TV Time shut down on July 15, 2026 — your data can still be recovered
Back up and import your TV Time history
The complete guide to saving years of tracking: export from TV Time, re-import everything into WatchTrail, and verify nothing is missing.
What exactly is in the TV Time export?
The export TV Time sent, before its shutdown, after a GDPR request is an archive of 53 CSV files. Four are used to rebuild your history. The first, tracking-prod-records-v2, has one row per watched episode with the TheTVDB episode ID and the exact watch date. The second, followed_tv_show, lists every show you followed, including the ones you never started. The third, tracking-prod-records, holds your movies, watched or to watch, with title and release year but no identifier. The fourth, user_tv_show_data, says which shows you had marked as favorites. Other files hold content WatchTrail does not import yet — your episode reactions (ratings-3-prod-episode_votes) and your lists (lists-prod-lists) — and the text of your comments is nowhere: comments-prod-comments only holds "likes". The rest is settings, devices and notifications. On a real export, those three files held 4,673 episode rows, 174 followed shows and 322 movie rows (321 distinct titles, one duplicate). You do not have to sort them: drop the ZIP as is, WatchTrail recognises the four files and ignores the rest.
How long does the import take, and how many episodes come back?
Measured on September 2, 2026 on a real account: 4,673 episodes dropped, 4,606 recovered, that is 98.6%, in 225 seconds. The 67 missing ones are explained: special episodes TheTVDB counts and TMDB does not know, and duplicates from TV Time itself, one show present twice in the export under two IDs. The 24 followed shows with no watched episode come back in the “to watch” list. Movies are matched by title and year: 316 out of 321 in the same run, 286 seconds for everything. Watch dates are preserved, so statistics and the yearly recap stay accurate. The import can be re-run: if the tab closes, run it again, no duplicate is created. A progress bar follows each show, and the final screen shows the exact count of what came in.
Why are some titles not found?
Every episode in the export carries a TheTVDB ID, which WatchTrail translates into a TMDB ID through an exact mapping, not a title search. The rare failures come from differences between the two databases: special episodes filed under season 0 on one side and absent on the other, or renumbered shows, like some long-running anime. Movies are a different case: the export only gives a title and a year, so matching is a search, and a namesake can slip through. In every case, the final screen lists the titles that were not found, and each one can be added in one click from the site search. On an export of 4,673 episodes and 321 movies, that list was seven episodes and five movies long.
1. Find your TV Time history: the export, or your phone's local copy
Already have your export (the gdpr-data.zip file, or CSVs)? Keep it safe and go to step 2. Didn't request it in time? TV Time wiped all data from its servers on July 15, 2026: a GDPR request no longer returns anything. But the app kept a local copy of your library and progress on your phone, in a file named DioCache.db. It can be recovered from an iPhone backup (Finder or iTunes, unencrypted, or iMazing — the TV Time app folder, Documents/DioCache.db) or an Android backup (adb). Free tools read it and produce a file you can import here: see the dedicated question below.
2. Create your WatchTrail account
On watchtrail.app: sign in by email (magic link) or Google, in 30 seconds. Free, no credit card.
3. Import the file
Open the Import page (Profile → Import) and drop the TV Time ZIP as is — no need to open it or sort its 53 files, we do that. Separate CSVs work too. A progress bar follows each show; a 4,600-episode export takes under 4 minutes. The import is re-runnable: if it stops, run it again, no duplicates will be created.
4. Check the result
The final screen shows the exact count: X episodes (of Y) and X movies (of Y) imported, with a detailed list of the rare unrecognized titles so you can add them manually. Your library, statuses (watching / completed), calendar and stats are immediately up to date.
Common questions
Which file formats are accepted?
The TV Time GDPR export ZIP as is (gdpr-data.zip), TV Time episode CSVs (with episode IDs), movie exports (Title/Year columns, Letterboxd format also accepted), and combined files. French and English headers are both recognized.
How are shows matched?
By their exact TheTVDB identifier (the one TV Time uses), converted to the TMDB database. This is reliable even when titles differ (localized names, renamed shows) and even when season numbering differs between the two databases (common for anime).
Are watch dates preserved?
Yes, every imported episode keeps its original watch date — that's what makes your yearly recap and statistics accurate.
What about my TV Time ratings and comments?
Your episode reactions are in the export, in ratings-3-prod-episode_votes, but WatchTrail does not import them yet: TV Time rated with reactions rather than out of ten, and the table that turns their identifiers into labels is not included. Your favorites are imported. The text of your comments is lost: the file bearing their name only holds "likes". Keep your ZIP — imports are re-runnable without duplicates.
How do I back up my TV Time data now?
There is nothing left to ask TV Time: the service shut down on July 15, 2026 and wiped its servers the same day, the export tool went with it, and a GDPR request goes unanswered. So, three cases. If you downloaded your export in time, the gdpr-data.zip file is your backup: keep it and drop it here, nothing is lost. If you never requested it, the backup may still be on your phone: the app kept a local copy of your library, the DioCache.db file, recovered from an iPhone backup (Finder or iTunes, unencrypted, or iMazing) or Android (adb), and turned into importable CSVs by free tools. And if you had already moved elsewhere, a Trakt, Simkl, IMDb or Letterboxd export works just as well.
What exactly is in the TV Time export?
An archive of about fifty CSV files, three of which really matter: « tracking-prod-records-v2 » (one row per watched episode, with the TheTVDB episode ID and the watch date), « followed_tv_show » (the shows you followed, even without a watched episode — they come back as « to watch ») and « tracking-prod-records » (your movies, watched and to-watch, with their year). The rest is settings, devices and notifications: we ignore it.
I never requested the export: is everything lost?
Server-side, yes: TV Time wiped all account data on July 15, 2026, and a GDPR request no longer returns anything. Phone-side, no: the app kept a local copy of your library and progress in a small SQLite database, DioCache.db. On iPhone it can be recovered from a backup (Finder or iTunes, unencrypted, or iMazing) inside the TV Time app folder, under Documents/DioCache.db; on Android from an adb backup or a rooted device. Three free, open-source tools read it and produce import files: tvtime-rescue-data (Simkl and Trakt CSVs), tvtime-backup-extractor (encrypted backups) and the "TV Time Liberator" converter (CSV and JSON). WatchTrail accepts the Liberator watched-episodes CSV, dates included, and the all-in-one format. Known limit: that cache mostly keeps the watched count per show and the episodes around your current position, so the exact date of an old episode may be missing. Failing that, search adds a show in one click and marking a whole season as watched is a single button.
How long does the import take, and what if it stops halfway?
Roughly one minute per 1,000 episodes, so a full history of several thousand takes a few minutes. If the tab closes or the connection drops, just run the same file again: every episode already recorded is recognised and skipped, no duplicates are created.
Who can see my history, and can I leave with it?
By default, your profile and library are public, like on Letterboxd: that is what makes them shareable. Private profile mode, in your settings, hides your profile and removes your activity from the feed and leaderboards. And export works both ways: from your settings you can pull your data back out at any time, in a reusable format. What just happened to TV Time shouldn't be able to happen again without you being able to walk away with your data.
Also read: how WatchTrail compares with Trakt, Simkl and Serializd · tracker app comparisons.