Privacy Policy

Last updated: 22 July 2026

Mood-E ("the app") is an iOS app that recommends movies based on your mood. Your privacy matters to us: this page explains, in plain language, which data the app processes and how.

1. No mandatory sign-up

Mood-E does not require an account to be used: all core features are available without providing any personal data. An optional sign-in (with Apple or Google) is available and is only used to enable cloud backup and the friend features described below; if you do not sign in, your data stays exclusively on your device.

2. Data stored only on your device

The app stores some information locally on your device only:

• your preferences and selections (mood, goal, era) and personalisations (theme, icon, quiz results);
• your "to watch" list (watchlist), "already watched" movies, the mood diary, planned movies and cinema memories;
• the streaming services you subscribe to, if you select them in Settings to see the "Available now" badge: the selection stays on the device only;
• your optional profile photo, which never leaves the device and is never uploaded to any server;
• a temporary copy (cache) of movie data to make the app faster.

This data does not leave your device (unless you optionally enable the cloud backup or iCloud sync described in sections 7 and 11) and is deleted if you uninstall the app.

3. Requests to the TMDB service

To show you movie information (titles, posters, ratings, trailers and streaming availability, provided by JustWatch through TMDB), the app sends requests to The Movie Database (TMDB). These requests contain only search parameters (for example the selected genres) and include no personally identifying data. TMDB's processing of data is governed by the TMDB privacy policy.

4. Location (optional)

The "In Cinemas" section can use your location, only if you grant permission, to show movies playing near you and nearby cinemas through Apple Maps. Location is used on the device only for these features and is never stored or transmitted to our servers. You can deny or revoke the permission at any time in iOS Settings: the app keeps working with a default area.

5. Advertising (Google AdMob)

The free version of Mood-E is supported by ads provided by Google AdMob, a Google service. To serve and measure ads, AdMob may collect and process some device data, including:

• the device advertising identifier (IDFA), only if you consented to tracking;
• the IP address and general technical device information (model, iOS version, language);
• ad interaction data (for example impressions and taps).

On first use, iOS shows you the App Tracking Transparency prompt: if you deny consent, the advertising identifier is not used and only non-personalised ads are shown. You can change your choice at any time in iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking.

Google's processing of data is governed by the Google privacy policy. Learn more: how Google uses data for advertising.

6. "Recommendations" community (anonymous)

The "Recommendations" section lets you post requests for advice and suggest movies to other users. This feature is designed to be completely anonymous:

• no personal data is requested, collected or shared: you appear only with an automatically generated anonymous nickname (e.g. "RetroReel84"), which you can regenerate at any time in Settings;
• published content (request text, suggested movie, optional comment) is public and visible to other users of the app, associated only with the anonymous nickname;
• there are no private messages between users and no browsable public profiles;
• for technical purposes, the app generates a random device identifier (not linked to your identity) used only to associate your content and your "helpful" votes;
• content goes through an automatic offensive-language filter and can be reported or hidden by users; content reported several times is automatically removed from the board;
• community content is stored on a secure server solely to display it to other users; it is never used for advertising or profiling.

Please avoid entering personal data (yours or other people's) in request or comment text.

7. Optional account and cloud backup

If you choose to sign in with Apple or Google, you can enable cloud backup of your mood diary, watchlist and planned movies, so you can recover them if you change device:

• from the sign-in provider we only receive a technical account identifier (with "Sign in with Apple" you can also hide your email);
• backup data is stored on a secure server, associated with your account, and used exclusively for restoring: it is never analysed, shared or used for advertising;
• you can sign out whenever you want (local data stays on the device) and you can permanently delete your account and all associated data directly from the app's Settings.

8. Friends and challenges (optional, with an account)

The "Challenge a friend" and "Invite friends" features let you connect with other users through a friend code generated by the app or an invite link. If you use them:

• with connected friends we only share the display name you choose, your avatar (an emoji picked from a preset set) and aggregated viewing statistics: number of movies watched, total minutes, favourite genre and decade, streak of consecutive days;
• we never share: movie titles, diary content, personal notes or your profile photo;
• you can unlink a friend at any time; deleting your account also removes this data.

