Privacy & how it works
Updated 8 October 2026 · Operator contact: [email protected]
Use at your own risk
Sauron is a throwaway hobby project, provided as is. There are no guarantees of availability, security, privacy, support or uninterrupted video. It may break, change or shut down without notice. You accept the risks of using it, including outages and unauthorized access. Do not rely on it for emergencies, safety or critical monitoring. This does not exclude rights or liability that the law does not allow us to exclude.
How video and audio reach you
Devices with exactly the same passphrase join the same lookout. Anyone who knows or guesses it can watch or add cameras. Use a long, unique phrase; do not reuse an account password.
The camera browser sends live video and optional audio over HTTPS/WebSocket through Cloudflare, Cloudflare Tunnel and the operator’s Traefik gateway to the Sauron server. The server forwards it to viewers over the same route. This is not a direct device-to-device connection or end-to-end encryption: Cloudflare and the operator’s server can access the traffic, including video, audio and the passphrase during login.
Camera access starts only when you press Start and allow browser permission. Start requests camera and microphone access together through browser permissions; microphone sharing is on by default. Disable microphone turns it off before or during streaming, and Enable microphone lets you turn it back on without restarting video. Video and enabled audio are uploaded only while a viewer is connected. Sauron does not record video or audio. Each viewer can mute cameras independently; muting playback does not stop microphone sharing. Viewers can still take screenshots or record their screens. Keep the camera page visible; browsers, locked screens and network failures can interrupt it.
Data and retention
The server stores a derived lookout identifier, hashed session tokens, camera IDs, names and last-seen times. It does not save raw passphrases, video or audio. Offline cameras leave the grid after 30 minutes; their metadata appears in Recently inactive until 24 hours offline, then is deleted. Cleanup runs about once a minute while the server is running, or at its next startup.
Sessions expire after 12 hours, or 30 days if you choose Remember this device, and expired records are cleared by cleanup. Lock & leave revokes your current session. Derived lookout identifiers remain until the operator removes them. IP addresses are used in memory to limit login attempts, with expired entries cleared within about two minutes.
Cloudflare processes connection data, including IP addresses and traffic metadata, and may process it outside the EEA under its privacy policy and transfer safeguards. Gateway/provider logs and infrastructure backups may retain metadata separately; their current retention periods are not confirmed here. Ask the operator for details. The 24-hour camera deletion applies to Sauron’s current state, not any older backup copies.
Cookies and browser storage
Yes, Sauron uses a sauron_session login cookie. Normally it is a browser-session cookie, with a server limit of 12 hours; Remember this device gives it a 30-day lifetime. It is HttpOnly, SameSite=Strict and Secure on HTTPS. Blocking it prevents joining a lookout.
Local storage remembers your camera ID and name until you clear the site’s browser data. A service worker caches public site files, never video, audio or session responses. Lock & leave does not clear these device settings or cached files. Sauron includes no advertising trackers. Cloudflare may set additional security cookies depending on its configuration; see its cookie documentation.
Website analytics
The public site uses the operator’s self-hosted Umami at kws.kivayan.com to count visits and understand site usage. Umami uses no analytics cookies. It receives page paths, referring pages, browser/device information, screen size and language; connection IP addresses are processed to derive visit identifiers and approximate location. Query strings and URL fragments are excluded. Sauron does not send passphrases, camera names, lookout IDs, session tokens, video or audio to Umami, and does not identify logged-in devices to analytics.
Tracking respects your browser’s Do Not Track setting and can be blocked with a content blocker. Analytics retention is managed separately in Umami; contact the operator for the current period or to object to this processing. The privacy acknowledgement when joining is not analytics consent.
Your choices and responsibilities
We process device and connection data to provide the live view you request and protect the service from abuse, relying on legitimate interests. Providing the passphrase, session and connection data is necessary to use it. There is no automated decision-making or profiling in Sauron.
Only point cameras at places and people you are allowed to monitor, and provide any legally required notice. A personal hobby label does not remove privacy obligations. Stop the camera to end capture, revoke its browser permission, and clear site data to remove local settings.
Contact [email protected] for privacy questions or applicable rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, object to processing or receive portable data. You may also complain to your local data protection authority. Do not email your passphrase or live footage; we can arrange a safer way to identify the relevant data.