Privacy policy

Last updated 6 August 2026 · Covers the Staircase Radio platform and the Staircase Radio mobile app

Staircase Radio is a platform that independent radio stations run their station on. Each station on the platform runs on its own private server, and the station you interact with is responsible for the content it broadcasts and the community it hosts. This policy explains what the platform and the Staircase Radio app collect, why, and how to get anything removed.

Listening needs nothing

You can listen to any station in the app or on a station's website without an account, without signing in, and without giving us any personal information.

What we collect, and only if you use the feature

• Shout outs. If you record a shout out, that voice recording and the name you type are sent to the station you chose, where its staff can play them on air.
• Chat. Messages you send in a station's chat rooms, with the display name you chose, are stored by that station and visible to its listeners and staff.
• Show reminders. If you star a show and allow notifications, a push token for your device is stored so reminders can reach you. Your favourites themselves stay on your device.
• Competitions. If you enter one, the details you submit go to the station running it.
• Staff accounts. DJs and station staff sign in with an email address and display name. These accounts are created by stations by invitation; nobody can create an account in the app.

What we do not do

• No advertising, and no advertising identifiers.
• No tracking across apps or websites, and no analytics sold to anyone.
• No selling or sharing of personal data with third parties.
• No location, contacts, browsing history, financial or health data.

Connecting a station's own Google account

A station admin can connect the station's own Google account so that its Search Console and Analytics figures - how people find the station's website - show inside the studio instead of behind another two logins. This is entirely optional and off unless an admin turns it on.

• What we read. Read-only access to that account's Google Search Console and Google Analytics data for the property the admin chooses, plus the email address of the account being connected so the studio can show which one is linked. Nothing is written back to Google, and no other Google service is touched.
• What we keep. The connection token and the figures shown are held on that station's own private server. They are shown to that station's admins, and to nobody else.
• Who we share it with. Nobody. Google user data is never sold, never used for advertising, and never passed to a third party.
• Turning it off. Disconnect in the studio at any time - the access is revoked at Google's end and the stored token is deleted. It can also be revoked from the Google account's own permissions page.

Staircase Radio's use of information received from Google APIs follows the Google API Services User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements.

Where it lives and how long

Everything is stored on the private server of the station involved, encrypted in transit. Shout outs and chat messages stay until the station removes them or you ask for their removal. Push tokens are deleted when you turn reminders off or uninstall the app.

Removal and questions

To have anything removed, contact the station involved - every station website has a contact page, and its privacy policy names the station operator. For anything about the platform itself, use the contact details on the Staircase Radio listing in the app store where you found the app, and we will sort it.