SmoothTube

Privacy Policy

Effective: July 6, 2026
Last updated: July 23, 2026

SmoothTube is an independent Windows application for browsing and playing YouTube content. SmoothTube is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or operated by Google LLC or YouTube LLC.

This Privacy Policy explains what information SmoothTube accesses, how it is used, where it is stored, and the choices available to you.

Information SmoothTube accesses or stores

Information stored locally on your device

SmoothTube may store the following information in its Windows application data:

• Continue Watching information, including video identifiers, titles, channel names and identifiers, thumbnail URLs, video duration, playback position, progress percentage, and the date and time a video was last watched.
• Video identifiers you mark as watched, whether manually or after substantially completing playback.
• Your local SmoothTube Queue, recommendation-interest keywords, cached interest-feed results, and references to public playlists you save in Library.
• Cached public and account-related YouTube metadata, such as video, channel, subscription, playlist, livestream, and premiere information.
• Your signed-in YouTube channel display name and avatar, cached after the first successful profile request so Settings does not repeatedly request them.
• App preferences, including video codec preferences and other settings.
• A YouTube Data API key, Google OAuth client identifier, optional OAuth client secret, Google access token, Google refresh token, and token expiry information when you choose to provide or create those credentials.

Secrets such as API keys, OAuth client secrets, and Google access and refresh tokens are stored using Windows Credential Locker. Other preferences, metadata, and cached information are stored in SmoothTube's local application data on your device.

SmoothTube does not transmit this locally stored information to a server operated by the SmoothTube developer.

Google and YouTube account information

Google sign-in is optional. If you choose to sign in, SmoothTube uses Google OAuth and the YouTube API Services. Depending on the feature you use and the permissions you grant, SmoothTube may access:

• Your YouTube subscriptions and related channel metadata.
• Your signed-in YouTube channel display name and avatar.
• Your YouTube playlists and the videos in those playlists, including playlists visible only to your account.
• Your rating state for a video.
• Public YouTube data such as videos, channels, comments, live-chat messages, thumbnails, statistics, and search results.

SmoothTube requests YouTube permissions that allow it to view your YouTube account data and to perform supported actions on your behalf. SmoothTube can set or remove your rating of a video, subscribe your account to a YouTube channel, and create, edit, reorder, or delete your YouTube playlists and their items only when you expressly choose the corresponding control.

SmoothTube does not receive or store your Google password. Google handles the sign-in page and returns authorization tokens to SmoothTube after you grant permission.

Search queries, network information, and requested content

When you search or browse, SmoothTube sends the search terms, recommendation-interest keywords, video or channel identifiers, playlist identifiers, and other request details needed to retrieve content to one or more service providers described below. Like most internet services, those providers may receive technical information automatically, such as your IP address, request time, user agent, and network connection information, under their own privacy policies.

YouTube playback

SmoothTube plays videos through the YouTube embedded player in Microsoft WebView2. Loading or playing a video causes information to be sent directly to YouTube. YouTube may collect device and playback information, use cookies or similar technologies within the embedded browser environment, personalize the player, measure usage, prevent fraud and abuse, and display advertisements. SmoothTube enables autoplay, so playback-related data may be sent when a player loads without an additional click inside the player.

If a video cannot play in the embedded player, SmoothTube may open a branded in-app YouTube watch window using the regular YouTube website inside WebView2. SmoothTube also displays embedded YouTube comments for supported videos. Interactions with the YouTube player, YouTube watch page, embedded comments, or live chat are handled by YouTube and Google under their own policies.

How information is used

SmoothTube uses information only to provide and maintain app features, including to:

• Display YouTube videos, channels, subscriptions, playlists, comments, live chat, search results, and related metadata, and perform playlist changes you request.
• Identify the YouTube channel currently signed in within SmoothTube Settings.
• Resume videos and show Continue Watching progress.
• Show watched badges, maintain your local Queue, remember saved public playlists, and build the optional interest-based feed you configure.
• Remember your app and playback preferences.
• Authenticate requests you authorize through Google.
• Read your current video rating, apply a rating action you initiate, and subscribe to a channel when you request it.
• Cache metadata to improve loading speed, reduce repeated requests, and provide limited continuity when a service is temporarily unavailable.
• Diagnose an error locally and show an error message to you.

The SmoothTube developer does not use Google user data for advertising, credit decisions, surveillance, or sale to data brokers.

Sharing and third-party services

SmoothTube does not sell or rent your personal information. Information is shared only as needed to provide the feature you request, with the following categories of service providers.

Google and YouTube

SmoothTube uses YouTube API Services, Google OAuth, YouTube websites, YouTube image servers, and the YouTube embedded player. Information sent to Google or YouTube is handled under the Google Privacy Policy and the YouTube Terms of Service.

