As of 19 September 2026

Privacy

In short: no account required, no ads, no tracking. Wilhelm stores what he needs to recommend films – and you can delete it at any time.

This is a translation for convenience; the German version is the binding one.

Controller

Oliver Strebel-Mark, Emmericher Weg 76a, 47574 Goch, Germany · Phone +49 2822 7139167 · hallo@wilhelmrecommends.com

1. This website

The site sets no cookies, loads no external fonts and uses no analytics. It is served by Cloudflare, Inc. (San Francisco, USA), which processes the technically necessary connection data (IP address, time, page) and keeps it briefly in server logs. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in secure operation (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Cloudflare is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.

2. The app

2.1 A device identifier instead of an account

Wilhelm needs no account and no login. So that your profile comes back after a reinstall, the app uses your iPhone's vendor identifier (identifierForVendor). It only applies to apps from this developer, contains no name or email and is not an advertising identifier. To reset it, delete all our apps.

2.1a Optional: “Sign in with Apple”

If you want to take your profile to a new device, you can sign in with your Apple ID in Settings (Sign in with Apple). We ask for neither your name nor your email address and store only the pseudonymous user identifier Apple issues for our app, a session token for the app and a token that lets us revoke the sign-in at Apple. Your profile is then attached to that identifier instead of the device identifier; the existing device profile is taken along on the first sign-in. Account profiles do not expire automatically. “Delete account” in Settings removes the profile from our server, revokes the sign-in at Apple and starts the app over. Apple learns nothing from us about your films. Legal basis: contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

2.1b Optional: reminders

You can ask Wilhelm to remind you of a film night on certain weekdays. The app creates these notifications locally on your iPhone – there is no push server. Your weekly rhythm (days, time, who you usually watch with) is stored as part of your profile on our server so it comes back on a new device. Switch it off at any time in the app's settings or in the iOS notification settings. Legal basis: contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

2.1c Optional: subscription

Three lists are free. After that you can keep using Wilhelm with a subscription (monthly or yearly). The purchase goes through Apple; we see neither payment details nor your Apple ID. To manage subscriptions we use RevenueCat (RevenueCat, Inc., USA) as a processor: RevenueCat receives the purchase confirmation from Apple and tells our server only whether and until when a subscription is active – together with the same device identifier (or your Apple user ID from 2.1a when you are signed in). Our server also counts how many lists your profile has requested so that the three free lists can be counted. Transfer to the USA under Art. 46 GDPR (standard contractual clauses). You can cancel at any time in iOS Settings under "Subscriptions". Legal basis: contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

2.2 What is stored on our server

When you finish the interview, the app sends to our server (Cloudflare Workers, globally distributed) your device identifier, your seven answers (as ids such as afterglow=image), your ten ratings, your streaming services and region. From that the server stores your profile: answers, ratings, the profile text, the recommended films, films you marked as seen, your thumbs on recommendations and a history of the last 20 evenings (time, tonight's answers, films). This data is deleted automatically 365 days after last use. Legal basis: contract – without it Wilhelm cannot recommend anything (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

2.3 Recommendations by an AI model

For the profile text, the ranking and the reasons, our server sends your answers, your ratings (without the device identifier) and up to 30 candidate films to Anthropic, PBC (San Francisco, USA), model Claude. Anthropic does not use this data to train its models and deletes it within 30 days. The request currently passes through the AI Gateway of Vercel, Inc. (San Francisco, USA). Transfers to the USA rest on the EU Commission's standard contractual clauses in our contracts with both providers. Legal basis: contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

2.4 Film data and images

Film data comes from Wikidata (CC0) and is kept on our server; streaming availability from JustWatch. Posters and backdrops are loaded by the app directly from image.tmdb.org, which technically gives that image server your IP address – as with any image on the internet. No data about you is sent to it.

2.5 Usage statistics

Our server reports counts and timings to PostHog (PostHog Inc., servers in the EU/Frankfurt): that an interview was completed or a recommendation generated, how long it took, whether an error occurred, which answer ids were chosen and whether a thumb was set. No film titles, no rating values, no texts. The identifier is the device identifier from 2.1. Legal basis: legitimate interest in a working service (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

2.6 On your device

Answers, ratings, the result list and settings are also stored locally on your iPhone; with Sign in with Apple, the session token sits in the keychain too. “Start over” in Settings deletes answers and result there; the server profile remains until it expires, until “Delete account”, or until you request deletion.

3. Your rights

You have the right to access, rectification, erasure, restriction, data portability and objection (Art. 15–21 GDPR), and to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. Because we know no name, we need your pilot code to find your profile: Settings → About Wilhelm → Pilot code (eight characters). Send it to hallo@wilhelmrecommends.com and we delete your server profile or send you a copy.

4. Children

Wilhelm is meant for adults. We deliberately collect no information about age or identity.

5. Changes

If the processing changes – an account, a subscription, another data source – we update this page and the date above.