OffTheReel Privacy Policy
OffTheReel does not collect personal information. There's no account and no server. Every video you shoot is made on this device and stays on this device.
Information we collect
None. OffTheReel does not receive your name, email address, phone number, location or any device identifier. If you turn on Place, the locations it records also stay only on this device. There's no sign-up and no login. We have not added any analytics tools, ad SDKs or crash reporters.
Where your cuts and videos are
Your cuts, notes, places, vlog settings and finished videos are all kept on this device, in the app's storage folder only. They are not sent anywhere. If you leave “Also save originals to Photos” on (it's on by default), your cuts also go into the “OffTheReel” album in the Photos app on this device. When you tap “Export”, you are saving the video to Photos yourself, and posting it to Reels or anywhere else after that is between you and that app.
If you back up your device to iCloud, these files are backed up too. That is between Apple and you, and OffTheReel cannot access that backup.
Network
OffTheReel connects to the internet in three places, and all three are Apple. The first is the Apple Music catalog used in “Pick a song” (search and the list of songs people are playing now).
The search terms you type go to Apple's server (api.music.apple.com),
and a list of songs and 30-second preview files come back. No account information or device identifier is attached to these requests.
The app listens to the preview to calculate the beat, and that calculation happens on the device.
How Apple handles these requests is governed by the Apple Privacy Policy.
The second is when Place is on. To find the neighborhood name and nearby place names from the coordinates at the moment you press the shutter, the app sends those coordinates to the Apple Maps features in iOS. OffTheReel has no server of its own, and this request is governed by the Apple Privacy Policy. When Place is off, your location is not read.
The third is when you tap the ear button in Pick a song to find a song playing nearby. Apple ShazamKit uses a sound signature, made from the few seconds the app heard, to find the song. The sound itself is not saved, and the app does not send or collect it on its own.
When you shoot with “One cut, still locked” from the Lock Screen, the app does not connect to the internet and does not read your location. The cuts move into the app when you unlock and open it. Today's progress on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island (Live Activity) is also made only on this device and is not sent to any server.
If you shoot without a song, leave Place off and don't tap the ear button, the app never connects to the internet. The song you pick is never put into the video file.
Permissions
| What | When | What it gets |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | When you open the camera screen | Shoots 1 to 2 second cuts. Files are saved only inside the app |
| Microphone | When you open the camera screen | Records sound with your cuts. Turn off “Record sound” and the video has no audio |
| Microphone (songs nearby) | Only when you tap the ear button in Pick a song | Listens for a few seconds and finds the song with Apple ShazamKit. The sound is not saved, and the app does not send or collect it on its own |
| Photos (read) | When you tap “Fill from Photos” | Picks moments from Live Photos and videos to use as cuts. Only what you pick is copied into the app, and the location in those photos is used only when Place is on |
| Photos (add) | When you shoot a cut (with saving originals on) · When you tap “Export” | Saves your original cuts and finished videos to the Photos app |
| Location (while using the app) | When Place is on and you press the shutter | Reads your location once at that moment to find the neighborhood name. Coordinates and names are stored only on this device |
| Notifications | When you turn on a daily shooting time or Today mode | Sends only notifications scheduled on this device. No notifications are sent from a server |
Android
The Android version keeps the same promises: no account, no server, no analytics, no ad SDK, no crash reporter, and no personal data collected. Only the differences from the iPhone version are listed here.
Network: it connects to one place, the Apple Music catalog (your search term, the popular songs list, album art and 30-second previews). Tempo is measured on the device. The Android version has no Place, no "Songs nearby" and no Lock Screen shooting, so it never reads your location or sends a sound signature.
| What | When | What it gets |
|---|---|---|
| Camera · Microphone | When you open the camera | Same as the iPhone version. Files stay inside the app |
| Notifications | When you turn on Daily shooting time, One morning cut or Today mode | Only reminders scheduled on this device, plus a progress notification while a video is being made |
| Photo and video picker | When you tap "Fill" in the cut list menu | Uses Android's photo picker. No permission is requested, and only the videos you pick are trimmed to cut length and saved inside the app |
| Saving to Gallery | When you tap "Save and open …" | Puts the finished video in the OffTheReel album (Movies/OffTheReel) in your Gallery. No permission is requested |
Backup: the Android version does not upload app data to Google backup. Cuts inside the app don't move to a new phone, so save your finished videos to the Gallery. Deleting the app deletes the cuts and videos inside it.
Sharing with third parties
None. There is no data to share in the first place. Apple Music search terms go only to Apple, as described under “Network” above.
Storage and deletion
| What | Where | How to delete |
|---|---|---|
| A single cut | This device | Tap the cut and choose “Clear”. It's kept for 30 days so you can restore it, then deleted |
| Vlogs (sets of cuts) and finished videos | This device | Deleted right away when you delete the vlog |
| Original cuts saved to Photos | The “OffTheReel” album in this device's photo library | Delete them in the Photos app |
| Videos saved to Photos | This device's photo library | Delete them in the Photos app. OffTheReel does not access those copies |
| Everything | This device | Deleted along with the app when you delete it |
Children
OffTheReel is not directed at children and does not collect personal information from anyone.
Changes
If this policy changes, the last updated date on this page will change. Any change that starts collecting information will also be noted in the app's update notes.
Contact
Please send any questions to hanmari.code@gmail.com.