Public metadata fallback providers

SmoothTube may contact the following independently operated public services for public home-feed, search, or optional interest-feed metadata when official YouTube results are unavailable or incomplete:

• Invidious instances: yewtu.be, inv.nadeko.net, and invidious.nerdvpn.de.
• Piped API instances: pipedapi.kavin.rocks, pipedapi.adminforge.de, and pipedapi.syncpundit.io.

These providers may receive your search query or recommendation-interest keyword and the technical network information described above. They operate independently from SmoothTube, and their availability and privacy practices may change. SmoothTube does not send your Google access token, Google refresh token, API key, local watch history, saved-playlist list, queue, or unrelated locally stored app preferences to these fallback providers.

Microsoft and WebView2

SmoothTube runs on Windows and uses Microsoft WebView2 to display official YouTube playback surfaces. Microsoft may process information through Windows, the Microsoft Store, or WebView2 according to the Microsoft Privacy Statement. SmoothTube does not add Microsoft advertising or analytics services.

The SmoothTube developer may also disclose information if required by applicable law or a valid legal process. Because SmoothTube does not operate a backend service that collects your app data, the developer generally does not possess the locally stored information described in this policy.

SmoothTube website hosting and Cloudflare

The SmoothTube website is served through Cloudflare for delivery, security, and reliability. When you visit this website, Cloudflare may process technical request information such as IP address, browser details, requested URL, timestamps, bot or abuse signals, and similar security or performance data according to the Cloudflare Privacy Policy. This website telemetry is separate from SmoothTube app data stored on your Windows device.

Optional browser extension

If you install the separate Open YouTube in SmoothTube browser extension, it checks links you click to determine whether they are YouTube video, Shorts, or livestream links. Matching links are redirected to the SmoothTube app through its local protocol. YouTube Music links are not redirected. The extension stores only its enabled or disabled preference in browser storage. This processing occurs locally, and the extension does not send browsing history to the SmoothTube developer.

Data retention and deletion

• Continue Watching information remains on your device until you clear it in SmoothTube Settings, reset or uninstall the app, or Windows otherwise removes the app's local data. SmoothTube limits the Continue Watching list to recent unfinished videos.
• Watched-video identifiers and account-derived watched state are removed when you sign out, reset, or uninstall SmoothTube. A reinstall does not restore them.
• Your Queue remains until you dismiss it, reset or uninstall the app, or Windows removes the app's local data. Recommendation interests and saved-playlist references remain until you edit or remove them, reset or uninstall the app, or Windows removes the app's local data.
• Public cached metadata and app preferences remain until SmoothTube refreshes or replaces them, or until you reset or uninstall the app. Account-derived caches, including the cached account name and avatar, are removed when you sign out.
• Google authorization tokens remain in Windows Credential Locker until you sign out of SmoothTube, clear or reset the app, uninstall the app, or revoke access through Google.

You can:

• Clear Continue Watching information from SmoothTube Settings.
• Sign out in SmoothTube Settings to ask Google to revoke authorization and remove locally stored Google access tokens, refresh tokens, and account-derived caches.
• Revoke SmoothTube's Google access at any time from Google's security permissions page. Google may redirect this page to its current third-party connections interface.
• Reset or uninstall SmoothTube through Windows to remove the app's locally stored data and credentials from that Windows user account.
• Manage or delete information held by YouTube using YouTube's own controls. Deleting local SmoothTube data does not undo changes already sent to YouTube; ratings, subscriptions, and playlist changes made through SmoothTube affect your YouTube account.

If you ask the SmoothTube developer to delete information, the developer can delete only information the developer actually possesses. Local app data must be removed using the controls above.

Security

SmoothTube uses HTTPS for supported remote requests, Google OAuth with PKCE for sign-in, Windows Credential Locker for locally stored secrets and authorization tokens, and Windows application-data storage for local caches and preferences. No method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure, but SmoothTube is designed to limit data access to what is needed for its features.

You are responsible for protecting any YouTube API key or Google OAuth credentials that you enter into SmoothTube. Do not share or publish those credentials.

Children's privacy

SmoothTube is a general-audience application and is not directed to children under 13 or the minimum age required in their country to manage their own Google Account. SmoothTube does not knowingly collect children's personal information on behalf of the developer. YouTube content and account use remain subject to Google's and YouTube's age requirements and parental controls.

International data processing

Google, YouTube, Microsoft, and public fallback providers may process information in countries other than the country where you live. Their handling of information is governed by their respective policies and applicable law.

Changes to this policy

This policy may be updated when SmoothTube's features, service providers, or legal obligations change. The date at the top of this policy will be updated when changes are published. If a change materially expands how authorized Google or YouTube data is accessed or used, SmoothTube will provide notice and request consent where required.

Contact

SmoothTube developer
Email: [email protected]
Project: smoothtube.northwindlab.website