CouchPotato SuiteEffective from 2026-10-28 for CouchPotatoPlayer.
1. Controller and contact
- Legal controller: BW-Tech GmbH IT-Service für Systemintegration und Datensicherheit
- Postal address: Albert-Bassermann-Straße 31, 68782 Brühl, Deutschland
- Privacy email: info@bw-tech.de
- Support email: info@bw-tech.de
CouchPotatoPlayer is a player only. It contains, provides, sells, or recommends no channels, films, series, playlists, provider access, or subscriptions. You add your own lawfully obtained source and are responsible for the necessary rights.
Privacy enquiries: info@bw-tech.de or the company postal address.
2. Data stored on your device
The app stores the settings needed to operate the player, including language, appearance, parental-control settings, favorites, viewing progress/history, selected tracks, player settings, and provider configuration. Provider URLs, usernames, passwords, tokens, optional M3U/EPG addresses, and similar access data are entered by you. Secrets and sync keys are stored through the operating system’s secure Keychain/SecureStore where the implementation supports it. Library indexes, EPG data, cache entries, playback history, and other operational records may be stored in local SQLite or app files.
This local processing is required to perform the player functions you request. The developer cannot normally read data that remains only in your app container or Keychain.
3. Communication with sources you choose
The app connects directly to provider and media endpoints that you configure. Those operators receive the network information technically necessary for a connection, such as your IP address, request time, requested endpoint, device/network headers, and the credentials or tokens required by that source. Their privacy terms and retention practices apply independently. The controller of CouchPotatoPlayer neither selects those providers nor receives a copy merely because the app makes the connection.
Legacy providers may use unencrypted HTTP. The app permits this for compatibility, but HTTP can expose credentials and viewing traffic to networks between you and the provider. Prefer HTTPS and only add a service you trust.
If you enter your own TMDB API key and use metadata enrichment, title/search and request data are sent to The Movie Database; image requests can also reach its image service. Provider artwork and external trailer links can contact their respective operators, which receive IP and request data. These operators apply their own privacy terms; this is not a BW-Tech content catalogue.
4. Optional synchronization
iCloud synchronization is optional and starts only after your explicit consent. A complete encrypted backup can include provider configuration and library settings, including usernames, passwords, tokens, and URLs that contain credentials, as well as M3U/EPG addresses, favorites, viewing progress, and customization.
Before anything is stored in the private CloudKit database, the app encrypts the backup locally with AES-256-GCM. The random vault key remains in device-bound SecureStore/Keychain storage on this Apple device and is not transferred automatically by iCloud. To use the backup on another Apple device, you explicitly pair the devices with a short-lived, exactly eight-digit authorization code. The code is not the vault key. Native CryptoKit uses ephemeral P-256 key agreement, HKDF-SHA256, and AES-GCM to encrypt the minimal vault package for the target device. For pairing, the private CloudKit database carries only temporary metadata and the encrypted response; the visible code and raw vault key are not stored there as plaintext. Apple processes Apple-account and network information under its own terms. The developer receives neither plaintext provider data, the vault key, nor the pairing code through this feature.
5. Voice search
Voice search is optional on supported iPhone/iPad devices, and is unavailable in the TV app. After you grant the required microphone and speech-recognition permissions, the Apple speech service processes audio and transcription to form your search query. Processing is not restricted to the device and may involve Apple servers. You can revoke permissions and keep using text search.
6. Local network and AirPlay
Prepared AirPlay uses the local network to expose temporary HLS segments to a receiver you select. The receiver and local-network devices involved in routing can observe the connection information needed to fetch those segments. Temporary media is generated locally, served only for the playback session, and deleted when the session stops or cleanup runs. Direct AirPlay is managed by Apple system frameworks.
7. Photos and media selection
When you choose a file or use a system picker/sharing action, the operating system controls access to the selected items and destination. Permissions depend on the action and OS version. The app does not automatically scan or upload your photo library to BW-Tech.
8. Diagnostics, support, and updates
Playback observations stay in a bounded local history unless you explicitly submit a diagnostic report. Submitted reports contain app/build/runtime, platform/device class, selected backend, technical stream and capability information, failure classification and bounded observations. The exporter is designed to reject URLs, query strings, credentials, tokens and secret-like text. Review the report scope and never add secrets to support messages. BW-Tech receives the report; the service infrastructure also receives connection data such as IP address and request time.
Diagnostic reports are retained for 30 days; access/error logs for 90 days. Backups are retained for up to 90 days. Hosting operation: BW-Tech GmbH – self-operated infrastructure. No particular hosting country or certification is asserted here.
