Privacy Policy: SelfTape

Last updated: July 18, 2026

SelfTape is built by Billy Lush, an actor. Here is exactly what the app does and does not do with your information, in plain language.

The short version

Your sides, takes, and prep live on your phone. There is no account, no sign-in, no advertising, and no usage tracking. A few features send text or audio to a small private server (the "relay") only when you choose to use them, so the app can do things like read a casting email, answer questions about a scene, or voice a reading partner. Each of those is spelled out below.

What stays on your phone

• Video you record or trim in the app
• Sides (scripts) you import, whether typed, pasted, or scanned from a PDF (the PDF is read entirely on your phone, including text recognition on scanned pages)
• Slate card details you type in (your name, height, role)
• Audition entries you create: due dates, instructions, notes, status, and any wardrobe photos you add
• Scene partner recordings (the other character's lines, in your own voice)
• Any preferences you set (destination presets, prompter settings, and similar)

All of this is stored locally in the app's own storage. After an in-app recording finishes, SelfTape also tries to add a backup copy to Photos when you have granted add-only Photos permission. The app shows whether that backup is pending, complete, failed, or needs you to check Photos after an interruption. Exported videos are saved to Photos only when you choose Save to Photos. Those copies live in your Photos library under Apple's own privacy and backup rules, not SelfTape's. Your recorded video never leaves your devices unless you export or share it yourself.

The features that send data, and what they send

SelfTape uses a small private server called the relay for a few features. The relay checks that each request really came from the genuine SelfTape app using Apple's App Attest, so there are no secret keys stored inside the app for anyone to extract. The relay counts usage (how many requests and their cost, never the content) to keep the service within spending limits. Here is each feature that sends anything off your phone:

• Import from a casting email (Packet Import): the email text you paste is sent through the relay to an AI provider (Anthropic), which reads it once to fill in the audition details. You always review the result before anything is saved.
• Ask about the scene (Scene Q&A): the sides text and the questions you type are sent through the relay to the same AI provider so it can answer in the context of that scene.
• Scene Prep coach: the linked sides and the answers you type in the coach chat are sent through the relay to the same AI provider so it can guide the prep session. The chat transcript is not saved by the app; only worksheet entries you explicitly approve are stored on your phone.
• AI reading partner (Billy's Reader): the text of the other character's lines is sent through the relay to a voice provider (ElevenLabs) to generate speech. So the same line is not generated twice, the audio is cached on the relay for up to 30 days, keyed to the voice and the exact line. The cache is not linked to your identity.
• Sign in with Apple (casting address only): signing in is optional and is asked for in one place, the Auditions screen, because a casting address has to outlive reinstalling the app. SelfTape requests no name and no email from Apple. The relay checks Apple's signature, turns Apple's identifier into a scrambled account id, and never stores the identifier itself. Nothing else in the app asks you to sign in.
• Forwarding address (email intake): if you use the built-in forwarding address (a private tape-...@tapeout.app address tied to your account), any casting email you forward there is received by the relay and held for up to 14 days so the app can pull it in, then automatically deleted. It is deleted right away once you build the audition from it or discard it.
• Companion Mode (second screen): when you connect a second device of your own as a monitor or teleprompter, the two devices talk directly to each other over your local network on an encrypted connection. The script and controls sync device to device. Nothing about Companion Mode goes to any server.

The AI and voice providers process what they receive to return the result. Under their API terms they do not use it to train their models, and they may retain it briefly for abuse monitoring under their own policies (see the Anthropic and ElevenLabs privacy policies). The relay itself does not keep the text from Packet Import, Scene Q&A, or the Scene Prep coach after the request is answered. Every one of these features only sends data when you choose to use it, and each one tells you what it sends before you start.

Beta testing (TestFlight)

While SelfTape is in beta through Apple's TestFlight, Apple collects crash logs and basic diagnostics from testers to help fix problems. That is Apple's TestFlight system, and you can control it in the TestFlight app's settings. SelfTape itself includes no third-party analytics or crash-tracking tools.

What SelfTape never does

• No account or sign-in to use the app. Sign in with Apple is offered in exactly one place, and only if you want a casting address that survives reinstalling. Everything else works signed out.
• No advertising, ad tracking, or ad network SDKs
• No collection of your name, email, location, or contacts. SelfTape requests no name and no email from Apple when you do sign in.
• No selling or sharing of your information
• No third-party analytics or usage tracking inside the app
• No sending your recorded video to SelfTape, an AI provider, or any other server. Automatic Photos backups stay inside Apple's Photos system.

Permissions the app asks for, and why

• Camera and microphone: only to record a take when you choose to. Recording only happens while you are actively using the Record screen.
• Photos: add-only access to back up an in-app recording after it finishes and to save an exported tape when you ask. The system Photos picker lets you choose an existing video without giving SelfTape access to browse your library.
• Files (for PDF import): only to read a sides PDF you choose to import. The file is read on-device to pull out dialogue.
• Local Network (Companion Mode): only to find and connect your own second device on the same Wi-Fi when you pair a second screen.

You can revoke any of these at any time in iOS Settings. The relevant feature simply will not work until you grant it again.

Amazon affiliate links

The Gear screen links out to Amazon product and search pages using Billy's Amazon Associates tag (billylush-20). If you buy something after tapping one of those links, Amazon may pay a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Tapping a link opens Amazon or Safari, which is governed by Amazon's own privacy policy from that point forward. SelfTape itself does not track which links you tap or share that with anyone.

Children's privacy

SelfTape is a tool for actors preparing self-tape auditions and is not directed at children. It does not knowingly collect information from anyone, of any age.

Changes to this policy

If what the app does ever changes in a way that affects your privacy, this page will be updated first and the change will be called out in that version's "What's New" notes.

Contact

Questions about this policy: billylush@gmail.com