Is Timeline's watch together private? What is stored, and what is not
No accounts, no uploaded video, and chat that never reaches a server's database. Here is exactly what is kept.
LAAGU··2 min readTimeline
The video is not uploaded
The video streams directly from the host's PC to the guests' players. It is never sent to a Timeline server or to any storage service. The host's file stays on the host's PC; guests download pieces of it as they play, into their player, and nothing is kept as a file.
Try it in Timeline
Free for Windows 10 and 11. One installer, nothing else to set up.
What the rooms record holds
To let guests find a session by its code, Timeline keeps a small room record in a hosted database (Supabase) for as long as the session runs:
| What | Notes |
|---|---|
| The 6-digit code and an internal channel key | Needed to find and join the session |
| A hashed host secret | A hash, not the secret itself |
| The optional password | Stored as a hash (bcrypt), never as text |
| The stream address and the video's name | So guests' players know where to connect, and what is playing |
| The session settings and a "last seen" time | Kept up to date while the host is online |
- Chat and playback state never touch the database. They go straight between the people in the session.
- Guests only get the stream address after the password check, and wrong tries are counted and rate-limited.
When it is deleted
- When the host ends the session the room record is deleted.
- If the host's app crashes, a scheduled clean-up removes rooms that have been silent for 3 minutes.
- Attempt counters older than an hour are removed too.
What guests and the host see of each other
Because the video streams straight from one PC to another, a guest's app connects to the address the host shared. That is how any direct stream works. Share the code only with people you trust, and use a password for a session you do not want strangers to find.
Note. Timeline also has optional anonymous usage data; it is separate from watch together and can be switched off in Settings.
Careful. A code and a password only keep people out of the session. Anyone you give them to can watch, and the host can kick or ban anyone who should not be there.
Questions
Does Timeline store the video I watch together?
No. It streams directly between PCs and nothing is uploaded to a Timeline server.
Is the chat saved?
Chat messages go directly between people in the session and never touch the database.
How is the password stored?
As a bcrypt hash in the room record, and only while the session exists.
When is the room deleted?
When the host ends the session, or by a clean-up that removes rooms silent for 3 minutes.
