Privacy policy

KARE is a diary and community for the films, series and anime you watch, on the web and on iPhone. It isn't a company with a legal department: it's built and run by one person, KARE (operator name to be confirmed), who is the data controller for the personal data described here. In this policy "KARE", "I" and "me" mean that operator, and "you" means you, the member or visitor.

I wrote this to be read, not scrolled past. If anything in it is unclear, or you have a question about your data, write to [email protected] and I'll answer it myself.

When you create an account: your email address, a password (stored only as a one-way hash, never readable by me) and the username you choose. If you sign up with Google or Apple instead, that provider confirms who you are and gives KARE your email address (Apple may give a private relay address); KARE never sees your password there.

What you add to your profile, if you choose to: display name, given and family name, bio, pronouns, location, country, website, avatar image, profile colours, favourite titles and people, banner, and the achievements you pin.

What you do on KARE:

• Diary entries, ratings, likes, rewatches, watchlist, episode progress and "did not finish" logs
• Reviews, episode reviews, replies, tags and timestamped reactions
• Lists, list comments, marathons and collaborations
• Follows, friend requests, blocks and the people you follow in film credits
• Direct messages and the conversations they belong to
• KAREs (still frames you upload), content warning answers and songs you add to a title
• Reports you file, awards you give, and Pro, gift and credit records
• Notification preferences and privacy settings

Imports: when you import a Letterboxd, IMDb or Trakt export, the file is read in your browser. Only the entries you confirm are saved to your account. To match films, only their titles, years and IMDb ids are sent to KARE's server, which looks them up in the film catalogue. If you choose to look up films by their Letterboxd links, those links are sent to KARE's server, which reads them on letterboxd.com; they can include your Letterboxd username.

Technical data: like most websites, KARE's hosting provider records requests to its servers, including your IP address, browser type, the page requested and the time, in server logs used to keep the service running and secure. I do not build profiles from this data.

KARE is a social diary, so much of what you add is public by default, including to people without an account:

• Your profile: username, display name, avatar, bio and the other profile fields you fill in
• Your diary, ratings, likes, reviews, replies, follows, KAREs and achievements
• Your lists and marathons, unless you make them private

Private to you (and, where it applies, the other people involved):

• Your email address, which is never shown on your profile
• Direct messages, visible only to the people in the conversation
• Private lists (you and your collaborators) and private marathons
• Your watchlist, unless you turn on Share my watchlist
• Your blocks, reports, notifications, credits and content warning answers (warnings are only shown as totals)

You control more in Settings → Profile: whether you appear in the Members directory, who can reply to your reviews, who can message you, and whether your watchlist is shared. Awards can be given anonymously.

I use your data only to run KARE:

• To provide the service you signed up for: your account, diary, social features, messages, notifications, imports and exports (performance of my agreement with you)
• To keep KARE safe: handling reports, enforcing blocks, removing content that breaks the terms, and preventing abuse (my legitimate interest in a safe community, and legal obligations)
• To keep it secure and working: sign-in, fraud and abuse prevention, fixing errors (legitimate interest)
• To process payments for KARE Pro, gifts and credits, when you buy them (performance of my agreement with you, and legal obligations such as keeping payment records). You pay on the payment provider's own page: your member id and email are passed to it, I receive confirmation of the payment, and I never see your card details

I send email only for your account, such as confirming your address or a change of email. I do not send marketing email.

Your data is processed by the hosting, database and sign-in, email, payment and film catalogue providers KARE runs on, acting on KARE's behalf and only to do their part. Typefaces, posters, images, trailers and song previews load in your browser directly from the services that serve them, which, like any website you visit, receive your IP address; a trailer loads nothing until you press Trailer, and links to other sites are ordinary links governed by those sites' own policies.

I do not sell or rent your personal data, and I do not share it with advertisers or data brokers. KARE has no advertising, no third-party analytics and no tracking pixels.

KARE stores a few things on your device so the site works and remembers your choices: your sign-in session, your colour theme, which tips you have already seen, unsent review drafts, challenge progress, and some cached pages for speed. These are kept in your browser's local or session storage (or the app's storage on iPhone) and are not used to track you. KARE sets no advertising or tracking cookies. Signing out or clearing your browser's site data removes them.

I keep your data while your account exists. You can delete individual entries, reviews, lists, messages and KAREs yourself at any time.

You can delete your whole account in Settings → Sign-in & security, or in the iPhone app under Settings → Delete account. Deletion is immediate: your sign-in, profile and everything tied to your account are deleted from KARE's database, and your avatar and KARE images are deleted from storage. It cannot be undone, so export your data first if you want a copy.

Some traces can remain for a limited time: encrypted database backups kept by KARE's providers are overwritten in the normal cycle (up to 30 days), and server logs expire on the host's schedule. Messages other people sent you stay with them. Where the law requires me to keep something (for example payment records), I keep only that, only for as long as required.

Depending on where you live, laws such as the EU and UK GDPR and Türkiye's Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK, No. 6698) give you rights over your personal data. You can:

• Access and take a copy: export your diary, reviews, ratings, watchlist and lists from Settings → Your data; ask me for anything else
• Correct it: edit your profile and entries yourself, or ask me
• Delete it: delete content, or your whole account, yourself (see above)
• Object or restrict: ask me to stop or limit a use of your data based on my legitimate interests
• Withdraw consent where I rely on it
• Complain to a data protection authority, such as the Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK) in Türkiye or the authority where you live in the EU or UK

To use any of these, write to [email protected]. I may need to confirm it is really you, and I reply within 30 days.

KARE is not directed at children under 13, and you must be at least 13 to create an account. Where the law of your country sets a higher age for agreeing to the use of your data (up to 16 in some countries), you need the consent of a parent or guardian. If you believe a child under 13 has an account, tell me and I will delete it.

KARE's service providers may store or process data in the European Union, the United States or other countries, which may be different from where you live. Where the law requires it, these transfers rely on appropriate safeguards such as the European Commission's standard contractual clauses or the equivalent mechanisms under KVKK.

Connections to KARE are encrypted. Access to data in KARE's database is enforced by row-level security rules, so members can only change their own data and read what is meant to be visible to them. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects your data, I will tell you and the authorities as the law requires.

If I change this policy, I will update the date at the top of this page. If a change is significant, I will also tell you on KARE before it takes effect.

Questions, requests or complaints about your data: [email protected]. Operator: KARE (operator name to be confirmed).