Privacy Policy

Last updated November 7, 2026

CASTCADE is an app for making group video shoutouts: friends each add a short clip, and it all drops at once for one person. This policy explains what information CASTCADE collects, how it's used, who can see it, and the choices you have. CASTCADE is operated by Matt Gutierrez ("we", "us"). Questions? Email hello@getcastcade.com.

The short version

• We collect what the app needs to work: your account, your profile, the clips you make, and who your friends are.
• We don't sell your information, show ads, or track you across other apps and websites.
• Your phone number and contacts are scrambled (hashed) on your phone before anything is sent. We never receive your contact list itself.
• You can delete your account, and what's tied to it, at any time in the app.

What we collect

Information you give us

• Account: your email address, used to sign you in with a one-time code.
• Profile: your name, username and profile photo. Optionally, your birthday (month and day only, no year) so friends can be reminded to make you a Shoutout.
• Phone number (optional): if you add one so friends can find you, it's hashed on your device and only the hash is stored. We don't keep the number itself.
• Shoutouts and clips: the videos and photos you record or choose, and what you add to them (text, stickers, effects, looks and music choice), plus titles, drop times, and the name of the person a Shoutout is for.
• Reactions: hearts, thank-you messages and reaction videos you send.
• Friends and safety: your friend requests and friendships, invites, the people you block, and reports you make about people or clips.
• Settings: your privacy and notification choices.

Information from your device

• Contacts (optional): if you choose to find friends from your contacts, the app hashes their phone numbers and email addresses on your phone and sends only the hashes, which are compared against people already on CASTCADE. The hashes are used for that check and are not stored. Your contact list never leaves your phone.
• Camera, microphone and photos: used only when you record or choose a clip or a profile photo. Only what you choose to post is uploaded.
• Push notification token: an identifier for your device so we can send the notifications you've turned on, and which kind of device it is (iPhone or Android).
• Basic technical information: our hosting providers keep standard server logs (such as IP address, time of request and errors) to run and secure the service.

We don't use advertising or analytics tracking tools, and we don't collect your precise location.

How we use it

• To run CASTCADE: sign you in, create Shoutouts, deliver clips, and drop them at the right time.
• To help you find and connect with friends, including suggesting people you may know through mutual friends (you can turn this off in Settings).
• To send the notifications you've chosen (invites, drops, thank-yous, friend activity) and sign-in emails.
• To keep people safe: acting on reports, enforcing blocks, and removing content that breaks our Terms.
• To fix problems and improve the app.

Who can see what

• The person a Shoutout is for sees nothing until it drops. After that, they see every clip in it.
• Before the drop, a Shoutout is visible to the person who started it, people invited to it, people who added a clip, and, if it's open, friends of the starter and of the person it's for.
• Share links: anyone who has a Shoutout's link can see a small preview on castcade.me (the title, first names, profile photos and the countdown) and can join it in the app. Clips are never shown on the link page. The starter can turn a link off at any time.
• Your profile (name, username, photo) is visible to other CASTCADE users. You choose in Settings whether others can see your friends list.
• Blocking hides your Shoutouts and clips from each other, both ways.

Service providers

We use a small number of companies to run CASTCADE. They process information only to provide their service to us:

• Supabase: database, file storage and sign-in.
• Resend: sends sign-in emails.
• Expo, Apple and Google: deliver push notifications and app updates.
• Vercel: hosts this website and the castcade.me link pages.

We may also share information if the law requires it, to protect the safety of people using CASTCADE, or as part of a merger or sale of the service (in which case this policy would continue to apply to your information). We don't sell or rent your personal information, and we don't share it for advertising.

How long we keep it

We keep your information while your account is open. Shoutouts and clips stay until they're deleted. The person a Shoutout is for can delete it after it drops, and you can remove clips you added. When you delete your account (Settings → Delete account):

• your profile, friends, invites, reactions, notifications, devices and settings are deleted;
• your clips and files are deleted from everyone's Shoutouts;
• Shoutouts you started that haven't dropped are cancelled. Ones that already dropped stay with the person they were made for, without your clips.

Server logs and backups are kept for a limited time by our providers and then deleted.

Your choices and rights

• Edit your profile, birthday and phone number, and change privacy and notification settings, any time in the app.
• Turn off contacts, camera, microphone, photos or notifications in your phone's Settings.
• Delete your account in the app, or email us and we'll do it for you.
• Ask us for a copy of your information, or to correct it, by emailing hello@getcastcade.com. We'll respond within 30 days.

California residents

If you live in California, you have the right to know what personal information we collect, use and disclose; to request deletion and correction of it; and not to be discriminated against for using these rights. The categories of personal information we collect are described above (identifiers such as email and username; content you create; and device and network information). We do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, and we don't use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes that would require offering you a right to limit it. To make a request, email hello@getcastcade.com. We'll verify your request by confirming it from the email address on your account.

Children

CASTCADE is for people 13 and older. We don't knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has an account, email hello@getcastcade.com and we'll delete it.

Security

We protect your information with encryption in transit, access rules that limit who can see each Shoutout and clip, and hashing of phone numbers and contacts. No service can promise perfect security, but we work to keep your information safe and will tell you if a breach affects you, as the law requires.

International users

CASTCADE is run from the United States, and your information is stored and processed there.

Changes

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. If a change is significant, we'll tell you in the app before it takes effect.

Contact

Matt Gutierrez, CASTCADE · hello@getcastcade.com