Apple TV App & Privacy

The Apple TV app is designed to protect your information and enable you to choose what you share.

• The Apple TV app brings your favorite TV shows and movies all into one place and recommends others you might enjoy.
• Apple collects information about your purchases, downloads, activity in the Apple TV app, the content you watch, and where you watch it in the Apple TV app and in connected apps on any of your supported devices. We use this information to provide the service and to improve the Apple TV app for you and others.
• We also collect information about your purchases, downloads, activity in the Apple TV app, the content you watch, and where you watch it to tailor features and offer personalized recommendations and to send you notifications. You can opt out of the use of data for this purpose, as described below.
• We use information about the movies and TV shows you purchase and download to offer advertising to ensure that Ads in the App Store, Apple News, and Stocks, where available, are relevant to you. You have choices with respect to this advertising, as described below.
• To help identify and prevent fraud, information about how you use your device, including the approximate number of phone calls or emails you send and receive, will be used to compute a device trust score when you attempt a purchase. The submissions are designed so Apple cannot learn the real values on your device. The scores are stored for a fixed time on our servers.

Apple TV allows you to watch your favorite TV shows and movies all in one place. You can watch content you have rented or purchased from Apple. If available, you can also access content through Apple TV+, Apple TV channels, and your connected third-party video apps. You can access all of this content through the Apple TV app across supported devices that are signed in to the same Apple ID.

Providing the Apple TV app

We use your personal information to provide the services and features in the Apple TV app. This information includes your account and payment information, which you can access and change in Settings.

Apple collects information about what you purchase and what you’re watching in the Apple TV app on any supported devices signed in to the same Apple ID. Apple stores this information associated with your Apple ID so we can display what you’re watching across your supported devices. If you grant permission for a third-party app to be connected to the Apple TV app, Apple will also collect this information from that app on any of your supported devices. Apple apps with supported content, such as Apple Music, will be automatically connected when you start using the Apple TV app.

Information about what you’re watching will include what content you’re playing, when you played it, the device you played it from, and where in the content you paused or stopped watching. We also collect a detailed history of all playback activity for Apple TV channels and Apple TV+.

If you allow the Apple TV app to access your location, your location is used to provide you content that is available in your region.

Improving the Apple TV app

Apple collects information about your usage of the Apple TV app, including which of its features you use (for example, Up Next or Library), items you search for, notifications you interact with, content pages you browse or view, and information on errors or crashes within the app. We use this information and information about what you watch to help improve and optimize the Apple TV app for you and others. We also collect information about your device such as the type of device, the version of your operating system, and the amount of free space on your device. We may use this information to assess whether requested content can be downloaded, to understand general trends in use of device storage, and whether your device is connected by Wi-Fi or cellular. For example, knowing the free space on your device allowed us to build the feature that lets you buy a movie on your iPhone without downloading it at purchase.

Personalizing the Apple TV app

We personalize the Apple TV app to help you discover the content that’s most relevant to you. For example, we recommend movies that we think will be of interest to you based on movies you’ve previously watched. To provide personalization, we use information including what you watch, your purchases, downloads, browsing, and other activities in the Apple TV app.

If you do not want Apple to use information about what you watch on this device in the Apple TV app for personalization on all devices that support the Apple TV app, you can turn off personalization features in Settings. On iOS and iPadOS, go to Settings > TV > Use Play History. On tvOS, go to Settings > Apps > TV > Use Play History.

Communicating with You

Apple may use information about your account, such as the Apple products you own and your subscriptions to Apple services, to send you communications about the Apple TV app and other Apple products, services, and offers that may be of interest to you, including Apple One. Your device serial number may be used to check eligibility for service offers. If you purchase an Apple One subscription, we may send you emails and push notifications about the features of each of the services for which you have subscribed. Apple may also use information about your activity within the Apple TV app to send you emails and push notifications about new features, content, and offers available in the Apple TV app. You can change your email preferences and opt out of receiving these emails by going to appleid.apple.com. To update your notification preferences on iOS and iPadOS, go to Settings > Notifications > TV.

Advertising

If the Personalized Ads setting is turned on, Apple’s advertising platform may use your information to serve ads that are more relevant to you. We may use information about the movies and TV shows you purchase from Apple to ensure that ads in the App Store, Apple News, and Stocks are relevant.

If you do not want to receive ads targeted to your interests from Apple’s advertising platform, you can choose to turn off Personalized Ads. Turning off Personalized Ads will prevent Apple from using your information for ad targeting. It may not decrease the number of ads you receive, but the ads may be less relevant to you.

