Help centre
Support
Playback trouble, membership, sync between devices, or a question about a specific print — start here.
Playback
Stalling, soft focus, density shifts, and what to try first.
02Membership
What The Nitrate Society includes, and how to cancel or restore it.
03Sync & devices
Resume points, watchlists, and using Nitrate on a new Apple TV.
04Prints & catalog
Why every title is free to watch, and requesting one.
Playback
A film looks scratchy, or the density shifts mid-reel. Is that a bug?
Almost always no. These are digitised surviving prints, some of them a century old, and wear in the source element shows on screen. If a fault looks like a playback error rather than film damage — a frozen picture, audio that runs on without video — report it with the title and the timecode.
Why do some films look softer than others?
Because the surviving elements differ. A composite nitrate scan and a 16mm dupe cannot look alike, and we do not apply AI sharpening or denoising to make them match.
A film stalls or won't start.
A stall is almost always the network rather than a fault in the film. Try again in a moment, and on a different connection if you can. If one specific title fails repeatedly while others play, tell us which one.
Can I change the playback speed or how the picture fits the screen?
Yes — Settings › Playback has a default rate, a default frame fit, and a choice of how the player opens. The rate can also be changed during playback.
Membership
What does The Nitrate Society include?
It removes ads on every platform, and it funds the work. It does not unlock films: the entire catalog is watchable without a membership.
How do I cancel?
In your Apple Account settings, not in Nitrate — Apple handles all billing. Cancelling stops the next renewal and the membership runs to the end of the period you have already paid for. Deleting the app does not cancel it.
I'm a member, but I'm still seeing ads.
Open Settings › Membership and tap Restore Purchases, and check the device is signed into the Apple Account that bought the subscription. Membership is read live from the App Store, so it can take a moment to appear after a purchase made on another device.
Why do I see an ad on my iPhone but not on Apple TV?
Ads run on iPhone and iPad only. The Mac and Apple TV apps have never shown them, member or not.
How do I change the ad privacy choice I made?
On iPhone and iPad, Settings › Ad Privacy Options reopens the consent form. The row appears only where a consent choice is required — in the EEA, the UK, and Switzerland.
Sync & devices
Do I need an account?
No. Nitrate has no sign-up and no password. Your watchlist and resume points sync through your own iCloud account, so signing your devices into the same Apple Account is all that is needed.
My resume point didn't carry over to another device.
Sync writes a few seconds after you pause or leave the player. Check that both devices are signed into the same Apple Account and that iCloud is enabled for Nitrate on both, then give it a moment on the second device.
Can I download films to watch offline?
Not yet — everything streams. Offline viewing is on the list, and it is not in the app today.
How do I stop syncing?
Turn off iCloud for Nitrate in your device's Settings, under your Apple Account. The app keeps working; that device's watchlist and resume points simply stay local.
Prints & catalog
Are the films really free to watch?
Yes, all of them. Most are in the public domain; the rest are still in copyright but are distributed under a licence that permits free viewing — a Creative Commons licence, or the rights holder's own grant. Nothing in the catalog is paywalled, and a membership only removes ads. Nitrate is the viewer and the curation — the selection, the categories, and the descriptions.
A film I watched has disappeared from the catalog.
Public-domain status varies by territory, and a licence can be withdrawn by the party that granted it. If a title is removed, your resume point is kept in case it returns.
Can I request a title?
Yes — write to us with the title and year. If a good copy exists in the public domain or under a free licence, it is a candidate.
I hold rights in a film you're listing.
Write to us with the title, the territory, and the basis of your claim. We take the title out of the catalog while we review it. See Rights & takedown.