Privacy Policy
Effective November 1, 2026 · Updated November 1, 2026 to add optional chatting
The short version: SquadWatch runs entirely on your computer. If you sign in with Google, it reads your YouTube subscriptions to show you who's live. If you also turn on chatting, it posts the chat messages you type — and nothing else. Your data is never sent to the developer, never sold, never shared and never used for ads. You can remove it at any time.
1. About SquadWatch
SquadWatch is a free desktop app for macOS and Windows that plays up to four YouTube live streams side by side. It is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by YouTube or Google. This policy explains what data SquadWatch accesses, how it is used and stored, and the choices you have.
2. SquadWatch uses YouTube API Services
SquadWatch uses YouTube API Services to show videos, live chats, your subscriptions and channel information. By using SquadWatch, you agree to be bound by the YouTube Terms of Service. Google's handling of data is described in the Google Privacy Policy.
3. What data SquadWatch accesses
You can use SquadWatch without signing in (by pasting stream links). If you choose Sign in with Google, you are asked to grant these permissions:
| Permission | What SquadWatch reads | Why |
|---|---|---|
Basic profile (openid, email, profile) | Your name, email address and profile picture | To show which Google account is signed in |
View your YouTube account (youtube.readonly) | The list of channels you subscribe to; public information about those channels and their videos (names, pictures, video titles, thumbnails, live status, view and viewer counts) | To list your subscriptions, show which are live, and show a channel's videos when you open it |
| Optional, only if you click “Turn on chatting”: Manage your YouTube account ( youtube) | Your YouTube channel's name and picture; the live chat ID of the stream you're typing in | To post the live chat messages you type in SquadWatch's message box, as your channel, and to show which channel you're chatting as |
Without chatting turned on, SquadWatch's access is read-only. With chatting turned on, the only thing SquadWatch ever does in your account is post a live chat message, and only when you type it and press Send. It never uploads, comments, likes, subscribes, unsubscribes, deletes or changes anything else in your YouTube or Google account, and it never posts anything on its own. Google describes the chatting permission broadly ("Manage your YouTube account") because YouTube has no narrower permission for sending chat messages.
4. How the data is used
- Only to show it to you, inside the app, for the features described above.
- Not used for advertising, profiling, analytics or any other purpose.
- Not sold, rented or shared with anyone, including the developer of SquadWatch.
- Not used to develop, improve or train AI or machine-learning models.
- Not shown to anyone other than you.
SquadWatch's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
5. Where data is stored
SquadWatch has no servers. Everything stays on your computer:
- Sign-in token — a token from Google that keeps you signed in is saved in SquadWatch's settings folder on your computer. It is deleted when you sign out or delete your data.
- Chat messages you send — go straight from your computer to YouTube and are not stored by SquadWatch. YouTube shows them in the stream's public live chat like any other message. SquadWatch keeps only a count of how many messages you've sent today (to apply its daily limit) on your computer.
- Subscriptions, live status and channel information — kept only in the app's memory while it is running (channel pages are cached for a few minutes), and discarded when you close the app or sign out.
- Your layout and saved "squads" — the streams on screen and groups you save are kept in the app's local storage on your computer. Channel names and pictures in saved squads are refreshed from YouTube whenever you're signed in, and are removed automatically if they haven't been refreshed for 30 days.
6. Data sent to Google and YouTube
To work, SquadWatch connects directly from your computer to Google and YouTube: to sign you in, to read your subscriptions and channel information through the YouTube Data API (and, if you turned on chatting, to post the messages you send), and to play videos and show live chat through YouTube's embedded player. The embedded player and chat are provided by YouTube, may use cookies or similar technologies, and are covered by the Google Privacy Policy. SquadWatch itself uses no cookies for tracking, no analytics and no advertising.
7. Revoking access and deleting your data
- Sign out (account menu in the sidebar): immediately revokes SquadWatch's access with Google and deletes the sign-in token and your subscription data from the app.
- Delete my data (account menu): does the above and also erases everything SquadWatch saved on your computer — layout, squads and settings — right away.
- Turning chatting off: sign out (which revokes all of SquadWatch's access) and sign in again without clicking “Turn on chatting”. Messages you already posted are part of YouTube's chat and can be managed on YouTube.
- From your Google account: you can remove SquadWatch's access at any time on Google's security settings page. The next time SquadWatch opens, it detects this, signs you out and deletes your subscription data and sign-in token.
- Uninstalling: deleting the app and its settings folder removes everything it stored.
Because SquadWatch stores nothing outside your computer, the developer holds no copy of your data to delete. Deleting SquadWatch's data does not affect anything in your YouTube or Google account.
8. Children
SquadWatch is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect personal information from them.
9. Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted on this page with a new effective date. If a change affects how your Google or YouTube data is used, SquadWatch will ask you to review and accept the updated policy before continuing to use those features.
10. Contact
Questions, concerns or complaints about privacy? Please open an issue on SquadWatch's GitHub page.