You can turn off Personalized Ads on your iOS or iPadOS device by going to Settings > Privacy > Apple Advertising and tapping to turn off Personalized Ads. On Mac, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy, select Apple Advertising, and deselect Personalized Ads.

Learn more about Advertising & Privacy at support.apple.com/kb/HT205223.

Learn about how to opt out of personalized ads in the App Store and Apple News at support.apple.com/kb/HT202074.

Sharing with Third Parties

We are obligated to provide some non-personal information to strategic partners that work with Apple to provide our products and services, help Apple market to customers, and sell ads on Apple’s behalf to display in the App Store and Apple News and Stocks. For example, we may share non-personal information about your transactions and viewing activity to Apple TV strategic partners, such as content owners, so that they can measure the performance of their creative work, meet royalty and accounting requirements, and improve their associated products and services.

If your mobile network provider offers Apple TV+ subscriptions and free trials, Apple may check your phone number to determine if you are eligible through a mobile network provider partner. If you signed up through your mobile network provider, your phone number is used to identify your account and to let the mobile network provider know that you have activated your subscription. We will use the phone number associated with your subscription to verify your account at sign in and to connect your Apple TV+ subscription with your account. We also use your phone number to request cancellation of your subscription with your mobile network provider at your request.

Retention

We retain personal information associated with your purchases, downloads, and viewing activity on the Apple TV app for different lengths of time depending on business need, contractual obligations, and legal requirements. For purchases and downloads, that often requires at least a ten-year retention period. We also retain a record of your purchase and downloads of content for at least as long as you have an account with us to allow you to download that content in line with our applicable terms. We retain other information such as browsing activity and searches for up to two years. Some information, such as transactions but not your stored card details may be retained as business records even after you close your account or stop using the Apple TV app.

Clear Play History

You can clear your play history in the Apple TV app in Settings. On iOS and iPadOS, in the Apple TV app, go to Account > Clear Play History. On tvOS, go to Settings > Apps > TV > Clear Play History. This will remove all TV shows and movies from your Up Next queue and disassociate any past playback history from your account. This will apply to any device that uses the same Apple ID.

You can remove individual items from your Up Next queue by long-pressing the episode and selecting Remove from Up Next. In the same menu, if you select Remove from Recently Watched, that will also remove the episode from being used to generate personalized recommendations. However, Apple will retain records of play history from Apple TV channels and Apple TV+ for reporting and royalty requirements.

Third-Party Connected Apps

You must grant permission for your participating third-party apps to be connected to the Apple TV app to begin sharing what you watch from those apps with Apple. When you set up the Apple TV app, you may be asked to grant permission for multiple applications at one time. Some of the apps may be apps that you do not yet have installed on that device, and your preferences will be applied if they are installed later. Whether or not you grant permission, you will be able to change your preferences for each app in Settings.

If at any time you decide you no longer want one of your third-party apps to be connected to the Apple TV app, you may disconnect that app from the Apple TV app and Apple will stop collecting your play data from that third-party app. On iOS and iPadOS, in the Apple TV app, go to Account > Connected Apps, select the third-party app and turn it off. On tvOS, go to Settings > Apps > TV > Connect to TV, select the third-party app and turn it off. When removing a third-party app from the Apple TV app, you may also choose to delete all play data information Apple has collected about content you’ve watched from that app by choosing the Remove and Clear Play History option. At any time, you may also choose to delete all of your play data information Apple has collected about all third-party content you watch in the Apple TV app by clearing your play history as described above. Clearing your play history in any of these described instances only clears your third-party app play data that is held and used by Apple for the Apple TV app. It does not affect any play data that is held separately by the third-party app provider (for example, within their own app or on their servers).

You should also review the terms, privacy policies, and practices of your participating third-party apps to understand how they use and share your play data and related information.

Preventing Fraud and Other Malicious Activity

We also collect personal information to prevent fraud and other malicious activity in the Apple TV app. This information includes device information, such as device type and software version, location information if available, download and purchase history, and other interactions with the Apple TV app.

We also compute a device trust score on your device when you attempt a purchase, using information about how you use your device, including the approximate number of phone calls or emails you send and receive. The submission is designed so Apple cannot learn the underlying values on your device. The score is stored for a fixed time on our servers.

At all times, information collected by Apple will be treated in accordance with Apple’s Privacy Policy, which can be found at www.apple.com/privacy.

Information about products not manufactured by Apple, or independent websites not controlled or tested by Apple, is provided without recommendation or endorsement. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance, or use of third-party websites or products. Apple makes no representations regarding third-party website accuracy or reliability. Contact the vendor for additional information.

Published Date: July 26, 2021

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