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.
Connecting a station's Facebook Page
A station admin can connect the station's Facebook Page so that a show can go out as a Facebook Live video while it is on air. This is optional and off unless an admin connects a Page.
- What we use. The list of Pages the connecting account manages (to pick one), and the Page's access token, which the station uses to create a live video on that Page when a DJ presses the switch, end it when the show ends, and remove it afterwards unless the station chooses to keep it. Nothing is read from the Page, its followers or the connecting person's profile beyond their name, and nothing is posted except the live videos the station's DJs start.
- What we keep. The connection and the Page token are held on that station's own private server, shown to that station's admins and nobody else. We keep no copy of the video.
- Who we share it with. Nobody. Facebook data is never sold, never used for advertising, and never passed to a third party.
- Deleting your data. Disconnect on the studio's Integrations page (Integrations, Facebook, Disconnect) and the stored token and Page details are deleted at once. You can also remove the Staircase Radio app from your Facebook account's Business Integrations settings, which revokes the access at Facebook's end. To have anything else removed, write to hello@staircaseradio.co naming the station, and it will be done within 30 days.
Where it lives and how long
Everything is stored on the private server of the station involved, encrypted in transit. Those servers are rented from Hetzner Online GmbH (Germany), in its data centres in Germany and Finland; Hetzner provides the machines and has no part in what runs on them. 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.
Requests from public authorities
If a public authority asks us for personal data, we check that the request is lawful and properly made before anything is disclosed; we challenge a request we believe to be unlawful; we disclose no more than the request lawfully requires; and we keep a record of every request, what was disclosed, and why. We have received no such request to date.
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.
The platform is run by Staircase Radio Ltd, a company registered in the United Kingdom, which is the data controller for anything the platform itself holds - including the Facebook and Google connections described above. Write to hello@staircaseradio.co.