App legal/support pages and voluntarily submitted diagnostics use couchpotatosuite.com. On Apple, app releases are distributed through Apple’s stores/TestFlight as applicable; the app does not run the Android APK/OTA update check. Apple may process store/account/update data under its terms. Contact enquiries and related correspondence are handled on BW-Tech’s own Exchange server and retained for up to 90 days, unless mandatory retention or necessary legal claims require longer storage.
9. Third-party software
The Apple app uses Apple platform services, React Native/Expo, local SQLite/SecureStore and CPPlayerKit with MPVKit/libmpv and FFmpeg-related dependencies. CPPlayerKit original code is proprietary; included third-party software keeps its own licenses. The app has no advertising or cross-app tracking purpose.
10. Purposes, legal basis, and disclosure
Processing provides the playback, library, synchronization, search, local-network, update, support and diagnostic functions you request. Article 6(1)(b) GDPR applies where necessary to provide the agreed service; Article 6(1)(a) applies where optional processing relies on your consent; Article 6(1)(f) applies to legitimate interests in secure operation, fault resolution and responding to enquiries. A system permission does not replace information about the actual processing. Necessary device storage for an expressly requested function is covered by section 25(2)(2) TDDDG; other storage requires an applicable legal basis or consent.
BW-Tech does not sell personal data or use it for advertising or cross-app tracking. Recipients include the sources you choose, Apple services you enable and the service infrastructure described above. Data may also be disclosed where legally required or necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims. External services have their own processing terms and may process data outside your country; use their current privacy information.
11. Retention and deletion
Local data remains until you remove a provider, clear the relevant data, uninstall the app, or the operating system removes it. Prepared-AirPlay files are temporary and are deleted after stop/cleanup. Disabling synchronization or deleting local app data does not by itself remove the encrypted iCloud backup. The app’s explicit delete-backup action turns off automatic sync and writes a deletion marker without provider data; Apple may retain service data according to its account rules. Submitted diagnostic reports are retained for 30 days and server/access logs for 90 days.
You can delete provider profiles in the app and delete all local app data by uninstalling it. Revoke microphone, speech, local-network, or iCloud access in the relevant system/account settings. For server-side support or diagnostic deletion, contact the controller with the report identifier where available. Deleting app data does not delete data independently held by a provider you chose.
12. Your rights
Subject to the legal conditions, you may request access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability and object to processing based on legitimate interests for reasons concerning your particular situation (Articles 15–21 GDPR). You may withdraw consent for future processing. Contact info@bw-tech.de or the company postal address. You may complain to a supervisory authority, including https://www.baden-wuerttemberg.datenschutz.de/ . We do not use automated decision-making with legal or similarly significant effects.
13. Children and changes
The app is not Made for Kids. User-configured sources can contain material unsuitable for children; use the available parental controls and supervise source selection. Material changes to data handling will be reflected in an updated policy and App Store disclosure before release.
14. Optional TV weather
Only Apple TV offer optional weather. At first start after setup, choose Enter location or Skip. Before searching, read the provider disclosure: explicit city/postcode searches send your query and IP address directly to Photon (komoot/OpenStreetMap); enabled weather sends the selected coordinates and IP address directly to MET Norway. No GPS permission is requested. Confirm a location to show its forecast symbol and temperature in the upper fullscreen player bar. In Settings → General → Weather, disable requests or change location. Skipping does not ask again; setup remains available in Settings. Weather can be temporarily unavailable.
Photon: https://photon.komoot.io/ · https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright
MET Norway: https://docs.api.met.no/doc/TermsOfService.html · https://docs.api.met.no/doc/License.html
15. Optional Pro in-app purchase
Where available, you can unlock Pro through a one-time, non-consumable App Store in-app purchase. Apple processes checkout, the store account and required payment details under its own terms. Through expo-iap/OpenIAP and StoreKit, the app queries products and current purchase entitlements, finishes transactions and handles restoration and redeemed promotional codes. On your device it processes product and transaction identifiers, signed purchase evidence (JWS) and entitlement status. The app does not receive credit-card or bank details from the payment form.
Purchase verification is local; the app does not send purchase evidence to a BW-Tech billing server for this purpose. It does not persist its own Pro activation flag or include purchase evidence in provider backups. Current access is derived from store entitlements. Deleting local app data does not remove purchase records held by Apple; Apple’s rules govern their processing and retention.
Last updated: 2026-10-28.