Playlist Analyzer

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 26 July 2026

Summary

This policy describes what actually happens when you use the site, including the parts that are less flattering than a "we collect nothing" claim would be. There is no account system and no database of your playlists, but analysis does run on our server, and the site does use analytics and advertising third parties.

In short: playlist URLs you submit are sent to our server and used to call YouTube's API. We do not store them, nor your analysis results or any API key you supply. Your analysis history is saved in your own browser, not by us. Analytics and advertising scripts from Vercel and Google run on these pages and set their own identifiers.

What happens when you analyze a playlist

The analysis is performed server-side. It has to be: the YouTube API key cannot be exposed in your browser without allowing anyone to take it and spend the quota.

  1. Submission. Your browser sends the playlist URL you entered to our own endpoint at /api/analyze-playlist. The full URL is transmitted, not just the playlist ID.
  2. Rate limiting. Before processing, the request is counted against a short-term limit keyed on your IP address (taken from the x-forwarded-for or x-real-ip header). This counter lives in server memory, holds a request count and a reset timestamp, and is lost whenever the server restarts. It is not written to disk and is not used for any purpose other than throttling.
  3. YouTube API calls. Our server — not your browser — calls the YouTube Data API v3 for the playlist's public metadata and the details of its videos. YouTube receives our server's request, so your IP address is not disclosed to YouTube by this step.
  4. Response. The computed report is returned to your browser. We do not write the playlist URL, the playlist ID, or the results to any database or log.
  5. Caching. The response carries a Cache-Control header permitting a shared cache to hold the result for up to five minutes, so an identical request soon afterwards may be served from our hosting provider's edge cache.

Data stored in your browser

Some data is stored on your device. It never leaves it, and we cannot read it.

  • • Analysis history. Your most recent 20 analyses are kept in localStorage under the key playlist_history so you can revisit them. Clearing your browser's site data removes them permanently.
  • • Theme preference. Your light/dark choice is stored locally.
  • • Cookie banner choice. Whether you accepted or declined is recorded under cookie-consent.

If you supply your own API key

The analyzer optionally accepts a YouTube Data API key of your own, which is useful if the shared quota is exhausted. Be aware of what this involves: the key is sent to our server in the request body and used there to make the YouTube API calls on your behalf. It is held in memory for the duration of that request and is not stored, logged, or reused afterwards.

If you would rather not hand a key to a third party — a reasonable position — simply leave the field blank and use the shared quota. If you do supply one, we recommend restricting it to the YouTube Data API in the Google Cloud console so that it cannot be used for anything else.

Third-party services

  • • YouTube Data API v3. Called by our server to retrieve public playlist and video metadata. We never access your YouTube account, and the tool cannot read private playlists.
  • • Vercel. Hosts the site and runs the analysis endpoint. As with any host, its infrastructure processes the requests your browser makes. Vercel Analytics is also enabled and collects aggregate page-view data.
  • • Google AdSense. Where advertising is enabled, Google serves ads on these pages and may set cookies or read device identifiers to do so. See the cookie policy for detail.
  • • Email delivery. Messages submitted through the contact form are sent to us by email; see below.

Each of these operates under its own privacy policy, which governs what it does with the data it receives.

The contact form

The contact form is the one place where the site collects personal information directly. When you submit it, the name, email address, subject, and message you entered are sent to our server and forwarded to us as an email. We keep that email in order to reply. There is no separate database — deleting the correspondence means deleting the email thread, which you can ask us to do.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights of access, correction, deletion, and objection under the GDPR, UK GDPR, CCPA, or comparable law. In practice:

  • • No account is required to use the analyzer, and we hold nothing that identifies you as a user of it.
  • • Data in your browser is yours to erase at any time by clearing site data — we have no copy.
  • • Correspondence can be deleted on request. Write to us using the contact form and ask.
  • • Advertising and analytics identifiers are set by Google and Vercel respectively; the cookie policy explains how to opt out of each.

Children's privacy

The site is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly solicit their personal information. The only route by which a child could submit personal data is the contact form; if you believe a child has done so, contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please contact us through our website.