Last updated: September 22, 2026. This page explains what 1st Episode collects, how we use it, and the controls you have across our local shows, sponsorships, story guests, and this website.
Sponsorships are billed at $500 per month through Stripe. When you pay, your card details go directly to Stripe under its own privacy policy; we receive only a confirmation of payment and the billing status of your sponsorship. We never receive or store card numbers.
To produce, edit, and publish our shows; to set up, recognize, and manage sponsorships; to process payments and keep billing records; to coordinate guests and recordings; to communicate with sponsors, guests, and visitors; to improve the shows and this website; and to prevent fraud and abuse. We do not sell personal information.
Recordings are processed to produce episodes — transcripts, edits, clips, captions, titles, descriptions, and thumbnails. We use AI-assisted tools for parts of this work; their outputs are reviewed by our team before anything is published. We do not use private recordings or personal information to train public foundation models.
Episodes, clips, and sponsor recognition are published to our public pages and to platforms such as YouTube. Publication follows the editorial decisions described in our Terms of Service.
We share data with service providers acting on our behalf: our payment processor (Stripe), cloud hosting and media storage and delivery, AI and transcription providers, video platforms, and analytics providers. We may also disclose information if required by law or to protect our rights, users, or the service. In a merger or acquisition, data may transfer as part of the business.
We use cookies for site preferences and to measure traffic on our public pages through analytics tools. You can control cookies through your browser settings.
We keep sponsorship and billing records for as long as your sponsorship is active and as long as the law requires afterward. Episode content is kept while it remains part of the show; guests may request removal of their story at any time, and sponsors may cancel at any time and request deletion of their contact details. Some media and backups may persist for a limited wind-down window before deletion. [Operator: confirm the exact wind-down window to state here.]
Media is stored with access-controlled, signed URLs, and data is encrypted in transit. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to keep your information protected.
Our providers may process data in the United States and other countries. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards for those transfers.
The Service is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from any child under 13. If we learn that a child under 13 has provided personal information, we will delete it promptly.
We will update this page as our shows and services change and revise the date above. Material changes will be communicated on this site or by email.
1st Episode, LLC · privacy@dagenmedia.com · see also our Terms of Service.
This policy describes current product behavior and is not legal advice or a certification. Registered business address, exact retention periods, and governing law should be confirmed by counsel before you rely on this page.