Privacy Policy

Cinema Atlas Incorporated ("Cinema Atlas", "we", "us") runs cinema-atlas.com. This policy explains what we collect when you use the site, why, who else handles it, and what you can do about it.

What We Collect

If you create an account

• Account details: your email address, your password (stored only as a one-way hash, never in readable form), and a display name if you choose one.
• If you sign in with Google: the email address, name, Google account ID and profile photo link that Google shares with us. We only accept Google accounts with a verified email address.
• Sign-in records: how many times you have signed in, and the time and IP address of your current and previous sign-in.
• Your lists: the films you save, whether you want to watch them or have watched them, any notes you add, and the names and notes of lists you create.

Share links

A list is private until you choose to share it. Sharing creates a link that anyone who has it can open. The shared page shows your display name (or "A Cinema Atlas explorer" if you haven't set one), any share note you wrote, and the films on the list. It never shows the notes you added to individual films. Shared pages ask search engines not to index them, and you can stop sharing at any time, which turns the link off.

Ask the Atlas

Your questions are processed by an AI service provider to write the answer. We don't send your name, email address or IP address with them. We keep the text of questions, not linked to your account or IP address, to improve the Atlas. Please don't include personal information in your questions.

Everyone who visits

• Searches: the text of what you search for and how many results it found. This is not linked to your account or IP address.
• Homepage shelf clicks: when you click a film on a homepage shelf, your browser sends which shelf it was, along with a random ID kept in your browser's local storage. The ID is not linked to your account or to who you are.
• Server logs: like most websites, our hosting records each request, including your IP address, the page you asked for and the details sent with it (which can include search or question text). We also count requests per IP address to limit abuse.

We do not use Google Analytics or any other analytics or advertising service.

How We Use It

• To run your account and keep your lists
• To answer your questions in Ask the Atlas
• To understand what people look for, and improve search and recommendations
• To keep the site secure and prevent abuse
• To send the emails your account needs

We do not show ads, and we do not sell your personal information or share it for advertising.

Cookies and Browser Storage

We use no advertising or analytics cookies. We store only what the site needs to work:

• Session cookie: keeps you signed in, protects forms against forgery, and remembers which page to return you to after you sign in. It ends when you close your browser.
• Remember-me cookie: set only if you tick "remember me" when signing in. It keeps you signed in for two weeks, and signing out ends it.
• Region cookie (atlas_region): set only if you choose a country for where-to-watch listings. It lasts one year.
• Local storage: the random ID used for homepage shelf clicks (atlas_id), and a count of the free Ask the Atlas questions you have used today when signed out (cinema_atlas_free_asks).
• Session storage: a question you typed before signing in, so it can be asked once you are signed in. It is removed as soon as it is used.

Emails

When you create an account we send a welcome email. If you ask to reset your password, we send a reset link, which works for six hours. We do not send marketing email to account holders.

Who Else Handles Data

We rely on these services to run Cinema Atlas. Each sees only what it needs for its part:

• Railway hosts the site, its database and its server logs (privacy policy).
• Cloudflare sits between your browser and our servers and sees your IP address and the pages you request (privacy policy).
• An AI service provider processes Ask the Atlas questions to write answers, as described above.
• Resend delivers our emails, so it receives your email address and the message (privacy policy).
• Google handles "Continue with Google" sign-in. Our fonts load from Google's servers on every page, so Google receives your IP address when you visit (privacy policy).
• TMDB serves the film posters and streaming-service logos your browser loads, so it receives your IP address (privacy policy).
• YouTube plays trailers through its privacy-enhanced youtube-nocookie.com player, which loads only when you open a trailer (privacy policy).
• jsDelivr serves the map outlines on map pages, so it receives your IP address (privacy policy).

Links to streaming services open on their own sites, under their own policies. We pass no referrer and no tracking codes with them.

How Long We Keep It

We keep your account and lists until you delete your account. You can do this yourself on your profile page by typing your email address to confirm. Deleting your account permanently removes your account details, sign-in records, lists, notes and share links.

Question, search and shelf-click records are not linked to your account, so they are not removed when you delete it, and we do not currently delete them on a fixed schedule. Server logs are kept by our hosting provider.

If your email address was on our earlier newsletter list, deleting your account unsubscribes it. Email us if you would like the address erased entirely.

Your Choices

• Change or remove your display name on your profile page.
• Stop sharing a list at any time.
• Delete your account at any time.
• Email us to ask for a copy of your data, or to correct or delete it. We will respond within a reasonable time.

Children

Cinema Atlas is not directed at children under 13, and you must be at least 13 to create an account. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

Security

The site runs only over encrypted connections (HTTPS), passwords are stored as one-way hashes, and sign-in attempts are rate-limited. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect what you trust us with.

Changes to This Policy

If we change how we handle data, we will update this page and the date at the top before the change takes effect.