Privacy Policy

Effective date: July 6, 2026 (updated for guest sessions, the follow and friend social graph, predictions and minigames, room chat, profile photos and bios, in-clip chat and speaking-activity capture, clip consent controls, device identifiers, and error-monitoring and logging providers)

Crowdnine (“we,” “us,” or “our”) operates the Crowdnine application and related services. This Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding that data.

1. Information We Collect

We collect the minimum data needed to operate the service:

• Account information: email address, username, and an encrypted (hashed) password. If you choose to add them, we also store a profile photo (avatar) and a short bio. Profile photos are re-encoded on our servers before storage, which removes embedded metadata such as EXIF location.
• Guest sessions: you can use parts of Crowdnine without an account. When you do, we create a device-scoped guest session identified only by a random token — no email, name, or other personal identifier. While you are a guest, we keep temporary gameplay state (such as points, predictions, and who you intend to follow) tied to that session. Guest data is stored only in temporary storage, expires automatically after about 30 days, and is either migrated into your account if you sign up or discarded.
• Social graph: the creators you follow, your friends, friend requests and friend codes, and users you have blocked.
• Gameplay data: predictions you make, poll and minigame answers, points and streaks, leaderboard standing, the team you root for in a room, and any wishlist entries (free text) you add.
• Room chat: text chat messages you send in a room. Room chat is temporary (see Data Retention), but a snapshot may be captured into a clip (see Clips).
• Clip media and metadata: when a clip is created, we capture and store a copy of recent watch party media along with clip details. See Clips below for exactly what a clip contains.
• Device and technical information: a user-agent string collected automatically by standard web server logs, and a device identifier that your app or browser provides. The device identifier is sent with your requests and, together with your push token, is used to distinguish your devices — for example, to manage notifications and to rate-limit abuse such as automated guest sign-ups. We also use your IP address transiently for abuse rate-limiting; we do not store IP addresses in our databases.
• Push notification token: when you enable notifications in our iOS or Android app, we collect a device push token issued by Apple Push Notification service (APNs) or Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM), along with basic device context (the platform, app version, install identifier, and locale) used to route notifications correctly. The token is associated with your account so we can deliver alerts about activity in the app — such as new friend requests, room invites, and clips that feature you. It is used solely to deliver these notifications, is never sold or used for advertising, and is removed when you disable notifications, sign out, or delete your account. You can turn push notifications off at any time in your device settings or the app's notification settings.
• Moderation and safety records: if you report someone, block a user, or are the subject of a report or moderation action, we keep records of that activity — including any description you write and a snapshot of the reported content — so we can review reports and enforce our terms.
• Extension authentication: when you sign in to the optional Crowdnine Chrome extension, your authentication token and basic account details (id, email, and username) are stored locally on your device using the browser's built-in extension storage so the extension stays signed in. This is sent only to Crowdnine servers to authenticate your sync requests, and is removed when you sign out or uninstall the extension.

2. Live Watch Party Media

Crowdnine provides real-time watch parties powered by LiveKit. Watch parties are audio-first: on-stage participants (the host and co-hosts) publish live audio and, on platforms that support it, may optionally publish video. Spectators — including guests — join subscribe-only and do not publish microphone or camera unless they join the stage as a host or co-host. Your username and avatar are included in the session so other participants can see who is speaking. Live media is streamed in real time and is not stored as a permanent recording by Crowdnine during normal watch party participation. The exception is clips, described below, where a short copy of recent watch party media is captured and stored.

AI noise suppression (powered by Krisp) processes your microphone audio locally on your device before it is published. No audio data is sent to Krisp servers.

3. Room Chat

Text chat inside a room is delivered in real time and stored only temporarily — recent messages are kept briefly and expire when the room ends (see Data Retention). If a clip is created while you were chatting, a snapshot of recent chat may be saved as part of that clip and retained for the clip's lifetime.

4. Clips

Signed-in participants can capture short clips of a watch party. Because a clip records and stores recent watch party media, it is handled differently from live participation:

