Privacy Policy
Whatty is a private, invite-only messaging service with voice and video calls. It is run by Whatty ("we"). This page explains what we store about you, why, and how you can delete it. Questions: whattychat@gmail.com.
What we store
- Your account: your name, your unique handle, your email address, a scrambled (salted, one-way hashed) version of your password, when you joined, when you accepted the Terms, and which invite you used and who sent it.
- Invitations you send: when you invite someone by email, we store that address for as long as needed to send and track the invitation (normally up to 30 days after it is used or expires), so we can email the code, let you resend it, and stop it being reused. If they don't already have an account and haven't opted out, we email them a one-time code. Being invited only lets someone create an account — it does not make you contacts or friends, and it does not give them access to your messages.
- Your messages: the text you send, captions, and the photos, videos and files you send, with the time they were sent and whether people have read them.
- Your connections: your friends (people you've both agreed to add, in person, by scanning or typing each other's code), the groups you're in and your role in them, pending friend requests, and the people you've blocked.
- Notifications: if you turn them on, an address that your device's push service gave us so we can notify you. It is deleted when you log out or delete your account.
- Your login: a random login token in a cookie in your browser (we keep only a scrambled copy of it).
- Reports: if you report someone, or someone reports you, we keep the report: who, the reason, any details written, and a copy of the reported message.
What we don't do
- No advertising, no analytics and no third-party trackers.
- We don't read your phone's contacts, and we don't collect your location.
- We don't store your IP address in the app's database. It is held in memory for a short time to slow down abuse, and the server that hosts Whatty may briefly keep ordinary technical logs that include IP addresses.
- We don't sell your information or share it for advertising.
Who can see your messages
The people in the conversation. Messages are protected in transit (https) but are not end-to-end encrypted: they're stored on our server, so the person who runs it can technically read them. We only look at messages to run the service, keep it safe (for example when someone reports a message) or where the law requires.
Making friends
Whatty doesn't have a directory of members and doesn't automatically connect you to anyone. Two people become friends only when both agree in person: one shows a QR code or short code (it changes every minute), the other scans or types it. You can also add someone to a group this way. If you'd rather not, decline the request; the person who sent it is not told either way.
Stopping invitations to an address
Every invitation email has a link to stop that address being invited again. Using it deletes any pending invitations to that address and prevents new ones; it doesn't affect an account that already exists.
Calls
Audio and video go directly between the devices where possible, or through a relay server we run when a direct connection isn't possible. Calls are not recorded or stored. To set up a call, your device asks a public STUN server run by Google to discover its network address, so Google sees your IP address for that purpose.
Notifications
Notifications are delivered through the push service of your browser or device maker (for example Google, Apple, Mozilla or Microsoft). They can see that a notification was sent to your device; the content is encrypted for your device.
Keeping and deleting your data
We keep your data while your account exists. You can delete your account at any time:
- In the app: Account (person icon) → Delete account.
- On the web: the delete-account page, without needing the app.
When you delete your account:
- Your one-to-one chats are deleted for both people, with their photos and files.
- In groups, everything you sent (and your files) is deleted and you leave the group.
- Your friends list, blocks, pending friend requests, notification address, login sessions and unused invitations you sent (including any email addresses on them) are deleted.
- Your name, handle and email address are replaced by "Deleted user" and the account can no longer be used.
What we keep: reports about you or made by you, for as long as needed for safety and to prevent abuse; and short notes in other people's group history such as "Alice added Bob", which may still contain a name. Deleted data may remain in our backups until they expire, normally within about 30 days.
Your rights
You can ask us for a copy of your data, to correct it, or to delete it (deleting your account does the last). Contact whattychat@gmail.com and we'll respond within a reasonable time. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under local law.
Age
Whatty is for people aged 16 and over. If you believe a child is using it, tell us and we'll remove the account.
Changes
If we change this policy in a way that matters, we'll update the date above and tell members in the app.
Contact
Whatty — whattychat@gmail.com