Privacy Policy

Last Modified: February 25, 2026
This document is version-controlled via Git. See the commit history for a full changelog.

1. Introduction

CrowdCue ("we," "us," or "our") is a real-time collaborative video queue application where DJs host sessions and audience members submit and vote on YouTube video requests. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and your rights regarding your data.

We believe in complete transparency. We do not sell your data, we do not use advertising trackers, and we collect only the minimum data necessary to operate the service.

2. Data We Collect

2.1 Data You Provide Directly

Data Purpose When Collected
Google account email address Account creation, authentication, and communication When you sign in with Google
Google account display name Display name in sessions When you sign in with Google
Custom display name How other users see you in a session When you set or update your display name
YouTube video search queries To find and queue videos When you search for videos

2.2 Data Collected Automatically

Data Purpose Retention
IP address Security, abuse prevention, rate limiting, and user management (shown to DJs for anonymous users) Stored with user record; cleared on account deletion
User agent (browser/device info) API request logging, debugging, and security monitoring Stored in API request logs; can be cleared by admin
Last active timestamp User presence detection (online/inactive status) Updated every 5 minutes; stored with user record
API request logs Performance monitoring, debugging, and security auditing Stored in database; can be cleared by admin
Vote records Enforce voting limits and prevent abuse Stored per session; can be cleared by admin
Display name history Moderation and abuse tracking Stored per session; can be cleared by admin

2.3 Data We Do NOT Collect

  • We do not use analytics or advertising trackers (no Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, etc.)
  • We do not collect payment information (CrowdCue is free)
  • We do not access your Google contacts, calendar, or other Google services beyond authentication
  • We do not store your Google password (authentication is handled entirely by Google)
  • We do not track your browsing activity outside of CrowdCue

3. Cookies

CrowdCue uses only essential cookies required for the application to function. We do not use tracking cookies, advertising cookies, or third-party analytics cookies.

Cookie Type Purpose Duration
crowdcue_user_guid Essential Identifies your device across sessions so you can rejoin a DJ session and your votes are tracked correctly 365 days
.AspNetCore.Session Essential Maintains your server-side session state (e.g., which DJ session you are managing) 30 minutes (idle timeout)
.AspNetCore.Identity.Application Essential Keeps you signed in after Google authentication Session (expires when browser closes)
crowdcue_recovery_token Essential Allows DJ sessions to survive server restarts/deployments 24 hours

All cookies are marked HttpOnly (not accessible to JavaScript), Secure (transmitted only over HTTPS), and SameSite=Strict or SameSite=Lax (protection against cross-site request forgery).

Because we use only essential cookies, no cookie consent banner is required under GDPR. However, we disclose all cookies here for full transparency.

4. How We Use Your Data

  • Authentication: Your Google email and name are used to create and manage your CrowdCue account.
  • Session participation: Your display name and votes are shown to other users in the same DJ session.
  • Moderation: DJs and moderators can see your display name, role, and (for anonymous users) IP address to manage their sessions.
  • Security: IP addresses and API logs are used to detect and prevent abuse, enforce rate limits, and investigate security incidents.
  • Service improvement: Aggregated, non-identifying statistics (e.g., total sessions created, total votes cast) may be used to improve CrowdCue.

5. Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to third parties. Data is shared only in the following limited circumstances:

  • Google (Authentication): When you sign in, your browser communicates directly with Google's OAuth servers. Google's use of your data is governed by the Google Privacy Policy.
  • YouTube (Video Data): When you search for videos, we make API calls to the YouTube Data API v3 on your behalf. No personal data is sent to YouTube in these requests — only search queries and video IDs. YouTube's use of data is governed by the YouTube Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy.
  • Cloudflare (Infrastructure): If CrowdCue is served behind Cloudflare, your requests pass through Cloudflare's network. Cloudflare's use of data is governed by the Cloudflare Privacy Policy.
  • Session participants: Your display name is visible to other users in the same DJ session. DJs and moderators can also see your role and activity status. Anonymous users' IP addresses are visible to DJs for moderation purposes.
  • Legal requirements: We may disclose data if required by law, court order, or governmental request.

