Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Viewstorm ("Viewstorm", "we") is an invite-only YouTube research and production service at viewstorm.app, with a web app, a desktop app and a phone app. It is operated by its founder. Contact: [email protected].

Viewstorm uses YouTube API Services. By using Viewstorm you also agree to the YouTube Terms of Service. Google's handling of your data is described in the Google Privacy Policy.

This policy explains everything we collect, why, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and how to remove it. If anything here is unclear, email us and we will explain.

2. Information we collect

When you apply

• Your name and email address
• Your answers to the application questions
• Your browser's timezone (used only to decide whether applications are open in your region)
• Your IP address (used only to limit how many applications one address can send, to stop spam)

When you connect your YouTube channel to apply (Google OAuth)

The application asks you to connect the Google account that owns your channel with read-only access. We request:

• youtube.readonly: your channel's name, handle, avatar, description, country, creation date, subscriber count, view count and video count, and the titles of your most-viewed videos
• yt-analytics.readonly: aggregate YouTube Analytics for your channel: views, watch time, average view duration, subscribers gained and lost, likes and comments over the last 28, 90 and 365 days, and your five most-viewed videos of the last 90 days
• userinfo.email / userinfo.profile: the email address and name of the connected Google account

We read this once, at the moment you connect, and save it with your application as a snapshot. Right after reading it we revoke the access Google gave us, so we keep no Google token and cannot read your channel again.

When you have an account

• Sign-in: your email address, name and profile picture from Google, or, in the iPhone app, your name and email (or Apple's private relay address) from Sign in with Apple
• Your workspace: the YouTube channel, Instagram handle and TikTok handle you enter, and one colour taken from that channel's public picture, used only to tint the app's background
• What you create and run: projects, scripts, ideas, schedules, workflows, alert rules, data sources, and the results of the research and editing tools you use
• Files you work with: the desktop app keeps your videos, audio and design files on your computer. Our servers keep their names and where they are on your computer (so the tools can find them again), details such as length and size, and, when a tool needs to look at a file, a smaller copy: an audio track, a low-resolution video preview, or an image of a design template or a rendered graphic
• Videos you post: the video you choose to post is uploaded to our servers (see "Posting to your connected accounts" below)
• Usage records: each paid AI or search request your work makes (which tool, when, and its cost), to show you and us what the service costs
• Alerts: the email address alerts are sent to, and, if you allow notifications in the phone app, a push notification token for your device
• Technical logs: for each request to our servers, the method, path, result and duration, and whether it came from a browser or an app (never the content of the request, cookies or passwords)

Our research tools also read public information from YouTube and the web (public channels, videos, view counts, transcripts and comments, and web and image search results) to research your market. This is public information about channels and videos, not information about you.

Posting to your connected accounts

You may approve a public release time for YouTube or Instagram up to six days ahead. We store that time and the approved account with the post. YouTube receives a private upload before release, and we read its status to confirm the scheduled time. Instagram receives the video shortly before release; our server publishes it at or after the approved time. Once a video is scheduled on YouTube, its release is managed by YouTube, including after you disconnect here.

You can connect your YouTube, TikTok and Instagram accounts so Viewstorm can post videos for you. Connecting is optional, each account is connected separately, and nothing is posted unless you approve it.

• YouTube: you sign in with Google and allow youtube.upload (to upload the videos you approve) and youtube.readonly (to show which channel is connected)
• TikTok: you allow user.info.basic (your display name and avatar) and video.publish (to post the videos you approve)
• Instagram (professional accounts): you allow instagram_business_basic (your account name and picture) and instagram_business_content_publish (to post the Reels you approve)

For each connection we keep the platform's account ID, name, handle and picture, and the access and refresh tokens the platform issues. The tokens are encrypted, used only on our servers, and only to post what you approve and to keep the connection's details current; they are never sent to your browser or apps. We read the account's details again at least every 30 days; if the platform tells us your access was removed, we delete the connection.

When you post, you choose the video, the accounts, and every setting (caption, title, description, who can watch, interactions and disclosures). TikTok also shows you your TikTok account and limits before you post. The video is uploaded to our servers, sent to the platforms you chose, and deleted from our servers once every platform has it, or after 7 days at the latest. Each post's status, links and any errors are kept for 7 days so you can follow it. The platforms process what you post under their own privacy policies.

