(Last updated: 2026-08-31)
webcam.io hosts webcam images, time-lapse videos and live-stream relays. This policy explains which personal data we process, why, and what rights you have. In short: we use no analytics, no advertising and no tracking cookies; your account data, images and videos are stored in Germany; the few service providers we use are listed in section 5.
1. Controller
webcam.io | Knut Möller IT-Dienstleistungen Knut D. Möller, Blankeneser Chaussee 92, 22869 Schenefeld, Germany Email: contact@webcam.io · Phone: +494022816224
We are not required to appoint a data protection officer. Please contact us directly with any privacy request.
2. Our two roles
Controller: For your account, for the operation of our website and for everything listed in section 3, we decide on the purposes and means of processing.
Processor: The customer who operates a camera decides what it records and whether the images are published. For the content of images, videos and streams, that customer is the controller and we process the content on their behalf (Art. 28 GDPR). Customers can conclude a data processing agreement with us: on request at contact@webcam.io.
If you appear in images of a webcam hosted by us, please contact the operator named on the webcam page. You can also report the content to us at webcam.io/report.
3. What we process, why and for how long
| Activity | Data | Purpose | Legal basis (GDPR) | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visiting webcam.io, the docs, public webcam pages, clips or embedded widgets | IP address, date and time, URL, referrer, browser and operating system (server logs) | Delivering the content, security, troubleshooting | Art. 6(1)(f): secure and stable operation | 14 days |
| Account | Email address, password (stored only as a salted hash), settings, IP address and time of registration and last login | Providing the service; preventing abuse | Art. 6(1)(b); IP address: Art. 6(1)(f) | Until you delete your account |
| Camera setup | Camera URLs including access credentials, FTP account and connection logs, stream output URLs and keys, API keys | Fetching images, relaying streams, API access | Art. 6(1)(b) | Until you delete the webcam or your account |
| Images, time-lapse videos, clips | Image content, timestamps, titles and descriptions | Hosting, rendering and displaying as configured by you | Art. 6(1)(b); for persons shown see section 2 | Image history time of your plan; clips until you delete them. We keep no backups of image and video files. Database backups: 7 days |
| Live streams | Video stream, relayed in real time to the platform you chose | Relaying | Art. 6(1)(b) | Not stored |
| Service emails | Email address, content of the message (confirmation, alerts, service information) | Operating your account | Art. 6(1)(b) | Delivery logs at our email provider: 30 days |
| Payments | Plan, Paddle customer and subscription ID, payment status. Payment and address data are collected by Paddle only (section 5). | Billing, enabling plan features | Art. 6(1)(b), (c) | Statutory retention periods under German commercial and tax law (up to 10 years) |
| Support and contact | Email address, content of your message | Answering your request | Art. 6(1)(b) or (f) | 2 years after the last contact |
| Reports of content | Name, email, reported URL, explanation, our decision | Handling notices and documenting decisions under Art. 16, 17 DSA | Art. 6(1)(c), (f) | 3 years |
| Cancellation and withdrawal messages | Name, email, contract details, time of receipt | Carrying out and documenting your declaration | Art. 6(1)(b), (c) | 3 years |
To create an account you must provide an email address and a password; without them we cannot provide the service. We do not use automated decision-making or profiling.
4. Cookies and local storage
We only use cookies and local storage that are technically necessary (§ 25(2) no. 2 TDDDG). There is therefore no cookie banner.
