Privacy Policy
Effective October 28, 2026
Bynge (formerly Kino) ("Bynge", "we", "us") is an app for ranking the movies and TV shows you watch, sharing them with friends, and deciding what to watch together. This policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, and the choices you have. It applies to the Bynge iOS app and this website.
- We collect what you give us to run Bynge: your account, profile, rankings, notes, lists, photos you attach, and your activity with friends.
- We don't sell your data, show ads, or use third-party analytics or tracking. We do keep simple records of how the app is used (like which features get used) in our own database, to make Bynge better. Those are never sold or shared.
- Your account is public by default. You can make it private, and you can hide individual logs.
- Some optional "Bynge AI" features use Anthropic's Claude. They only run after you say yes (Settings → Bynge AI), and we list exactly what each one sends. Search, recommendations and taste matching run on Bynge's own servers.
- You can delete your account in the app at any time (Settings → Account → Delete account). That removes your data.
Information we collect
Account information
- Email address if you sign in with email. We send you a one-time code; there's no password.
- Sign in with Apple: an identifier from Apple and, if you choose to share them, your name and email. You can use Apple's "Hide My Email", in which case we get a relay address. We also keep a token from Apple so we can revoke Bynge's access when you delete your account.
- Sign in with Google: an identifier from Google, your name and your email address.
- Guest accounts: if you explore as a guest, we create an account with no email or name. You can save it later by adding Apple, Google or an email; if you sign out first, the guest data is lost.
Profile information
Your username, display name, profile photo, bio, school (optional), social links (optional), your privacy settings, and your device's time zone (used for streaks and reminders).
What you create in Bynge
- Rankings and scores for movies and shows, and the notes you write on them.
- Watch logs: the date, where you watched, notes, and any photo you attach.
- Your watchlist, TV progress, lists, goals and streaks.
- Social activity: who you follow and who follows you (including requests), likes, comments, mentions, recommendation requests and replies, titles you send to friends, Tonight sessions and votes, and your referral link.
- Reports you file and accounts you block.
Netflix viewing history import (optional)
If you choose to import your Netflix viewing history, you pick the file on your device and Bynge reads it there. We send only the title names and watch dates to our server to match them to our catalog. We store the matched titles, the dates, and episode counts so you can rank them. We don't upload or keep the file itself.
Letterboxd import (optional)
If you import your Letterboxd export, Bynge reads the files on your device. We send film names, years, your star ratings and watch dates to our server to match them to our catalog and add them to your rankings, "not ranked yet" list and watchlist. Reviews aren't imported, and we don't keep the files. Imported history is marked as imported, doesn't appear in friends' feeds or count toward leaderboards, and you can undo the whole import.
Bynge AI (optional)
Bynge AI is a set of features that help you pick faster. They come in two kinds.
On Bynge's own servers. Vibe search ("a cozy movie for a rainy Sunday"), mood picks, recommendations, early picks and "taste twins" use a small language model (gte-small) that runs inside our hosting provider, Supabase. Your searches and rankings are turned into numbers there and never leave Bynge's infrastructure. Search text isn't stored. When we compare you with other people (taste twins), we only use what they could already see of you: titles you logged privately are never used.
With Anthropic (Claude), only if you allow it. These features send a little of your data to Anthropic, PBC, which runs the Claude AI model for us. Bynge asks before the first one runs, and you can turn them on or off any time in Settings → Bynge AI. What each one sends:
| Feature | What's sent to Anthropic |
|---|---|
| Ask Bynge (the chat) | What you type in Ask Bynge during that conversation, your rankings and watchlist, details of titles from Bynge's catalog, and rankings and notes from friends who've also turned on Bynge AI (never their private logs). The conversation isn't stored; it ends when you close the chat. |
| Bynge's picks on your Asks | The text of your Ask, your rankings and watchlist, and rankings from friends who've also turned on Bynge AI (never their privately logged titles). |
| Tonight: "what are you in the mood for?" | Only the sentence you type. |
| What your friends said | Notes on that title from friends who've also turned on Bynge AI (never notes on private logs). |
| Smarter Netflix import | The show or movie names from your Netflix history that Bynge couldn't match on its own. |
| Fresher wording | Summaries Bynge already shows you (like your taste profile, or what you and a friend have in common, when they've turned on Bynge AI too) so they can be reworded. |
Never sent: your email, phone number, contacts, photos, private logs, or anything from people who haven't turned on Bynge AI. Under Anthropic's commercial terms, data sent through its API isn't used to train its models, and it's deleted from Anthropic's systems within 30 days (content that Anthropic's safety systems flag may be kept longer, up to 2 years, to enforce its usage policy). We keep the results (for example a generated summary) so we don't ask twice, and delete them when the inputs change or you delete your account. We log how much each feature is used, with your account ID replaced by a one-way code and without any of the text.
Safety screening of public posts. Before your first public post (a comment, an Ask, a note others can see, or your bio), Bynge asks you to agree that public posts are screened for safety by Anthropic's Claude. Bynge sends the text of the post and keeps only the result (for example "ok" or "needs a look"). Private things (your rankings, private logs, your watchlist) are never screened. If you don't agree, you can still use everything that isn't public. Reports you file may be summarized the same way so we can review the most urgent ones first.
Usage data (first-party)
The app records simple events about how it's used, for example that an invite link was opened, a step of sign-up was finished, a title was ranked, a recommendation was saved or dismissed, a share card was shared, or a Tonight session found a pick. Each event has a name, a time, the app version and platform, a random ID created for your installation, and, once you're signed in, your account ID. Events can include IDs and simple details (such as a title's ID, movie or TV, or how many titles were involved), but never your messages, notes, search text, names or email address.
