PrivateLine

Privacy Policy

Effective: 15 October 2026

PrivateLine is built to know as little about you as possible. This Privacy Policy explains what information the Service handles, why, how long it's kept and the choices you have. It applies to the PrivateLine apps for iOS and Android and to the website at privateline.me, including line pages. Words like "Service" and "line" mean the same as in our Terms & Conditions.

1. Who is responsible

The Service is operated by Nikolay Dimitrov ("we", "us", "our"), who is responsible for your information (the "controller" under data protection laws such as the GDPR). Contact: [email protected].

2. The short version

• We don't ask for your name, email address or phone number, and there are no accounts with passwords.
• Messages and calls are end-to-end encrypted. We can't read or hear them.
• Messages stay on our server, encrypted, only until they're delivered. Chat history is kept on your devices.
• No advertising or tracking SDKs, and we don't sell or share your information for advertising.
• Like any internet service, we do handle some technical information, such as IP addresses and the identifiers needed to deliver messages and calls. It's described below.

3. Information we handle

3.1 If you use the app

• Your identity. The app creates a cryptographic identity on your device. We store its public key, a random account token that links store purchases to it, and the date it was created. Its private key never leaves your device unencrypted.
• Sign-in sessions. A hashed session token and a random identifier for your device, so that your identity is active on one device at a time. Sessions expire after 30 days.
• Lines. Each line's ID, public key, expiration, the features you turned on (chat, calls, video), the name you choose to show on the line page, and the private nickname you give the line in the app.
• Connections. For each conversation you continue in the app, the line ID, the visitor's public key and an encrypted backup of the conversation keys and the name you gave it. Only your identity can decrypt the backup.
• Push notification tokens. Tokens from Apple or Google that let us notify you of messages and calls, and a count of unread messages for the app badge.
• Recovery passphrase (optional). If you set one up, we store your identity encrypted with a key derived from the passphrase, and a hash used to look it up. We never receive the passphrase itself and cannot decrypt your identity.
• Purchases and subscriptions. The product, store transaction IDs, the platform, the dates and the status of subscriptions, as reported by Apple or Google. We never receive your payment details.

3.2 If you contact a line from a browser

• Your browser creates a random key for each line you contact. We receive its public key, which identifies you to the line, and your IP address (see 3.4), but nothing else about who you are.
• The name you enter, if any, is sent end-to-end encrypted, so only the line's owner can see it.
• Your chat history, your key and the fact that you accepted the Terms are stored only in your browser. We don't use cookies.

3.3 Messages and calls

• Messages are end-to-end encrypted. Our server holds each one, as ciphertext, until the recipient's device confirms delivery, then deletes it. We also see which line and visitor a message is for and when it was sent.
• Calls connect directly between the two devices. The call setup goes through our server end-to-end encrypted. We see that a call was attempted between a line and a visitor, but not its content or how long it lasted.
• To connect, both devices use STUN servers (currently Google's public STUN servers) to find their public IP address. The two sides of a call can see each other's IP address, which can indicate an approximate location.

3.4 Technical information

• IP addresses. When the app signs in, restores an identity with a recovery passphrase or connects to our server, and when a browser opens a conversation, we record the IP address used, with the identity's public key or with the line and the visitor key. When a message is sent or a call is started, we record the sender's IP address with the line, the visitor key and, in the app, the sender's identity. Each record holds the date, the first and last time that day and a count. These records are kept for 14 days, even if the line, the conversation or the identity is deleted sooner, so that we can investigate abuse and respond to valid legal requests. The app server also keeps IP addresses briefly in memory to limit abuse, such as repeated recovery attempts, and looks up the country of the IP address in a local database, without storing it, because the service isn't offered in some countries.
• Crash and usage reports. If you allow it in your device settings, Apple or Google may share anonymous crash and usage statistics with us.

4. Why we use it

• To provide the Service: creating and running lines, delivering messages and calls, sending notifications, restoring your identity and providing what you bought. Under the GDPR, this is necessary to perform our contract with you.
• To keep the Service secure and prevent abuse, including rate limits and investigating breaches of the Terms. This is our legitimate interest in running a safe service.
• To meet legal obligations, such as keeping purchase records or responding to valid legal requests.

We don't use your information for advertising or profiling, and we don't make automated decisions about you that have legal or similarly significant effects.

5. Who we share it with

• The other side of a conversation sees what you send, the name you enter, the name shown on the line, and, during calls, your IP address.
• Apple and Google deliver push notifications, process purchases, and may back up your identity (iCloud Keychain or Google's backup, depending on your device settings). Notifications don't contain message content, names or phone numbers. On Android, when you install the app from a line page, Google Play passes the line ID to the app.
• STUN servers (currently Google's) see the IP addresses of devices setting up a call.
• Our hosting provider runs our servers in the United States and processes data only on our behalf.
• Authorities, only when required by law or to protect someone's safety, as described in clause 8 of the Terms. Because content is end-to-end encrypted, we cannot provide it.

We don't sell your personal information or share it for cross-context behavioural advertising.

6. International transfers

Our servers are in the United States, and Apple and Google process data in many countries. If you're outside the United States, your information is transferred there. Where the law of your country requires it, such as the GDPR or Japan's Act on the Protection of Personal Information, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the European Commission's standard contractual clauses, or on the transfer being necessary to provide the Service you asked for.

7. How long we keep it

• Undelivered messages: until delivered, or until their line is deleted.
• Lines, their connections and messages: until you delete the line, or 3 days after it expires.
• Sessions: until they expire after 30 days, or when you sign in on another device.
• Recovery data: until you remove or replace your recovery passphrase in the app.
• Your identity, push tokens and purchase records: while your identity exists. Purchase records may be kept longer where the law requires it.
• IP address records: 14 days, even if the line, conversation or identity they relate to is deleted sooner.
• Information in your browser or on your device: until you delete it. You can remove a browser conversation with "Forget this conversation", and app data by deleting the app.

8. Security

Messages and calls are end-to-end encrypted, connections to our servers use HTTPS, and session tokens and recovery lookups are stored only as hashes. No system is perfectly secure, so we can't guarantee absolute security. The limits of encryption are described in clause 5 of the Terms.

9. Your rights

Depending on where you live, including under the GDPR, the UK GDPR, Japan's APPI and US state privacy laws, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or receive a copy of your information, to object to or restrict how we use it, and to withdraw consent. We don't discriminate against you for using these rights.

You can do much of this yourself in the app: delete lines, remove your recovery passphrase, or delete your identity and everything linked to it with "Delete identity" in Settings. IP address records are still kept for their 14 days (see 3.4). For anything else, email [email protected]. Because we don't know who you are, we may need you to prove that an identity or line is yours, for example by following steps in the app, before we act on a request. You also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.

10. Children

The Service is only for people aged 18 or older. We don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe a child is using the Service, contact us and we will delete the related information we hold.

11. Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy. We will post material changes on this page, and in the app where practical, at least 30 days before they take effect, and update the effective date above.

12. Contact

For questions or requests about your privacy, email [email protected].