Podshelf Privacy Policy
Last updated: 23 October 2026
The short version. Podshelf has no servers and no accounts. It talks to the
Audiobookshelf server you choose, and to nobody else except when you search for a new
podcast. Nothing is collected, stored or transmitted to the developer, and there is no
analytics, crash reporting or advertising of any kind in the app.
What Podshelf is
Podshelf is a podcast player for Android. It is a client for
Audiobookshelf, a server that you or someone you
know hosts. Podshelf provides no content of its own and has no backend. Your library, your
listening history and your account live on your own server.
Data the developer collects
None. There is no account to create, no telemetry, no analytics SDK, no crash reporting service
and no advertising identifier. No data of any kind is sent to the developer or to any service
the developer operates, because no such service exists.
Data stored on your device
Podshelf keeps the following locally, in app-private storage, and never sends it anywhere except to the server you configured:
- The address of your server, your username and your authentication tokens.
- Podcast and episode details cached so the app works without a connection.
- Episodes you have downloaded.
- Playback positions, so listening continues where you left off.
- Your settings, including theme and playback preferences.
- A local diagnostic log, readable in the app under Settings, which stays on the device.
Uninstalling the app removes all of it. You can clear it at any time from Android's app
settings, or log out from within the app.
Where your data goes
-
Your Audiobookshelf server. Podshelf sends your credentials, requests for
your library and your listening progress to the server address you enter. That server is
operated by you or by whoever hosts it for you — not by the developer — and its own handling
of your data is outside this policy.
-
Podcast Index (
api.podcastindex.org). Used only when you search
for a podcast to add. The search terms you type are sent to that service so it can return
matches. It is not contacted when you are simply listening, and nothing identifying you is
sent with the query. See the
Podcast Index site for its own terms.
-
Google Cast. If you cast to a device, playback URLs pointing at your server
are handed to Google's Cast framework on your local network so the receiver can stream them.
This happens only while you are casting.
Permissions, and why
- Internet — to reach your server.
- Foreground service (media playback, data sync) — to keep playing and to finish downloads when the app is not in front of you.
- Notifications — the playback notification with its transport controls, and download progress.
- Read audio / storage — to play episodes you have downloaded.
- Ignore battery optimizations — requested, never required, so long downloads and playback are not killed in the background. Declining it does not stop the app working.
Children
Podshelf is not directed at children and collects nothing from anyone. The content you see is
whatever is on the server you connect to.
Changes
If this policy changes, the revised version will be published at this address with a new date
above. The app's full source is public, so any change in what it sends and where can be checked
directly rather than taken on trust.
Contact
Questions or problems:
open an issue on GitHub.
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