to Google/YouTube under their privacy practices; Cinema Hound does not send your Saved, Seen or Trash lists in that link.

The Android app

Cinema Hound for Android (package name com.cinemahound.app) stores its movie catalogue, Saved, Seen and Trash lists, settings and search activity on your phone. Searching, recommendations and changing your lists are processed locally. Sign-in is optional. Searches and recommendations are processed on your phone, and search text is not sent with catalogue updates or library sync. If you choose Google sign-in, the app synchronises your Saved, Seen, thumbs up/down and Trash lists with your Cinema Hound account, as explained above. Without sign-in, these lists remain local to the phone. A backup exported or shared by you goes to the destination you choose.

When you open the app, and every two hours while it remains active, it contacts Cinema Hound to check for catalogue updates. It downloads new movie records and expanded details, plus public catalogue statistics used to display genre icons and interest scores. Update requests include random installation and per-refresh identifiers, the current catalogue update position, and ordinary connection information such as your IP address. We use request measurements (including time, status, record counts, response size and duration) to monitor update use and reliability. The identifiers are not tied to an account, and the requests do not contain your personal lists, searches, Google credentials or contact details. The server retains raw catalogue request measurements for 90 days; standard server security logs follow the technical log retention practices described above.

Opening the website, contact form or external-source links from the app connects to those online services and is subject to their privacy practices. The current policy is available at cinemahound.com/privacy.php.

Storage, sharing and security

Website account information is held on the Cinema Hound server. Contact messages are handled through the operator’s email service. Hosting and email providers may process information to deliver those services; Google may process information internationally, including in the United States. Information may also be disclosed where required by law or reasonably necessary to address misuse or protect the service and its users.

We use HTTPS, restricted server access and account access checks to protect information. No internet service or device can be guaranteed completely secure. Protect your Google account and any library backup files.

Guest data remains in your browser until you remove it. Account lists are retained while your account is maintained, unless you remove them or request deletion. Contact messages are retained while useful for handling the enquiry and related records. Technical logs and any backups remain until rotated or removed under the server’s maintenance arrangements; removal from backups may take longer than removal from the active service. Information may be retained where legally required.

Disaster recovery backups

We use encrypted disaster recovery backups stored in the operator’s Google Drive account and restricted local storage. Backups can contain account information, saved movie lists and analytics. Google Drive stores encrypted backup files; this is separate from Google sign-in and does not request access to a visitor’s Drive.

Backup rotation keeps up to 30 daily, 8 weekly and 12 monthly recovery points. Data removed or expired in the active service may remain in an older backup until that backup expires. Restored data is used for recovery and isolated validation; deletion requests are reapplied before restored account data is returned to service. Recovery copies are accessible only to the operator.

Your choices and privacy requests

You can use the website as a guest, manage your movie lists and export a backup. If Google sign-in is available, you can sign out and remove Cinema Hound’s connection from your Google account settings. Removing that connection does not by itself delete data already stored by Cinema Hound.

Use the contact form to request access to, correction of or deletion of account information, or to raise a privacy complaint. Include enough information to identify the account, but do not send passwords or identity documents unless a suitable verification process has been agreed. We may need to verify your identity before releasing or deleting information. Applicable privacy rights and lawful retention obligations still apply.

The service is intended for general movie discovery and is not directed at children under 13. Film descriptions may contain adult themes. If you believe a child has supplied personal information, contact us to request a review and removal where appropriate.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when features or information practices change. The date at the top identifies the latest revision. Material changes will be explained on the website where appropriate.