TroveTrove

Privacy Policy

Plain language, no legalese: what Trove stores, what it does not store, and where your data actually goes. Effective October 2026.

On this page Summary What we collect How we use it Cookies Third parties Retention Security Children Your rights Changes Contact

Summary

Trove has no accounts, no sign-up and no first-party cookies; preferences stay in your own browser. On the server we keep a little operational data: aggregated search terms for "Popular Searches", download records for a stats dashboard, a visitor count and the standard logs any web server writes. Nothing is tied to an identity, because no identity is collected.

Information we collect

Stored in your browser (localStorage):

  • Theme preference — light or dark mode (trove-theme).
  • Search-only mode flag (trove-web-hide) — records whether the operator runs the interface in search-only mode.
  • App version (trove-web-version) — detects when the interface has been updated.

This data stays on your device and is not sent to us.

Stored on the server:

  • Search counts — each query is lowercased and counted in search_counts.json, which powers the public "Popular Searches" section; aggregated, not linked to you.
  • Download statistics — records in download_stats.json holding the video title, platform, media type, format label, timestamp and whether it came from a search or a direct link.
  • Visitor count — a running total plus hashed IP-address and user-agent strings, capped at roughly 10,000 entries, used only for the operator's dashboard.
  • Server logs — the web server (uvicorn) may record IP addresses, requested paths (including search query strings) and timestamps, as standard logging does.
  • Contact form — your name, email, optional subject and message are emailed to the operator; the form does not store them.

How we use information

Search counts render the public "Popular Searches" section. Download records and the visitor count feed a private statistics dashboard. Server logs help with debugging, abuse prevention and security. Contact details are used only to reply to your message. We do not sell data or build advertising profiles from your searches.

Cookies

Trove itself does not set first-party cookies — there is nothing to sign in to. Advertising on the public pages is served by Google AdSense, which uses cookies and similar identifiers to serve and measure ads, including personalised ones. You can control personalised advertising through Google Ads Settings and opt out of many vendors' cookies via the AboutAds.info opt-out page.

Third-party services

  • The video platforms. Your queries are forwarded from the server to YouTube, Vimeo, DailyMotion, Rumble, TikTok, BlueSky, Pinterest and Threads so results can be fetched. Those platforms handle the request under their own privacy policies.
  • Google AdSense. Serves advertisements and may set advertising cookies or identifiers; see Google's advertising technologies page.
  • Google Fonts. The interface typeface loads from fonts.googleapis.com, so Google receives standard request data such as your IP address.

Each party has its own privacy policy.

Data retention

The visitor list is capped at about 10,000 entries, so older ones fall away as new arrive. Search counts are kept until the operator clears them. Download statistics may be pruned at any time, server logs last as long as the server configuration specifies, and contact emails only as long as needed to answer you.

Security

The service uses HTTPS and stores only the limited data described above. No system is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee data will never be accessed unlawfully — but because searches are not tied to an identity, the impact of any exposure is limited.

Children's privacy

Trove is directed at users aged 13 and over, consistent with Google's policies, and not at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13; if you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we will remove it.

Your rights

You may ask what personal data we hold about you and request its deletion. Most requests are answered by confirming that no identifying record exists — or, where one does, by removing it. Use the contact page, and respect any rights your local law gives you.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the software changes; the date at the bottom shows when it was last revised. Material changes take effect when this page is updated.

Contact

For any privacy question, use the contact page. See also our Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy.

Last updated: October 2026