Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 2026

The Later List is built to be private. It does not require an account, it does not track you, and your list never reaches us unless you choose to publish a link to it. Your list lives on your device and, if you choose, in your own private iCloud (iPhone and iPad) or Google account backup (Android). This policy explains exactly what that means for both versions of the app.

1. Who we are

The Later List is made by MVCS ApS, a company registered in Denmark. For anything in this policy, MVCS ApS is the data controller. You can reach us at hello@thelaterlist.app.

2. What the app stores

The Later List stores the items you add: the title, type (movie, TV, or book), cover image link, year, runtime or page count or season count, a synopsis, an external rating, an optional "recommended by" note, the date added, and whether you've marked it watched or read. This information is created by you and kept on your device in the app's private, sandboxed database (SwiftData on iOS, Room on Android).

That's all. There is no profile, no account, and no personal information beyond the notes you choose to write.

3. Backup and sync

iPhone and iPad. So your list survives a reinstall or a new phone, the app uses Apple's CloudKit to keep a copy in your own private iCloud database, tied to your Apple Account. This is between you and Apple. MVCS ApS has no servers involved and cannot see, access, or retrieve your iCloud data. Apple's handling of iCloud is covered by Apple's Privacy Policy.

Android. The app uses Android's built-in backup, which, if backup is turned on in your device settings, keeps an encrypted copy of the app's list and settings in your own Google account so they can be restored on a new phone. This is between you and Google; MVCS ApS cannot see, access, or retrieve it. Google's handling of backups is covered by Google's Privacy Policy.

4. Searching for things to add

When you search to add a movie, show, or book, the words you type are sent to the relevant content provider so it can return matching results and details:

• TMDB for movies and TV (privacy policy). This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.
• Google Books for books (privacy policy).

Only your search text and the standard technical information that any web request carries are sent. We don't attach your identity to these requests, and we don't store them.

5. Sharing a list

You can choose to share your list with someone. The app then creates a small file containing, for each item, its title, type, year, the identifier TMDB or Google Books uses for it, and any "recommended by" note you wrote. Those notes may include the names of the people who recommended things to you, so check them before you share. You pick who receives the file, using your phone's normal share options (for example Messages or email). It goes directly from you to them and never passes through any server of ours.

When you open a list someone shared with you, the app adds its items to your list and looks up their cover art and details from TMDB or Google Books, exactly as described above for searching. Nothing is added without you tapping "Add to my list".

Publishing a link. Instead of sending a file, you can choose to publish your list as a link, so people without the app can see it. Only then does your list leave your device for us: the app sends the same contents as a shared file (the list name, and each item's title, type, year, TMDB or Google Books identifier and "recommended by" note) to our sharing service at share.thelaterlist.app. We store it for at most 90 days, after which it is deleted automatically, and you can stop sharing it sooner from the app at any time. No account, name or contact details are attached to it.

Anyone who has the link can see the list. Links are long and random, so they can't be guessed, and published lists are not listed anywhere or indexed by search engines. We don't count or track who opens them. The sharing service runs on Cloudflare, which processes requests on our behalf (including your IP address, briefly, to deliver the page and to limit abuse); see Cloudflare's Privacy Policy. When someone views a published list, their browser loads cover images directly from TMDB or Google.

6. Purchases

The app is free. You can optionally leave a small tip. Tips unlock no features. Purchases are handled entirely by the store you installed the app from: Apple through the App Store on iPhone and iPad, and Google through Google Play on Android. MVCS ApS never sees your name, card, or payment details, and receives only the anonymous, aggregated sales reports the stores provide to every developer.

On Android, tips use Google's Play Billing library, which communicates with Google to complete the purchase and may send Google technical and diagnostic information about the purchase process. That is handled under Google's Privacy Policy; we do not receive it.

7. What we never collect

The Later List contains no analytics SDKs, no advertising, no third-party trackers, no crash-reporting services, and no fingerprinting. Apart from the store's own purchase handling and any list you choose to publish as a link (both described above), nothing is sent anywhere except your searches and look-ups to TMDB and Google Books. We do not collect your location, contacts, photos, or any device identifiers. We do not build a profile of you, and we never sell or share data.

8. Children

The Later List is not directed to children under 13 and does not knowingly collect personal information from them.

9. Your rights

Because your data stays on your device, in your own iCloud or Google account, and in any link you choose to publish, you are always in control of it:

• Delete any item inside the app at any time.
• Delete your finished history in one step from the Watched & read screen.
• Stop sharing a published link from the app at any time; it is deleted from our service right away, and automatically after 90 days in any case.
• Remove everything by deleting the app, and by removing its data from iCloud in your device's Settings (iPhone and iPad) or deleting the app's backup from your Google account (Android: Settings, then Google, then Backup).

If you are in the EU/EEA or UK, you have rights under the GDPR including access, correction, deletion, and portability, and the right to complain to your local data-protection authority. The only data we ever hold is a list you chose to publish, and only until you stop sharing it or it expires, so most of these rights you can exercise directly on your device. If you have lost access to a published link, email us the link and we'll delete it. For anything else, email hello@thelaterlist.app and we'll respond within 30 days.

10. Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we'll update this page and the "last updated" date above. If a future version of the app ever begins collecting anything new, we'll say so clearly and, where required, ask for your consent in the app first.

11. Contact

Questions about privacy? Email hello@thelaterlist.app.