Privacy Policy
The short version
An encrypted conversation is stored as a sealed envelope the server cannot open. It is deleted once delivered. A conversation with encryption turned off is stored in a readable form so search and previews work, and the operator can read it. There is no advertising, no tracking, and no analytics on this website.
What the server necessarily sees
Encryption protects contents, not the fact of a conversation. To deliver a message at all, the server handles:
- the recipient account and device the envelope is addressed to
- the time it arrived and its approximate size
- the IP address the request came from
For a sealed message the stored record does not identify the sender, and neither does any attachment it carries — the blob is stored without an uploader, because recording one would have handed back exactly what sealing removes. The server still observes the connection that delivered it, so sealed sender is not anonymity.
What is deliberately not recorded
Timing that served no request has been removed rather than retained: when you added a buddy, when you blocked someone, when a member joined a group, and who uploaded an attachment. None of it was read by anything; all of it would have been a durable record of how your social graph formed.
What is stored, and for how long
These are the windows the software enforces by default:
- Delivered encrypted envelopes — deleted after 1 day.
- Undelivered encrypted envelopes — deleted after 30 days, whether collected or not.
- Attachments — deleted after 30 days.
- Used one-time prekeys — deleted after 7 days.
- Unencrypted messages, once read — deleted after 30 days.
- Unencrypted messages, regardless — deleted after 90 days.
An operator running their own server can configure these. The figures above are the defaults and what this instance runs.
Account information
An account holds a username, an email address, and a password hash. Each device you register publishes its public keys. Private keys are generated on your device and are never transmitted.
Unencrypted conversations
Messages in a conversation with encryption turned off are stored encrypted at rest, under a key held by the operator. That protects against a stolen database copy on its own. It does not protect against the operator, and it does not protect against a lawful demand made to the operator. Treat those conversations as readable by whoever runs the server.
This website
No cookies are set, no analytics are collected, and no third-party scripts are loaded. The page is served under a Content Security Policy that would break it if one were ever added.
Your choices
You can delete a device, which removes its keys and any queued messages for it. You can delete your account, which removes the account record and its devices. Messages already delivered to someone else's device are on their device and cannot be recalled by us.
Contact
Privacy questions: privacy@flamenetmessenger.com. Security reports: see the security page.