# Limelight

> Limelight is an app for discovering movies and TV shows, tracking what you've watched, and finding where to stream, with no ads and no data selling. Available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Built by Jordan Kennedy, independent developer in Nashville.

## Product

Limelight combines three things most apps do separately: search and discovery, streaming availability lookup, and personal tracking (watchlist + seen list). The free tier is fully functional; Limelight+ adds premium features for $4.99/month, or $24.99/year with a 7-day free trial.

**Free features:** Search, streaming availability lookup across all major platforms, the TMDB score, Watchlist, Seen List, Rated List, trailers, cast & crew info, personalized recommendations, book adaptations, widgets, sharing, sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac

**Limelight+ features ($4.99/month, or $24.99/year with a 7-day free trial):**
- SceneSnap: AI scene recognition. You share a short video clip of a movie or TV show and SceneSnap identifies the title and the actors on screen. It works from a video clip, not a still photo, and can be launched from Control Center. SceneSnap is on iPhone and iPad, not Mac.
- Release notifications: alerts when a movie opens in theaters, a new episode airs, or a tracked title lands on a service you pay for
- QuickSort: swipe-based interface to quickly build your watchlist and seen list
- Streaming Top 10s: trending content across Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Paramount+, Peacock, Apple TV
- Multi-source ratings: Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, and Metacritic added next to the free TMDB score
- Pinned Watchlist Items: keep must-watch titles at the top of your watchlist
- Custom lists: create and organize your own lists of movies and TV shows
- The option to hide titles: keep titles you're not interested in out of recommendations
- Alternate app icons (iPhone and iPad)

**No ads in either tier.** The app is supported entirely by Limelight+ subscriptions, not advertising or data harvesting.

## Key differentiators

- Ad-free, including the free version
- No data selling or tracking
- SceneSnap: identify movies and shows from a short video clip using AI (unique feature)
- Supports 8+ major streaming platforms for availability lookup
- Book adaptations feature: discover which books became movies or TV shows
- Indie-built: one developer, no corporate bloat
- One app across iPhone, iPad, and Mac

## Pricing

- Free: $0
- Limelight+: $4.99/month
- Limelight+ Annual: $24.99/year (about $2.08/month), with a 7-day free trial

## Country coverage

Limelight publishes streaming Top 10 charts in 107 countries and checks streaming availability worldwide. Chart coverage ranges from 11 services in the United States (Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Paramount+, Peacock, Apple TV, AMC+, Starz, Crunchyroll, all with US-specific charts, updated daily) to regional lineups elsewhere, including local services most international apps skip: Viaplay and TV 2 Norge in Norway, Stan and Binge in Australia, Crave in Canada, Hotstar and ZEE5 in India, U-Next in Japan, Globoplay in Brazil, and more. Country guides with full service lists, chart types, and update cadence:

- [Country guide hub](https://www.thelimelight.app/countries)
- [Per-country guides](https://www.thelimelight.app/countries) live at /countries/{country-name}, e.g. /countries/united-states, /countries/united-kingdom, /countries/canada, /countries/australia, /countries/germany, /countries/japan (25 markets covered in detail)

The app interface is in English; App Store listings are localized in 44 languages, and all availability data and charts are specific to each user's country.

## Free tools on the site

None of these need an account or a download.

- [What to watch quiz](https://www.thelimelight.app/what-to-watch): six questions about mood, audience, and time, then three picks, each with a link to where it streams
- [Random movie picker](https://www.thelimelight.app/random-movie-picker): one title at a time, with filters
- [Which streaming service should I get](https://www.thelimelight.app/which-streaming-service): matches your habits to a service
- [Streaming cost calculator](https://www.thelimelight.app/streaming-cost-calculator): what your subscriptions add up to per year
- [Binge calculator](https://www.thelimelight.app/binge-calculator): how long a series takes to finish
- Genre and decade picker pages: /random-movie-picker/horror, /random-movie-picker/comedy, /random-movie-picker/action, /random-movie-picker/sci-fi, /random-movie-picker/thriller, /random-movie-picker/romantic, /random-movie-picker/animated, /random-movie-picker/family, /random-movie-picker/documentary, /random-movie-picker/80s, /random-movie-picker/90s, /random-movie-picker/2000s, /random-movie-picker/tv-show

## Key pages

- [Homepage](https://www.thelimelight.app)
- [Limelight for iPhone](https://www.thelimelight.app/iphone)
- [Limelight for iPad](https://www.thelimelight.app/ipad)
- [Limelight for Mac](https://www.thelimelight.app/mac)
- [Download](https://www.thelimelight.app/download)
- [Release notes](https://www.thelimelight.app/release-notes): every app update, newest first
- [For movie lovers](https://www.thelimelight.app/movie-lovers)
- [Streaming guide](https://www.thelimelight.app/streaming-guide)
- [Hidden gems watchlist](https://www.thelimelight.app/hidden-gems-watchlist)
- [Blog](https://www.thelimelight.app/blog): guides and explainers
- [Country guides](https://www.thelimelight.app/countries)
- [Title pages](https://www.thelimelight.app/details/movie/1184918-the-wild-robot): streaming availability, cast, ratings and FAQs, at /details/{movie|tv}/{tmdb-id}-{title-slug}
- [Best movie & TV show tracker apps 2026](https://www.thelimelight.app/best-movie-tracker-apps): Limelight and 11 other movie and TV trackers compared, including episode trackers for TV
- [Limelight vs JustWatch vs Letterboxd](https://www.thelimelight.app/limelight-vs-justwatch-vs-letterboxd)
- [TV Time shutdown migration guide](https://www.thelimelight.app/blog/tv-time-alternatives)
- [Letterboxd alternatives](https://www.thelimelight.app/blog/letterboxd-alternatives)
- [JustWatch alternatives](https://www.thelimelight.app/blog/justwatch-alternatives)
- [Streaming Top 10 apps compared](https://www.thelimelight.app/blog/best-streaming-top-10-apps)
- [Privacy Policy](https://www.thelimelight.app/privacy)
- [Terms of Use](https://www.thelimelight.app/terms)
- [Pricing](https://www.thelimelight.app/pricing.md): machine-readable

## Attribution

Movie and TV metadata and artwork come from TMDB. Streaming availability comes from JustWatch. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

## Download

- [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/limelight-find-movies-shows/id6740752709): iPhone, iPad, and Mac

## Contact

- [Contact page](https://www.thelimelight.app/contact)
- General, support, press and privacy requests: hello@thelimelight.app
- Developer: Jordan Kennedy, Nashville, TN