privacy policy

effective october 19, 2026. contact the operator and data controller at privacy@sometimeschat.com.

what we process

your username, required email address, optional phone number, contact verification times, display name, password hash, optional photo and bio; friend relationships, group memberships, messages, images, videos, files, stickers, scribbles, placed items, polls and votes, sender time zones and recognized times, reactions, chat pins, emoji usage and reaction preferences, call participation and notification, audio, appearance and privacy preferences, including quiet-hours schedules. new accounts confirm they are at least 16 without entering a birth date. we keep the confirmation time and accepted policy version. earlier age checks discarded the supplied birth date. we also process session identifiers, sign-in time and browser/device labels, device push tokens and firebase installation identifiers, browser push subscription endpoints and encryption keys, connection information such as ip addresses, and reports and moderation decisions. do not submit sensitive information you do not want your recipients to see.

why

we use account and communication data to provide the service you request (performance of our contract). we use limited technical and abuse data to secure, maintain and moderate the service (legitimate interests in protecting users and running sometimes), and may process data to meet legal obligations. optional camera, microphone, photo selection, notifications and screen sharing require your device permission or action. denying them does not prevent text chat. you can revoke permissions in your device settings.

the mobile photo picker reads permitted photo thumbnails on your device. you can grant access to selected photos where supported. browsing the picker does not upload your library; only photos you choose to add are uploaded. uploaded media includes dimensions and a small preview to reserve its space in the chat.

who receives it

your recipients see the content you send, your profile, and relevant online/call activity. mutual friends and groups are shown to known contacts. reporting shares the reported content and necessary context with the operator. cloudflare hosts our website, database, private media, connection services and call relay, and sends account verification emails. twilio receives your phone number and verification request data to send and check verification texts when you supply a phone number. your email and phone number are not shown to other users. apple receives device tokens and notification information for iphone push delivery. google/firebase receives android installation identifiers, connection metadata and notification content for firebase cloud messaging delivery. firebase analytics and advertising tracking are not enabled. optional browser and installed web app notifications use your browser provider’s push service (such as apple, google, mozilla or microsoft). browser notification content is encrypted for your subscription before being sent to that service. notification previews may appear on your lock screen. optional gif searches and selections send your query and an account identifier to klipy; loading previews also sends connection information to klipy. support emails are forwarded through cloudflare to the operator’s gmail inbox, processed by google. these providers may process data internationally, including in the united states.

we do not sell personal data, run advertising, or use an advertising tracking sdk. messages are encrypted in transit but are not end-to-end encrypted. calls use encrypted transport through cloudflare’s media service. sometimes does not record calls. recipients can still copy, screenshot or record content using their own devices.

poll creators choose whether voter names are visible to chat members; private polls show totals and your own selections. emoji usage and your double-click reaction are saved to your account to keep shortcuts consistent across devices. pins are shared with chat members. time annotations use the sender’s device time zone, without requesting location access.

retention and deletion

account data and messages remain until you remove them or delete your account. account deletion immediately removes accessible account records, sessions, your messages, scribbles, uploads and stickers (including adopted copies), and friend relationships. groups with remaining members transfer to another member; other people’s content remains. inaccessible uploaded files are queued for erasure and normally removed within 24 hours. short-lived infrastructure backups may retain deleted records for up to 30 days; any restoration must reapply deletion requests before serving restored data.

deletion receipts keep only an account identifier and request time for 35 days to prevent backup restoration from reviving deleted accounts. reports and moderation records are retained for up to 180 days for safety, appeals and legal obligations. a report can retain a snapshot of reported text after a message or account is deleted. we do not retain a separate copy of reported images after their original upload is deleted. if a legal preservation duty applies, we retain only the required information for its required period. session credentials expire after 30 days. a separate secure browser cookie lets a previously verified browser skip another sign-in code until it has been signed out for more than 30 days. signing out through settings → account → logged-in devices removes that browser’s trust immediately. the cookie can persist for up to one year, but server-side trust expires sooner as described above. verification codes and password-reset links expire after 10 minutes; expired verification records and short-lived send counters are cleaned up after a day, normally at the next hourly cleanup. account deletion removes contact details and trusted-browser records. native and browser push registrations are removed when you log out, delete your account, or your session expires. turning off push notifications stops delivery on that device; a browser and installed web app can share the same operating-system subscription. delivery queue references expire within two days. local storage caches your device settings until browser/app data is cleared, so your choices can be restored when you sign in again. account privacy controls and quiet hours sync across devices. local storage remembers notification suggestion times for the 24-hour reminder interval; the installed web app stores its current account identifier and a public offline page on your device. support correspondence is normally removed within 180 days after resolution unless continued retention is needed for a legal obligation or dispute. service providers may retain their own security records under their terms.

your choices and rights

settings → account provides a machine-readable export and permanent deletion. you can also use our account deletion page without the app. edit your profile in settings, delete your messages, block users and disable optional permissions at any time. contact privacy@sometimeschat.com for access, correction, erasure, portability, restriction, objection to legitimate-interest processing, or withdrawal of any consent. we verify ownership proportionately and never ask you to email a password. where gdpr applies, we respond within one month; a lawful extension of up to two further months will be explained within the first month. you may complain to your local data protection authority. we do not make legally significant decisions solely by automated processing; ask for human review of a filter or moderation decision.

where required, international transfers rely on an applicable adequacy decision or appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses. contact us for applicable provider safeguards and a copy. we limit processing to what is needed for a small friends-based chat service.

young people and changes

sometimes is for people aged 16 or older. report an underage account to safety@sometimeschat.com. if we learn an account is underage, we restrict it and arrange deletion, subject to required safety preservation. material policy changes are announced in the app and may require renewed acceptance.