Privacy policy

This policy explains what Armchair Judge collects when you use it, how that information is used and shared, and how you can have it deleted.

Who we are

Armchair Judge is a free, non-commercial app that lets you score TV performances and compare your scores with the real judges and other viewers. It is run by an independent developer. This policy covers the hub at armchairjudge.com and its show sites, such as dwts.armchairjudge.com (“Armchair Judge”, “we”, “us”).

Information we collect

Google user data. You sign in with your Google account. Sign-in runs through Amazon Cognito, part of Amazon Web Services (AWS), and requests only the openid, email and profile scopes. From Google we receive and store:

• your name;
• your email address;
• the URL of your Google profile picture;
• your Google account identifier, which Cognito links to an Armchair Judge account identifier.

We receive nothing else from Google. We do not request or access your contacts, Google Drive, Gmail, Calendar or any other Google data, and we never see your Google password.

Data you create in the app.

• The scores you give each performance, and the performances you chose to reveal without scoring (forfeits), each with the time it was submitted.
• The groups you create or join, with the time you joined, and each group’s name and invite code.
• When your account was created and when you last signed in.

Data kept only in your browser. Some things never leave your device. The show sites keep your per-device vote tally and your chosen group filter in your browser’s local storage, and the page to return to after sign-in in session storage. The hub remembers in session storage that you have seen its intro.

Technical data. Our servers write operational logs to AWS CloudWatch: which function ran, request metadata, and any errors. These logs are kept for 30 days. AWS also processes standard request data, such as IP addresses, to deliver the site and protect it from abuse.

We use no analytics, no advertising and no tracking cookies. The only sign-in data in your browser is the session tokens that the Cognito sign-in library (AWS Amplify) keeps in browser storage to keep you signed in.

How we use it

• To sign you in and keep your scores tied to your account.
• To show your name and profile picture next to your score for a performance, to other users who have already scored or revealed that performance themselves. Until then, nobody else sees your score.
• To show your name and profile picture to the other members of groups you create or join.
• To work out accuracy stats: how close your scores are to the judges’, and how you compare with others.
• Your email address is used only to identify your account. It is never shown to other users, and we send no marketing email.

We do not use your data, including Google user data, for advertising, profiling or training AI models.

How we share it

We do not sell your data, and we do not share it with third parties. Two service providers process it on our behalf:

• Amazon Web Services, which hosts the app and its data in the us-east-1 (N. Virginia) region.
• Google, which handles signing in with your Google account.

We would disclose data only if required by law.

Google API Services User Data Policy

Armchair Judge’s use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Storage and security

• Your data is stored in AWS (Amazon DynamoDB) in the us-east-1 region.
• It is encrypted at rest with an AWS KMS key, and encrypted in transit with TLS (HTTPS).
• Access is least-privilege: each server function can reach only the tables it needs.

Retention

• Your profile, scores and group memberships are kept for as long as your account exists.
• Server logs are deleted after 30 days.
• When you ask us to delete your account, we delete its data within 30 days. Encrypted database backups roll off within a further 35 days.

Your choices and deletion

• To have your account and data deleted, or to get a copy of it, open an issue on our GitHub issues page. Issues are public, so don’t include your email address or other personal details; we will follow up to confirm which account is yours.
• You can revoke Armchair Judge’s access to your Google account at any time at myaccount.google.com/permissions.
• You can clear the data kept in your browser by clearing this site’s storage.

Children

Armchair Judge is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their data.

Show data

Judges’ scores are sourced from Wikipedia. Headshots come from Wikimedia Commons and are used under their respective licenses. Armchair Judge is not affiliated with ABC, Disney, BBC, Peacock, CBS or the shows’ producers.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we will update this page and the date at the top. If a change affects how we use Google user data, we will ask for your consent before applying it to data we already hold.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your data go to the GitHub issues page.