We use these events only to understand and improve Bynge (for example, where people get stuck during sign-up) and to keep it working. They are stored in our own database, are not sold, are not shared with third parties, and are not used for advertising or to track you across other apps or websites. Events linked to your account are deleted when you delete your account.
Invite links
Anyone can create a Bynge account; there's no waitlist or invite code. If you sign up from a friend's invite link, we record who invited you so we can credit them and so you follow them (a request, if their account is private). Accounts created before sign-up opened may still have the date they joined and the date they got in, from when Bynge had a waitlist.
Phone number and contacts (optional)
Let friends find you by phone number. If you turn this on, we verify your number by text message, then keep only a keyed, one-way hash of it (an HMAC made with a secret only our server has), so people who have your number in their contacts can find you. Your number is never shown to anyone. Turning it off deletes the hash and the number from your account.
Find friends from contacts. Only when you tap it, and after you allow contacts access in iOS, the app reads the phone numbers in your contacts, formats them on your device and sends them to our server over an encrypted connection. The server hashes them the same way, compares them with people who chose to be found, and returns only matches (their username, name and photo). We don't store the numbers you send, the names in your contacts, or the fact that you looked, and nobody is told you searched. Bynge never texts anyone for you. Matching is rate-limited to stop misuse.
Notifications
If you allow notifications, we store your device's push token so we can send you alerts (for example, a friend's comment or a new release on your watchlist). You can turn notifications off in iOS Settings at any time.
What we don't collect
We don't collect your location, camera or microphone input, advertising identifiers, or health data. We don't keep your contacts: numbers sent for "Find friends from contacts" are compared and discarded (see above). We don't use third-party analytics, advertising or tracking SDKs, and we don't track you across other companies' apps or websites.
How we use information
- To provide Bynge: your rankings, profile, feed, taste matches, recommendations, leaderboards, lists and Tonight sessions.
- To show your activity to other people according to your privacy settings (see below).
- To send sign-in codes and the notifications you've allowed.
- To keep Bynge safe: to review reports, enforce our Terms, and prevent abuse.
- To fix problems and improve Bynge, including by looking at first-party usage data in aggregate.
Who can see your information
- Public account (default): your profile, rankings, lists and activity are visible to other Bynge users.
- Private account: only people you approve as followers see your rankings and activity. Your username, display name and photo remain visible so people can find and request to follow you.
- Stealth logs: logs you mark private aren't shown to anyone else, and never appear on share cards, hot takes or friend notifications.
- Friend activity: when you rank a title, mutual friends who've ranked it may see how your order compares with theirs (for example, in a daily notification). Private logs and private accounts follow the rules above.
- Weekly leaderboard: your mutual friends see your points for the week (counts only, never what you logged privately).
- People you block can't see your profile or activity.
- Comments and likes you leave on someone else's post are visible to people who can see that post.
Service providers
We share information only with providers that run Bynge for us, under agreements that limit their use of it:
| Provider | What they do |
|---|---|
| Supabase | Hosts our database, sign-in, file storage and server functions (United States). |
| Expo (650 Industries) | Delivers push notifications and app updates. |
| Apple, Google | Sign in with Apple and Sign in with Google, when you use them. |
| Resend | Sends sign-in code emails. |
| Vercel | Hosts this website. |
| SMS provider (via Supabase) | Sends the code that verifies a phone number, only if you choose to verify one. |
| Anthropic, PBC | Runs the Claude AI model for the optional Bynge AI features you turn on, and screens public posts for safety (see "Bynge AI" above). United States. |
| The Movie Database (TMDB) | Provides movie and TV information and images. Your device loads posters directly from TMDB's image servers, which receive your IP address as part of that request. |
We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect the safety of people using Bynge, or as part of a merger or acquisition (in which case this policy continues to apply).
Retention and deletion
We keep your information while your account exists. When you delete your account in the app (Settings → Account → Delete account), we delete your profile, rankings, logs, photos, lists, social activity, push tokens and the usage events linked to your account, and revoke Sign in with Apple, right away. Usage events recorded before you signed in carry only a random installation ID and aren't linked to you. Copies can remain in our hosting provider's backups for a limited period before they're overwritten. Reports you filed about others may be kept as long as needed to keep Bynge safe. Bynge AI results (summaries, reworded copy, Bynge's picks, safety-screening results) are deleted with your account. If you prefer, email us and we'll delete your account for you.
Your choices and rights
- Edit your profile and privacy settings in the app at any time.
- Delete individual rankings, logs, comments and lists, or your whole account.
- Turn off notifications in iOS Settings.
- Turn Bynge AI on or off in Settings → Bynge AI. Turning it off stops anything new being sent to Anthropic.
- Ask us for a copy of your data, or to correct or delete it, by emailing krishwaghani@gmail.com. Depending on where you live (for example California or the EU/UK), you may have additional rights, and we'll honor requests as the law requires.
Children
Bynge is not intended for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect information from them. If you believe a child under 13 has an account, contact us and we'll delete it.
Security
Data is encrypted in transit, access is restricted by per-user security rules in our database, and sign-in uses one-time codes or Apple/Google. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information.
Changes
If we make material changes, we'll update the date above and let you know in the app.
Contact
Questions or requests: krishwaghani@gmail.com
Bynge uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Streaming availability is provided by JustWatch.