Privacy Policy

Last updated 11 August 2026

Castaway Media collects nothing about you. There is no account to create, no analytics, no advertising, no tracking, and no server operated by us for your data to be sent to.

What we collect

Nothing. The app has no user accounts, no registration, and no backend service of our own. We do not receive your name, email address, location, contacts, device identifiers, usage statistics, crash reports, or anything you listen to or read.

The app contains no analytics SDK, no crash-reporting SDK, no advertising SDK, and no third-party tracking of any kind. This is verifiable — the app ships an Apple privacy manifest declaring exactly which system APIs it uses and why.

How the app works

Castaway Media is a client for media servers you run. It plays podcasts, audiobooks and ebooks from your own Audiobookshelf server, and music from your own Plex server. It provides no content of its own.

Your server addresses and credentials are entered by you and stored on your device. Your media, your library and your listening history live on your servers, under your control — we never see them and have no ability to.

What's stored on your device

• Credentials — server passwords and API tokens are stored in the iOS Keychain, encrypted by the system.
• Server addresses and app preferences.
• Downloaded media you choose to save for offline use.
• Cached artwork and library listings, so the app works without a connection.
• Playback progress, bookmarks and favourites, which are also synced to your servers where those servers support it.

Deleting the app removes all of it from your device.

iCloud

Some settings sync between your own devices using Apple's iCloud key-value storage: app preferences, reader settings, your Up Next queue, bookmarks, favourites and playback history.

This data goes to your iCloud account, under your Apple Account, governed by Apple's privacy policy. It does not pass through us and we cannot access it. You can turn it off in iOS Settings → your name → iCloud.

Who the app talks to

Besides your own servers, the app contacts a small number of services:

• plex.tv — to sign you in to Plex and find your servers. Required only if you use the Music section.
• itunes.apple.com and rss.marketingtools.apple.com — Apple's public catalogue and chart feeds, used to show podcast, book and album charts and to look up artwork and metadata. No personal information is sent.
• lrclib.net — an open community lyrics database, queried by song title and artist when you open the Lyrics tab. Optional.
• ws.audioscrobbler.com — Last.fm, used for artist information. Contacted only if you supply your own Last.fm API key.

These requests carry no account identifier and nothing that identifies you. Each service has its own privacy policy governing what it logs.

Optional integrations

If you configure a Lidarr server, the app can send requests to it on your behalf. That server is one you run and configure; the app stores its address and API key on your device and communicates with nothing else on its behalf. If you don't configure it, the feature doesn't appear.

Notifications

Notifications about new episodes or new library items are generated on your device by comparing what's on your server with what the app saw last time. There are no push notifications, no push tokens, and no notification server.

Children

Castaway Media is not directed at children under 13 and collects no personal information from anyone, including children. The app plays only media that already exists on servers you operate.

Data sharing and sale

We do not sell, rent, share or disclose personal data, because we do not collect any. There is no data to hand over — including in response to a legal request.

Your rights

Regulations such as the GDPR and CCPA grant rights to access, correct, export and delete personal data held about you. We hold none, so there is nothing to retrieve or erase on our side. Data on your device is removed by deleting the app; data on your servers is yours to manage; data in iCloud is managed through your Apple Account.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the revised version will be posted here with an updated date. Material changes will also be noted in the app's release notes.

Contact

Questions about this policy or about privacy in the app: support@castawaymedia.app