Privacy Policy
Couchside · last updated July 2026
Couchside collects nothing. The app talks only to the service running on your own machine, on your own local network. There is no cloud server, no account, and no analytics — so there is nothing for us to see, store, or share.
What we collect
Nothing. Couchside has no analytics, no crash reporting, no advertising identifiers, and no third-party SDKs. We do not operate a server that your app or service talks to, so no usage data ever reaches us.
How your data flows
Everything happens between two devices you own — your phone and your Linux box — over your home network:
- The connection details you enter (host, port, and access token) are stored locally on your phone, in the device's secure keychain.
- The app sends requests directly to the service on your box (system stats, log lines, actions, and controller input) and receives its replies. This traffic stays on your LAN.
- None of it is routed through, copied to, or logged by any server operated by us or anyone else.
The camera
Couchside can use your phone's camera for exactly one thing: reading the pairing QR code shown on your box's screen, from the scanner inside the app (Setup → Scan a pairing code). The camera is only active while that scanner is open, frames are processed on the phone and never stored, no image or video is recorded, and nothing from the camera leaves your device. The app never touches your photo library. You can also skip the in-app scanner entirely: your phone's built-in Camera app reads the same code and opens Couchside with the details filled in, and camera permission is never required for that (or for anything else).
The service on your box
The open-source Couchside service runs on your own machine and stores its access token there in a root-owned file. It logs request activity to your system journal (with tokens redacted), which never leaves your machine. Its source code is public, so you can audit exactly what it does.
Children
Couchside is a utility for managing your own computer and collects no personal information from anyone, including children.
Changes
If this policy ever changes, the updated version will be posted here with a new date. Because the app collects no data, we do not anticipate material changes.
Contact
Questions? Email support@couchside.tv or open an issue on GitHub.