Couch Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 2, 2026

This policy describes how the Couch Chrome extension handles information when you use it to synchronize video playback and chat with other people.

Information Couch handles

• Username and room code: The username you choose and the room code you create or join are sent to the Couch server to identify participants and coordinate a room. The extension saves your username and current room code in Chrome's local extension storage. When loading an existing username, it may also read the couch_username key from the current website's local storage as a legacy fallback.
• Chat: Messages you send, your username, the room code, and message timestamps are sent to the Couch server and delivered to participants in that room.
• Playback and media details: The extension sends play, pause, and seek actions, playback positions, the detected video title, and the video's source URL to the server for synchronization. The title is shared with participants in the room. The source URL is sent to the server but is not displayed to other participants by Couch.
• Connection information: The server creates a temporary Socket.IO connection identifier. Render, our hosting provider, may process network and connection information, such as an IP address, to deliver and secure the service.

How information is used and shared

Couch uses this information only to provide synchronized rooms, playback updates, chat, and the operation and security of those features. Room content is shared with participants connected to the same room. The Couch server is hosted by Render, which processes information as needed to provide hosting and related infrastructure services.

Storage and retention

The Couch server keeps room and chat state in memory while a room is active. When the last participant leaves, the server schedules that room state for deletion after 60 seconds; a participant reconnecting during that period cancels the scheduled deletion. Couch does not write room state to a persistent application database.

For diagnostics, the server also writes chat messages, usernames, and room codes, and temporary socket identifiers to application logs. The current Render Hobby workspace makes these logs available in Render's log explorer for up to 7 days. No external log-stream destination is configured for the workspace at the time of this policy. Render's handling of infrastructure data is also subject to its own policies.

Your username remains in Chrome's local extension storage until you change it or clear the extension's stored data. The saved room code is removed when you leave a room.

Security

The extension communicates with the Couch server over HTTPS and secure WebSockets. Chat messages are processed by the server and included in its application logs, so chat is not end-to-end encrypted. The server operator and hosting provider may access data as needed to operate the service.

Changes to this policy

If Couch's data practices change, this policy will be updated to describe those changes. The updated date above indicates when the policy was most recently revised.

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