9. Duo Night and couple challenges (anonymous)

"Duo Night" and the monthly couple challenge work through temporary 6-digit codes shared with the other person, with no account:

• only the session code and the game selections (chosen mood/goal or challenge progress) pass through the server: no name, no personal data;
• sessions expire automatically (a few hours for Duo Night, end of month for the challenge) and are deleted.

10. Anonymous, aggregated usage statistics

To understand which app features are used most and improve Mood-E, the app records some usage events in anonymous, aggregated form (for example: "a mood→goal→era flow was completed", "a trailer was played", "a movie was added to the watchlist").

• each event contains only the event name and date/time, together with a random identifier generated locally on first launch, different for every installation and in no way linkable to your identity;
• we never record: name, email, IP address, nickname, comment or message content, location, or the device advertising identifier (IDFA);
• this data is used exclusively to count how many times features are used overall (daily and weekly totals) and is never used for advertising, profiling or tracking across third-party apps or websites;
• the counters are stored on a secure server and are not shared with third parties.

This system is separate from and independent of the Google AdMob advertising described in section 5: it does not use the IDFA and does not require tracking consent.

11. Mood-E Premium subscription (in-app purchases)

Mood-E offers an optional monthly subscription ("Mood-E Premium") that removes ads and unlocks additional features. The purchase is made through Apple in-app purchases (App Store) and is managed with the help of RevenueCat, a service that relies on Apple for receipt validation and plan management:

• Mood-E never handles or stores any payment data (cards, billing addresses, etc.): the payment is processed entirely by Apple;
• subscription status is verified through your Apple ID: no Mood-E account is required, and with "Restore purchases" you can recover the subscription on a new device using the same Apple ID;
• RevenueCat receives from Apple only the technical transaction identifiers (for example the purchase receipt and an anonymous installation identifier) needed to confirm that the subscription is active; processing is governed by the RevenueCat privacy policy;
• subscribers see no ads: in that case the Google AdMob SDK (section 5) is not started.

12. iCloud sync (Premium subscribers only)

Premium subscribers can sync app data (mood diary, watchlist, planned movies, cinema memories and completed challenges) across their Apple devices through iCloud/CloudKit, Apple's infrastructure:

• data is saved in the private iCloud database of your Apple account, which only you can access: Mood-E cannot read it or access it from its own servers;
• security and retention follow Apple's security and privacy policies for iCloud;
• free-version users keep their data locally on the device only, with no sync.

13. Poster scanning (Premium subscribers only)

The "Scan a poster" feature lets you photograph a movie poster (or pick a photo from your library) to identify it automatically:

• the photo is securely transmitted to an AI-based recognition service for the sole purpose of identifying the movie title;
• the image is not stored permanently: it is deleted after processing and is not used for any other purpose (no training, no advertising, no profiling);
• the request contains no personal data and is not linked to your identity, your account or your device;
• we recommend framing only the poster, avoiding people or personal information in the photo.

14. Links to stores (affiliate)

Some buttons (for example "Rent" or "Buy") open external store pages such as Amazon or Apple TV. These links may contain an affiliate code: if you complete a purchase, Mood-E may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. The link transmits no personal data from the app: once the store is open, its own privacy policy applies (Amazon, Apple).

15. No other sharing with third parties

Apart from the services described above (TMDB for movie data, Google AdMob for advertising, the app's secure server for the community, optional backup, friends and duo sessions, the anonymous usage statistics, the AI recognition service for poster scanning, Apple and RevenueCat for the Premium subscription, and iCloud for optional sync), we do not collect, sell or share your data with third parties for advertising or profiling purposes.

16. Deleting your data

You can delete at any time:

• local data, by uninstalling the app;
• the optional account and all associated data (backup, friend statistics, links), from the app's Settings with "Delete account";
• the iCloud backup, by turning off sync or managing the app's data in iOS Settings > iCloud.

17. Contact

For questions about this policy or privacy-related reports, open an issue on our GitHub page:

github.com/gourbergnine07-source/rork-mood-e/issues

This app uses data provided by TMDB but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Streaming availability data is provided by JustWatch through TMDB.