6. YouTube API Services

CrowdCue uses the YouTube Data API v3 to search for videos, retrieve video metadata (title, duration, channel, thumbnails), and import playlists. By using CrowdCue's video search and playlist features, you are also bound by:

CrowdCue does not upload content to YouTube, does not access your YouTube account data, and does not store YouTube authentication tokens. Video playback is handled through the YouTube IFrame Player API, which loads content directly from YouTube's servers to your browser.

7. Data Retention

  • Account data (email, name, role) is retained as long as your account exists.
  • Session data (queue items, votes, blocked videos) is retained as long as the DJ session exists. DJs can delete their sessions.
  • API request logs are retained indefinitely but can be cleared by administrators with date-range filtering.
  • IP addresses are overwritten with your most recent IP each time you use the service.
  • Display name history is retained per session and can be cleared by administrators.

8. Your Rights

8.1 All Users

  • Access: You can view your profile data at any time through the Profile page.
  • Correction: You can update your display name at any time.
  • Deletion: You can request account deletion by contacting the site administrator. This will remove your account and associated personal data.
  • Portability: You can request a copy of your data in a machine-readable format.

8.2 European Economic Area (GDPR)

If you are in the EEA, you have the following additional rights under the General Data Protection Regulation:

  • Legal basis: We process your data based on legitimate interest (operating the service) and, for authentication, your consent (signing in with Google).
  • Right to erasure: You may request deletion of your personal data.
  • Right to restrict processing: You may request that we limit how we use your data.
  • Right to object: You may object to processing based on legitimate interest.
  • Right to lodge a complaint: You may file a complaint with your local data protection authority.

8.3 California Residents (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have the following rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act:

  • Right to know: You may request disclosure of the categories and specific pieces of personal data we have collected.
  • Right to delete: You may request deletion of your personal data.
  • Right to non-discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
  • No sale of data: We do not sell personal data. We never have and never will.

9. Children's Privacy (COPPA)

CrowdCue is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will promptly delete the information.

YouTube content accessed through CrowdCue may be subject to YouTube's own age restrictions and content policies. CrowdCue respects YouTube's age-restriction flags and prevents embedding of age-restricted content.

10. Data Security

  • All data transmission is encrypted via HTTPS/TLS.
  • Cookies are marked HttpOnly, Secure, and SameSite=Strict.
  • Passwords are never stored — authentication is delegated entirely to Google OAuth 2.0.
  • Database access is restricted to the application server.
  • API endpoints use server-side authorization checks to prevent unauthorized access.
  • All user input is sanitized to prevent SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.
  • Real-time communication (SignalR/WebSocket) connections are authenticated and session-scoped.

11. International Data Transfers

CrowdCue may be hosted on servers in the United States or other countries. By using CrowdCue, you consent to the transfer of your data to the country where the service is hosted. We apply the same privacy protections regardless of where data is stored.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be reflected by updating the "Last Modified" date at the top of this page. This document is tracked in our Git repository — you can review the full history of changes in the commit log.

For material changes (e.g., new data collection, new third-party sharing), we will make reasonable efforts to notify users through the application.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your data rights, or need to report a privacy concern, please contact the CrowdCue administrator through the application or via the contact information provided on the site.

14. Open-Source Attribution

CrowdCue is built with the following open-source technologies and we gratefully acknowledge their contributors:

Technology License Usage
ASP.NET Core (Microsoft) MIT License Web application framework
Entity Framework Core (Microsoft) MIT License Database ORM
ASP.NET Core SignalR (Microsoft) MIT License Real-time WebSocket communication
ASP.NET Core Identity (Microsoft) MIT License User authentication and management
Npgsql PostgreSQL License PostgreSQL database driver for .NET
PostgreSQL PostgreSQL License Relational database
Bootstrap 5 MIT License CSS framework for responsive UI
QRCoder MIT License QR code generation for session sharing

CrowdCue also uses the YouTube Data API v3 and YouTube IFrame Player API, which are provided by Google LLC and governed by the YouTube API Services Terms of Service.

For instructions on how to update this Privacy Policy, see LEGAL_MAINTENANCE.md in the project repository.