FilmSlate is built around a simple principle: your roll metadata belongs to you, on your device. The apps don't have a backend, don't have user accounts, and don't transmit your data anywhere. This page describes that in detail — what we collect, what we don't, and the few third parties that touch the apps at all.
Gotham West Studios
FilmSlate is a product of Gotham West Studios LLC. If you have any privacy questions or requests, email privacy@gothamwest.co.
What This Policy Covers
This policy applies to the four products we publish under the FilmSlate name:
- FilmSlate Mobile (iOS) — App Store, bundle
co.gothamwest.filmslate - FilmSlate (Android) — Google Play, package
co.gothamwest.filmslate - FilmSlate Desktop (macOS) — bundle
co.gothamwest.filmslatedesktop - filmslateapp.com — this website
The mobile and desktop apps share the same data philosophy and the same disclosures. The website is described separately below because, unlike the apps, it may use third-party analytics.
What We Collect
Nothing leaves your device. The apps store your sessions, presets, and slate metadata locally — on iOS and Android using the device's secure on-device storage; the macOS app is stateless and operates only on the folder of images you drag onto it.
On mobile, the app requests camera access when you tap the Scan tab. The camera is used solely to read QR codes from a screen or print so the app can decode the metadata embedded in them. Camera frames are not saved, transmitted, or analyzed for anything beyond local QR decoding.
On desktop, the app reads folders of image files you explicitly drop onto it, runs a local exiftool process, and writes EXIF / IPTC / XMP metadata back to those same files on your machine. No image data, no metadata, and no usage information leaves your computer.
filmslateapp.com may use one or more privacy-conscious analytics providers — Google Analytics, Fathom Analytics, and/or PostHog — to understand which pages people visit, where traffic comes from, and how the marketing site is performing. These services may collect:
- Pages viewed and the order they were viewed in
- Referring website (e.g. a link from another site or search engine)
- Approximate location derived from IP address (typically country / region, not precise location)
- Browser type, operating system, and screen size
- An anonymous, rotating identifier used to distinguish unique visits
These analytics are about the website. They are not in the apps, and they have no access to anything you do inside the apps. Each provider's full disclosures are in the Third Parties section below.
What We Don't Collect
To remove any ambiguity, the FilmSlate apps do not collect, transmit, or have access to:
- Photographs from your photo library
- The contents of any image you scan (only the QR-encoded metadata you typed yourself is decoded, locally)
- Your location, GPS coordinates, or any geolocation data — the "location" field on a slate is free-text you type, never derived from device sensors
- Apple's IDFA, Google's Advertising ID, or any other advertising identifier
- Microphone, contacts, calendar, motion, health, or any sensor data
- Account credentials — there are no user accounts
- Crash data we collect ourselves (Apple and Google may collect their own — see Third Parties)
- Any analytics, telemetry, or usage data from inside the apps
We do not track you across other apps, websites, or devices. We do not sell, rent, or share personal information with anyone. We do not have a backend server we run, and the apps make no network calls to infrastructure we operate.
What the Apps Ask For
The total permission surface of the FilmSlate mobile apps is one item:
- Camera — requested in-context the first time you tap the Scan tab. Used only to read QR codes. Declining the prompt simply disables QR scanning; the rest of the app continues to work.
The macOS app requires no permissions beyond the file-system access implicit in dropping a folder onto it.
Third Parties
A few platform services touch the apps or the website. We do not pass them anything beyond what the platform itself collects automatically.
Children's Privacy
FilmSlate is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided information to us, contact privacy@gothamwest.co and we will take appropriate steps.
Your Rights & Controls
Because the FilmSlate apps store everything on your device and transmit nothing to us, you already have full control: the data lives where you can see it, and uninstalling the app erases it. There is no server-side copy for us to delete because we never received one.
For website analytics data, you may request access, correction, or deletion by emailing privacy@gothamwest.co. We honor these requests regardless of where you live; the rights below describe specific legal frameworks that may apply to you.
European Users (GDPR)
If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have the right to access, rectify, or erase personal data we hold about you, to restrict or object to its processing, and to data portability. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
Our lawful bases for processing:
- Local-only app processing — we don't process personal data on our servers (we don't have any), so GDPR's controller-side obligations are minimal. Data on your device is processed under your own control.
- Website analytics — processed under your consent where required, or under our legitimate interest in measuring aggregate, non-identifying website usage where consent is not required.
To exercise any GDPR right, email privacy@gothamwest.co.
California Users (CCPA / CPRA)
If you are a California resident, you have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request deletion, to correct inaccurate information, and to opt out of "sale" or "sharing" of personal information.
We do not sell or share personal information, as those terms are defined under the CCPA / CPRA. We have not sold or shared personal information in the preceding twelve months and have no plans to. To exercise any California right, email privacy@gothamwest.co.
Changes to This Policy
We will update the Effective and Last updated dates at the top of this page whenever this policy changes. For material changes, we will provide a more prominent notice — for example, an in-app banner or a note on the website homepage.
Contact Us
For any privacy question, request, or concern: