Last Updated: January 23, 2026
Welcome to Watchlist. We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our website and services.
By accessing or using Watchlist, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our services.
This policy applies to all users worldwide who access Watchlist. We comply with applicable data protection laws including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for users in the European Economic Area, and other regional privacy regulations.
We collect different types of information to provide and improve our services:
| Data Type | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Account identification and personalization |
| Email Address | Account creation, login, communications, and notifications |
| Password | Account security (stored in encrypted form) |
| Data Type | Purpose |
|---|---|
| IP Address | Security, fraud prevention, and geographic analytics |
| Browser Type and Version | Website optimization and troubleshooting |
| Device Information | Service improvement and compatibility |
| Watchlist Preferences | Storing your movie and TV show tracking data |
| Viewing History | Personalized recommendations and progress tracking |
We collect information directly from you when you:
We automatically collect certain information when you use our services:
We may receive information from third-party services:
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
Essential Service Communications: By providing your email address during registration, you consent to receive essential service communications from us. These include:
These are transactional and service-related communications that are necessary for the operation of your account. You cannot opt out of these essential communications while maintaining an active account. The only way to stop receiving these emails is to delete your account, which will result in the loss of all your data including watchlists and preferences.
We process your personal data based on the following legal grounds:
When you create an account, you consent to our collection and use of your data as described in this policy. You may withdraw consent at any time by deleting your account.
Processing is necessary to provide the services you requested, such as maintaining your watchlist and tracking your viewing progress.
We may process data for our legitimate business interests, such as:
We may process data when required by law or to respond to valid legal requests from authorities.
We work with trusted third-party service providers to operate our platform. These providers have access to your data only to perform specific tasks on our behalf:
| Service | Purpose | Data Shared |
|---|---|---|
| MongoDB Atlas | Cloud database hosting | All stored user data (encrypted) |
| Google OAuth | Social login authentication | Authentication tokens |
| Google reCAPTCHA | Bot protection and form security | IP address, browser data |
| SendGrid/PHPMailer | Email delivery | Email address, name |
| TMDB API | Movie and TV show data | No personal data shared |
| Google AdSense | Display advertising | IP address, device info, browsing behavior, cookies |
For more information about how these services handle your data, please refer to their privacy policies:
Watchlist displays advertisements through Google AdSense to help support the free operation of our Service. This section explains how advertising works on our platform and what data may be collected.
We use Google AdSense to display advertisements on Watchlist. Google AdSense may use cookies and similar technologies to:
Google and its advertising partners may collect the following information:
Google may show you personalized ads based on your browsing history and interests, or non-personalized ads based only on contextual information like the content of the page you are viewing.
You can control how Google uses your data for advertising purposes:
Note: Opting out of personalized advertising does not mean you will stop seeing ads. You will still see ads, but they may be less relevant to your interests.
Watchlist operates globally and serves users worldwide. Your data may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence.
Our primary data storage is provided by MongoDB Atlas, which operates data centers in multiple regions. When your data is transferred internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place:
By using our services, you acknowledge and consent to the transfer of your information to facilities and servers located outside your country of residence.
We implement robust security measures to protect your personal information:
While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but are committed to maintaining the highest practical standards.
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy:
| Data Type | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| Account Information | Until account deletion or 6 months of inactivity |
| Watchlist and Progress Data | Until account deletion |
| Security Logs | 1-6 months |
| Contact Form Submissions | 6 months after resolution |
| Email Verification Tokens | 30 minutes (auto-expire) |
| Password Reset Tokens | 1 hour (auto-expire) |
After the retention period, data is securely deleted from our systems. You may request earlier deletion of your data by contacting us or deleting your account.
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:
You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. Access your dashboard to view your stored information or contact us for a complete data export.
You can update or correct your personal information through your account settings or by contacting us.
You can request deletion of your personal data. You may delete your account at any time, which will remove your data from our active systems.
You can request that we limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
You can request your data in a machine-readable format. Use the "Export CSV" feature in your dashboard to download your watchlist data.
You can object to processing of your personal data for certain purposes, including marketing communications.
Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at the email address provided below. We will respond to your request within 30 days.
We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience on Watchlist:
| Cookie Name | Type | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| theme | Preference | Stores your dark/light mode preference | 1 year |
| AUTH_TOKEN | Authentication | Maintains your logged-in session | Session/30 days |
| PHPSESSID | Essential | Server session management | Session |
| _ga, _gid | Advertising | Google AdSense tracking and ad personalization | Up to 2 years |
| __gads, __gpi | Advertising | Google advertising cookies for ad delivery | Up to 13 months |
Google reCAPTCHA may set cookies to verify you are not a bot. Google AdSense sets advertising cookies to deliver and measure ads. These cookies are subject to Google's privacy policy.
You can control cookies through your browser settings. However, disabling essential cookies may affect the functionality of our website. Most browsers allow you to:
Watchlist is not intended for children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16 years of age.
If you are under 16, please do not:
If we discover that we have collected personal information from a child under 16 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information immediately.
If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately at the email address below.
We offer an optional newsletter to share curated movie and TV highlights, trends, and updates. If you sign up for the newsletter we collect your email address and store it in our newsletter_subscribers collection in MongoDB. We may also associate an unsubscribe token with your record to allow one-click unsubscribe links in emails.
Purpose: We use the email address only to deliver the newsletter and important service-related communications. You may unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link included in each newsletter or by visiting the unsubscribe page.
Legal basis: Where required, we rely on your consent to send marketing-style newsletters. Transactional and security emails (account verification, password resets, policy updates) are necessary for service operation and cannot be opted out of without deleting your account.
Retention: Newsletter subscription records are retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion. You may request deletion via your account settings or by contacting us.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, or other factors.
When we make significant changes:
We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information. Your continued use of Watchlist after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
We aim to respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 30 days. For urgent matters, please indicate "URGENT" in your email subject line.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.