Privacy Policy

Last updated: 17 October 2026

Couchmate collects no personal data. There is no account, no analytics, no advertising and no tracking. The remote works only between your own devices: your iPhone, your iPad and your Mac.

This policy covers the Couchmate app for iPhone and iPad, Couchmate Helper for Mac and this website.

Who is responsible

Janosch Beer, Switzerland. Questions about privacy: support@getcouchmate.app.

What stays on your devices

Couchmate needs some information to work. None of it is sent to us or to anyone else: it only travels between your own devices, and most of it is never stored.

Remote commands and typed text. Buttons, pointer moves and the text you type go from your iPhone or iPad to your Mac over your local Wi-Fi, encrypted. The Mac carries them out and keeps nothing.
What's playing. To show it on your iPhone, Couchmate Helper sends the name and icon of the app in front on your Mac and its window title (often the video's title), plus the label of buttons like “Skip Intro”. This information is only shown, never stored, and never leaves your local network.
Pairing. When you pair a device, both screens show the same code and you click Allow on the Mac. The resulting key is kept in the Keychain of each device. Devices see each other's names, for example “Janosch's iPhone”.
Your Mac password (optional). If you set up “Unlock” in Couchmate Helper, your password is saved only in your Mac's Keychain. It never leaves the Mac; the helper types it only when your screen is locked and you ask it to.
Your iPad passcode (optional). If you choose “Remember”, the passcode is saved only in your iPhone's Keychain, on that iPhone only (not in iCloud), and can only be read after Face ID, Touch ID or your iPhone's passcode. To unlock, your iPhone types it on the iPad over Bluetooth.
Settings. Things like the Mac you used last, your Quick launch choices and when your free trial started are stored in the app on your device. Deleting the app deletes them.

Permissions and why Couchmate asks for them

Local Network (iPhone, iPad): to find your Mac on your Wi-Fi.
Bluetooth (iPhone, iPad): to use your iPhone as a remote for your iPad, and to keep your iPad connected to that remote.
Face ID or Touch ID (iPhone, iPad): to confirm it's you before Couchmate unlocks your iPad or Mac.
Accessibility (Mac): to press keys, move the pointer and type for you, and to read the window title and the labels of buttons like “Skip Intro”. Couchmate Helper never records or captures your screen.
Automation (Mac): to control Spotify and Music directly, so play, pause and skip work reliably.

No servers of ours

Couchmate and Couchmate Helper don't connect to any server of ours; we don't run one. The internet comes into play in three places only:

Logos for Quick launch. To show each service's logo on its tile, the app loads the icon from that service's own website (for example netflix.com), just like a browser does. The website sees an ordinary request from your iPhone or iPad, which includes its IP address, but nothing about you or how you use Couchmate. The logos are kept on your device.
Opening a service. When you tap a Quick launch tile, your Mac opens that website or app; its own privacy policy applies.
The helper download from this website.

Purchases

The free trial and the unlock are handled entirely by Apple through the App Store. We never see your payment details. The app only asks Apple whether the trial or the unlock is active on your Apple Account. Apple's privacy policy applies to purchases.

Siri, Shortcuts and the Lock Screen

When you use Couchmate with Siri, Apple processes your request according to Apple's privacy policy; Couchmate only receives the command, such as “pause”. The Lock Screen buttons and Shortcuts work the same way and send nothing to us.

Crash reports

If you have turned on sharing with app developers in your device's settings (Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements), Apple may give us anonymous crash reports. They don't identify you, and you can turn this off at any time.

This website

This website uses no cookies, no analytics and no content from other servers. Like any web server, our hosting provider may keep short technical logs (such as IP address, time and page) for security and operation; we don't use them to identify anyone.

Children

Couchmate collects no data from anyone, including children.

Your rights

Because we hold no data about you, there is nothing for us to show, correct or delete. You remove everything Couchmate stored by deleting the app and Couchmate Helper; “Remove Devices…” in the helper's menu ends every pairing. If you have a question, write to support@getcouchmate.app.

Changes

If Couchmate ever starts handling data differently, we will update this page and the date above before that version is released.