Privacy Policy

flock — last updated 14-10-2026

What flock is

flock is open-source software, published under the MIT license, that you install and run on your own hardware. It schedules and publishes videos to the YouTube channel, Instagram account, TikTok account and Facebook Page its operator connects. The author operates no service, hosts nothing for anyone, and receives no data from any installation. This policy describes what the software does with data on the machines it runs on; for the author's own installation it is also the operator's policy.

Use of YouTube API Services

flock uses YouTube API Services to upload videos to the channel its operator connects. That use is subject to the YouTube Terms of Service. Google's handling of data is described in the Google Privacy Policy.

Use of Meta's APIs for Instagram and Facebook

flock uses the Instagram API with Facebook Login to publish videos as reels to the Instagram professional account its operator connects, through the Facebook Page that account is linked to, and the Facebook Pages API to publish videos as reels to the Facebook Pages its operator connects. That use is subject to the Meta Platform Terms and the Instagram Terms of Use. Meta's own handling of data is described in the Meta Privacy Policy.

flock uses what it receives from Meta for two purposes: posting the reels its operator chooses, at the time its operator chooses, and showing its operator how the connected account's and Pages' own posts are doing. For the second it reads the Instagram account's newest posts — each one's link, caption and publish time, its like and comment counts, and the views and reach Instagram reports for it — and the Facebook Page's newest reels — each one's link, caption, length and publish time, its like and comment counts, and the views, plays, average watch time and shares Facebook reports for it — and keeps them on the operator's own equipment. Beyond its reels, of a Facebook Page it reads only the Page's name, username and link, to show which Page a reel goes to. It does not read the account's or the Page's followers, the text of comments, or messages, and what it reads is shown to its operator only, inside flock.

Use of TikTok's APIs

flock uses TikTok's Login Kit and Content Posting API to publish videos to the TikTok account its operator connects. Content published this way is subject to TikTok's Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. TikTok's own handling of data is described in TikTok's Privacy Policy.

flock uses what it receives from TikTok for one purpose: posting the videos its operator chooses, at the time its operator chooses. It does not read the account's videos, followers, statistics or messages, and it presents no TikTok content anywhere.

What flock accesses

From Google, flock asks for:

• youtube.upload — uploading videos to the connected channel
• youtube.readonly — reading that channel's own videos and their public counters
• youtube — only if enabled, for adding a video to a playlist

From Meta, through Facebook Login, flock asks for:

• pages_show_list and business_management — listing the Facebook Pages the operator manages, including one held in a business portfolio, to find the linked Instagram account and the Pages reels go to
• instagram_basic — the Instagram account's identifier and username, so flock can show which account a reel will go to
• instagram_content_publish — publishing a reel to that account, and reading how many of its daily posts are used
• instagram_manage_insights — reading the views and reach of that account's own posts, so flock can show its operator how they are doing
• read_insights — reading the views, plays, average watch time and shares of the connected Page's own reels, so flock can show its operator how they are doing
• pages_read_engagement — reading the Page's name, username and link, its own reels with their like and comment counts, and the access details that publishing goes through
• pages_manage_posts — publishing reels to the Facebook Page the operator chooses, at the time the operator chooses, with the cover image the operator chooses for one; and for a custom Instagram reel cover, placing the image on the Page as an unpublished photo, which never appears on the Page, so Instagram can fetch it, and deleting it as soon as Instagram has it

From TikTok, flock asks for:

• user.info.basic — the account's identifier, display name and avatar, so flock can show which account a post will go to
• video.publish — posting a video directly to that account

Before each post, and each time the TikTok posting box is shown, flock also reads what TikTok calls creator information: the account's display name, which audiences it may post to, whether comments, duets and stitches are switched off in its settings, the longest video it may post, and whether it may post right now. That is used only to build the post the way TikTok requires, and only the most recent copy is kept, replaced on the next read.

flock does not read, collect or store information about any other channel or account, any other user, or any viewer.

What flock stores, and where

Everything flock stores stays on the operator's own equipment:

• the video files, or references to where they are kept, and any cover image chosen for one
• the text written for each video: titles, descriptions, tags and publishing settings
• the chosen release times
• confirmation of what was uploaded and where
• a log of actions taken in flock
• a name for each browser that uses it, stored in that browser under flock.device
• the Google refresh token, in a configuration file
• the Facebook Page access token for each connected Instagram account and Facebook Page, in the same configuration file
• TikTok's access and refresh tokens, in the same configuration file
• each connected account's identifier, username and display name, each Facebook Page's name, username and link, and Instagram's count of posts used today
• the connected channel's own videos, the connected Instagram accounts' own posts and the connected Facebook Pages' own reels as those services report them — title or caption, link, release time — with their counters (views, likes, comments; on Instagram reach; on Facebook plays, average watch time and shares) and a history of how views, likes and comments changed
• the most recent creator information read from TikTok, as described above

Data leaves the operator's machines only to publish a video, to Google, Meta or TikTok, and only while that is happening. Nothing is sent to the author.

How long it is kept

Everything flock stores stays until its operator deletes it. Nothing expires on its own, nothing is copied anywhere else, and the tokens are kept until they are revoked or replaced.

Cookies and device data

flock sets no cookies and uses no analytics, telemetry or tracking of any kind. This website is a set of static pages and sets no cookies either.

Sharing

flock shares no data with anyone. There are no third parties, no service providers, no advertising, and no sale or transfer of data. The author receives nothing from any installation.

Deleting data

The operator can remove anything flock holds by:

• deleting the entry in flock
• deleting flock's data directory
• deleting the configuration file that holds the tokens
• revoking flock's access to the Google account at myaccount.google.com/permissions or security.google.com/settings/security/permissions
• removing flock's app from the Facebook account at Settings, Business integrations, which ends its access to the Pages and the Instagram accounts linked to them
• revoking flock's access in the TikTok app, under Settings and privacy, then Security and permissions, then the list of connected apps; that stops every further request, and the stored tokens stop working
• deleting a published video on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok or Facebook itself; flock keeps no copy of what those services hold

Changes

Any change to this policy appears on this page.

Contact

contact@chrotesque.com. Questions about Google, Meta or TikTok data are answered from the same address.