| Name | Purpose | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|
_tlapse_session | Session cookie: login state, protection against forged requests | Until you close the browser |
remember_user_token | Only if you tick “keep me logged in” | 2 weeks |
__cf_bm, cf_clearance (Cloudflare) | Protection against bots and attacks; set only in certain situations | 30 minutes |
| Paddle checkout | Only when you open the checkout in your dashboard; set by Paddle for payment and fraud prevention | See Paddle |
quarto-color-scheme (local storage, docs) | Remembers light or dark mode | Until you clear it |
5. Service providers and recipients
| Provider | What for | Where | Safeguard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hetzner Online GmbH, Gunzenhausen, Germany | Servers, database, image and video storage | Germany | Data processing agreement |
| Cloudflare, Inc., San Francisco, USA | Content delivery, DNS, protection against attacks. All website and image traffic passes through Cloudflare’s network. | Worldwide, USA | Data processing agreement with Standard Contractual Clauses; EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework |
| Twilio Inc. (SendGrid), San Francisco, USA | Sending service emails. We do not use open or click tracking. | USA | Data processing agreement with Standard Contractual Clauses; EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework |
| Paddle.com Market Limited, London, United Kingdom | Reseller and Merchant of Record for all paid plans. Paddle is an independent controller for your payment and address data: paddle.com/privacy-buyers | United Kingdom | Adequacy decision of the European Commission |
| Google (YouTube), Dropbox | Only if you connect them, see section 7 | Ireland, USA | EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, Standard Contractual Clauses |
Our sign-up form uses Google reCAPTCHA (Google Ireland Limited) to block automated registrations. reCAPTCHA collects your IP address, browser and device data and your interaction with the page, sets cookies and transmits the data to Google, including to the USA (EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework). Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. We are replacing reCAPTCHA with a solution that works without cookies.
We disclose data to authorities or courts only where we are legally obliged to do so.
6. Transfers outside the EU/EEA
Your account data, images and videos are stored in Germany. Data leaves the EU/EEA only through the providers marked in section 5. Transfers to the USA are based on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (Art. 45 GDPR) and, in addition, on Standard Contractual Clauses (Art. 46(2)(c) GDPR); transfers to the United Kingdom are based on the Commission’s adequacy decision. You can ask us for a copy of the safeguards.
7. Integrations you can enable
Both integrations are optional and are switched on by you in Dashboard → Integrations (legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).
YouTube
webcam.io uses YouTube API Services when you connect your YouTube account. You grant access in Google’s OAuth dialog.
- What we access: the video list of your channel (IDs, titles, descriptions, processing status) and your playlists (IDs, titles).
- What we do with it: upload time-lapse videos and clips you create to your channel or to a playlist you name; and, if you enable auto-delete, once a day delete archived live-stream videos whose title or description matches your search term.
- What we store: the OAuth tokens of your connection. We do not store other YouTube data, do not share it and do not use it for any other purpose.
- How to revoke: disconnect in Dashboard → Integrations or at Google security settings. We delete the tokens when you disconnect or delete your account.
Relaying a camera stream to a YouTube Live URL does not use the YouTube API. Details: Auto-delete YouTube archives.
webcam.io’s use of information received from YouTube API Services adheres to Google’s Limited Use requirements. YouTube is operated by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin, D04 E5W5, Ireland. Google Privacy Policy: http://www.google.com/policies/privacy. By using the YouTube connection you also agree to the YouTube Terms of Service.
Dropbox
If you connect Dropbox, we store the OAuth token of your connection and upload the image and video files you selected to your Dropbox. We do not read other files. Disconnect in Dashboard → Integrations or in your Dropbox account settings; we then delete the token. Dropbox is operated by Dropbox International Unlimited Company, Dublin, Ireland: dropbox.com/privacy.
8. Public webcam pages, clips and widgets
When you view a public webcam page, a clip or a widget embedded on another website, your browser loads images from our servers through Cloudflare. We process the server log data described in section 3 and use no analytics or tracking. Operators who embed our widget on their own website are responsible for informing their visitors.
9. Your rights
You have the right to access (Art. 15 GDPR), rectification (Art. 16), erasure (Art. 17), restriction (Art. 18) and data portability (Art. 20), and you can withdraw a consent at any time with effect for the future. To exercise a right, write to contact@webcam.io.
Right to object (Art. 21 GDPR): where we process data on the basis of legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)), you can object at any time on grounds relating to your particular situation.
You can lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular at your place of residence or with the authority responsible for us: Unabhängiges Landeszentrum für Datenschutz Schleswig-Holstein (ULD), Holstenstraße 98, 24103 Kiel, Germany, datenschutzzentrum.de.
Our service is not directed at persons under 18.
10. Deleting and exporting your data
Delete: log in, open your profile and choose “delete account”. This removes your account and all image and video files within hours.
Export: your profile lists the ways to download your images and videos; you can also export them automatically to Dropbox or YouTube (only for new files). Images and videos older than the image history time of your plan are deleted and cannot be restored.
11. Changes
We update this policy when our service or the law changes. The current version is always available on this page.