• Consent and opt-out: Crowdnine has a clip-consent setting. Only on-stage participants who have consented are eligible to be captured. If you opt out, your audio and video are excluded from clips from the moment you join a room. Spectators and guests join subscribe-only and are never captured. We keep an audit log of consent grants and withdrawals.
• What is captured: the last several seconds (up to 30 seconds) of the watch party at the time the clip is created. A clip may include on-stage audio, on-stage camera video when video is used, profile pictures or avatars when video is off, room/game context, scores and live event information, a snapshot of recent room chat, and a per-participant speaking-activity timeline (who spoke when).
• What is stored: the rendered clip media (audio, any video, and a thumbnail), the source media needed to render it, and clip metadata such as the title, creator, room or game, duration, timestamp, the list of captured participants, the chat snapshot, the speaking-activity timeline, and a snapshot of live game events. We do not create faceprints, voiceprints, perform speaker or biometric identification, or transcribe clip media.
• Who can access it: clips can be shared by link. A public clip is accessible to anyone who has the link, without signing in, and appears in the creator's public clip gallery. A clip set to private is accessible only to its creator.
• How long we keep them: clips are retained for a limited window (about 30 days) and then automatically deleted, unless the creator pins the clip, in which case it is kept until deleted.
• Removal: to remove your on-stage media from clips that already exist, report a public clip in the app (privacy reason) or email support@crowdnine.app. An upheld privacy or erasure request deletes the original clip and every saved copy of it, including stored media files.

5. Chrome Extension

The optional Crowdnine Chrome extension uses optical character recognition (OCR) to read the game clock from your streaming video tab. This processing happens entirely on your device. The recognized clock values are transmitted to our servers solely for the purpose of synchronizing playback between room participants. No screenshots, video frames, or streaming content are captured, stored, or transmitted.

The extension requests access to your streaming-site tab solely to detect <video> elements and to pause or seek playback on your behalf when sync commands arrive. Page content, form data, and browsing history are not read, collected, or transmitted. The extension communicates only with Crowdnine servers and uses standard browser storage to remember your authentication token and basic account details between sessions.

6. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate Crowdnine:

• LiveKit: provides live watch party infrastructure. LiveKit processes on-stage audio and video streams in real time to facilitate communication. See LiveKit's Privacy Policy for details on their data practices.
• Cloudflare R2: stores clip media files, the source media needed to render clips, and profile photos, so they can be played back, displayed, and shared.
• Apple Push Notification service (APNs) and Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM): deliver push notifications to your mobile device. When you enable notifications, your device push token is processed by Apple (on iOS) or Google (on Android) solely to route notifications to your device. We do not share other personal information with these services for advertising or profiling.
• Sentry: error monitoring on our servers (production only), configured not to send personal data, so we can detect and fix crashes and errors.
• Better Stack (Logtail): aggregates our server logs so we can operate and troubleshoot the service.
• Sports data sources: live scores, schedules, and play information come from public sports data sources (including ESPN and NBA/WNBA statistics services). This is public sports information, not your personal data.

We do not use analytics trackers, advertising networks, or any third-party services that profile our users.

7. Data Retention

• Account data (email, username, password hash, and any avatar or bio) is retained until you delete your account.
• Guest session data is stored only in temporary storage, expires automatically after about 30 days, and is discarded or migrated into your account if you sign up.
• Rooms, room chat, presence, and sync state are stored temporarily and expire a few hours after the room ends. Recent room chat is capped and expires with the room.
• Live watch party media is streamed in real time and discarded, except when captured into a clip.
• Clips are retained for a limited window (about 30 days) and then automatically deleted, unless pinned by the creator, in which case they are kept until deleted or until we remove them for safety, moderation, privacy, or legal reasons. Deleting a clip removes the stored media file. If we remove a clip in response to a privacy or erasure request, we delete the original and every saved copy of it, including stored media files.
• Push notification tokens are retained while notifications are enabled and revoked when you disable notifications, sign out, or delete your account.
• Moderation and safety records (such as reports, blocks, warnings, and enforcement actions) may be retained after account deletion where necessary to keep the community safe, prevent abuse, or comply with legal obligations.

8. We Do Not Sell Your Data

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for marketing or advertising purposes. Your data is used solely to operate and improve Crowdnine.

9. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate information (e.g., update your username, bio, or avatar).
• Delete your account and associated data. See our account deletion page for instructions and for the limited records we may retain for safety and legal reasons.
• Data portability: request a copy of your data by contacting us.
• Request clip removal: if your on-stage media is in a clip, you can request its removal even if you did not create it. Report a public clip in the app (privacy reason), or email us at support@crowdnine.app. We delete the clip and every saved copy of it, including stored media files. Where a clip has already been shared outside Crowdnine, we take reasonable steps to notify others who hold or display it of your removal request.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@crowdnine.app.

10. Children's Privacy

Crowdnine is not directed to children under the age of 13. You must be at least 13 years old to create an account. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child under 13, we will promptly delete the account and all associated data.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at support@crowdnine.app so we can take appropriate action.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, contact us at support@crowdnine.app.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we will notify you by email or through the application. Continued use of Crowdnine after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.