Privacy Policy
Effective March 30, 2026
Steadcast does not have accounts, does not track you, and does not sell data. Your podcast library lives on your Mac. That is the whole story, but here are the details.
Local Data Storage
All podcast subscriptions, episodes, playback state, bookmarks, notes, and queue data are stored locally on your Mac using SwiftData. This data never leaves your device unless you explicitly export it (e.g., OPML export). Steadcast does not operate any cloud sync service.
Anonymous Usage Signals
Steadcast offers an optional, opt-in usage signal program to help us improve the app. This is disabled by default. You can enable it via Settings → Help Improve Steadcast.
When enabled, Steadcast sends minimal, anonymous signals to our Supabase backend. Each signal contains:
- Event type (e.g., "played episode," "subscribed to podcast")
- Podcast iTunes ID (to understand content trends)
- App version and macOS version
- Interest categories (e.g., "Technology," "News")
Signals explicitly do not contain:
- User ID or account identifier
- Device ID, serial number, or hardware identifier
- Session ID or any cross-session tracking token
- IP address (not stored server-side)
- Episode listening history or playback position
These signals are stateless and cannot be linked to an individual user or device.
On-Device Transcription & Summaries
Steadcast uses the macOS 26 Speech framework to transcribe podcast episodes on your Mac. Apple Intelligence is used separately to generate summaries from those transcripts. All processing happens entirely on your device. No audio or transcript data is sent to any server.
Third-Party Services
Steadcast connects to the following external services during normal operation:
- Supabase — Hosts editorial content (curated collections, featured episodes) and receives anonymous usage signals if opted in. Supabase Privacy Policy
- Podcast Index — Used for podcast search and discovery, accessed through a server-side proxy. No user-identifying information is sent. Podcast Index Privacy Policy
- iTunes Search API — Used to resolve podcast artwork. Requests contain only podcast identifiers.
- RSS Feed Hosts — When you subscribe to a podcast, Steadcast fetches the RSS feed directly from the podcast publisher's server. These requests include your IP address (as with any HTTP request) but no other identifying information.
No Accounts, No Tracking, No Advertising
Steadcast does not require or offer user accounts. There is no sign-in, no email collection, and no user profile. The app contains no analytics SDKs, no advertising frameworks, and no third-party trackers.
Opt-Out
If you have enabled usage signals and wish to stop, go to Settings → Help Improve Steadcast and toggle it off. Signal collection stops immediately. Previously sent signals cannot be attributed to you since they contain no identifying information.
Children's Privacy
Steadcast does not knowingly collect any personal information from children under the age of 13. Since the app does not collect personal information from any user, no special provisions are necessary.
Changes to This Policy
If we make material changes to this policy, we will update the effective date at the top of this page and note the changes within the app.
Contact
Questions about this privacy policy can be directed to privacy@steadcast.co.
Steadcast is built by AA Battery.