3. How we use your information

• To review your application and decide whether we're a fit
• To sign you in and run the tools you have access to
• To research, plan and produce content for your channel
• To post the videos you approve to the accounts you connected
• To send the alerts you set up, by email or phone notification
• To track what the service costs, and to keep it secure and working
• To contact you about the work we do together

AI processing

Many tools (we call them Storm) use AI models. When you run one, the content it needs (for example a script, transcripts of public videos, or the preview copy of a file you chose to analyze) is sent to the AI model provider we use, which processes it on our behalf and returns the result. We do not use your content to train AI models. Data we receive from Google APIs (your channel connection and the application snapshot) is not sent to AI model providers.

Google user data: Limited Use

Viewstorm's use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. In plain terms:

• Google user data is used only to provide the features you use: reviewing your application, and uploading the videos you approve to your channel
• It is never sold, never used for advertising, and never used to build profiles unrelated to the service
• It is never used to develop, improve or train AI models
• It is not transferred to anyone except as needed to run the service (our hosting and database providers), to comply with the law, or with your consent
• People read it only to review your application, or with your permission to help with your account

4. Who we share it with

We do not sell your personal data. We share information only with:

• Service providers that run Viewstorm: hosting (Vercel for the website, Railway for our servers and database), AI model providers (to run the tools you use), email delivery (Resend, for alert emails), and push notification services (Expo, with Apple and Google, for phone notifications)
• The platforms you post to: YouTube, TikTok and Instagram receive the videos and settings you approve, when you post
• Sign-in providers: Google and Apple, when you sign in with them
• Legal requirements: when required by law or to protect our rights and safety
• Your consent: when you explicitly agree to share something

5. How long we keep it

• The channel snapshot from an application is deleted 30 days after it was taken. A channel connection that is never submitted with an application is deleted after 7 days
• Applications we decline are deleted, with their channel snapshot, when we decline them. Other applications are kept until you ask us to delete them
• Videos you post are deleted from our servers once posted, or after 7 days at the latest; post records are kept for 7 days
• Connected-account tokens and details are deleted when you disconnect the account, when the platform tells us your access was removed, or when you delete your Viewstorm account
• Your account data is kept while you have an account and deleted when you delete it (see below)
• Usage cost records are kept for our accounts; when you delete your account they no longer name you
• Server logs are kept by our hosting provider for a limited time

6. Data security

We use encryption in transit, secure sign-in, and restricted access. Platform tokens are encrypted at rest, stored only on our servers, and never returned to browsers or apps. Links to uploaded videos are signed and expire. No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Your rights and revoking access

• Access: request a copy of the data we hold about you
• Correction: request correction of inaccurate data
• Deletion: delete your account at any time on your Account page (web or phone app). This deletes your data: projects, results, workflows, alerts, data sources, connected accounts and uploaded videos. You can also email [email protected] (for example to delete an application) and we act within 30 days
• Disconnect YouTube, TikTok or Instagram at any time on your Account page. We revoke our access on YouTube and TikTok and delete the stored tokens; Instagram access can also be removed in Instagram's settings. Disconnecting does not delete posts already on the platform
• Revoke Google access at any time from your Google security settings (find "Viewstorm" and remove access). We then can no longer use the connection, and we delete the data we kept from it within 30 days

8. Cookies and similar technology

We use a session cookie to keep you signed in, a short-lived cookie during the application's Google connection step, and browser storage to remember preferences and an application in progress. The phone and desktop apps store your sign-in on your device. We do not use advertising cookies, analytics trackers, or third-party ads.

9. Children's privacy

Viewstorm is not intended for users under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 and will delete it promptly if we learn we have.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy and will post the new date at the top of this page. If a change affects how we use data from your connected accounts, we will tell you in the app before it applies.

11. Contact

Questions or complaints about this policy or your data: [email protected]

Public community research

Our research tools read public video titles, thumbnails, transcripts, view counts and comments, along with public discussions on websites, forums and social platforms. Storm summarizes this evidence into an audience profile and evidence-linked insights about topics, packaging, hooks and content preferences. Adjacent discovery also keeps public video recommendation paths, classified video types, saved channels and unexplored videos so your requested or scheduled workflow can continue finding new sources. We keep these summaries, source evidence, local text-search vectors, your corrections and idea checks in your account until account deletion. Ideation generates recommendations when you request them and can carry the original video references and audience insights into your projects. Public evidence can suggest audience preferences; it does not measure individual viewers or prove click-through or retention performance. This research does not use data obtained through your Google sign-in or connected Google account.