Privacy Policy

The short version

We collect what it takes to run a chat, voice and forum app: your account details, what you post, and some technical records like the IP address you signed in from. We don't show ads, we don't sell your data, and there are no analytics or trackers. Messages are encrypted on the way to us but they aren't end-to-end encrypted, so they sit readable on our server. Staff only read them when someone reports a message, or through a logged audit with a written reason, to deal with abuse. You can ask for a copy of your data or have it deleted. Questions go to [email protected].

Who's responsible

Parlonix is run by Toni, an individual, not a company. In this policy, "Parlonix" and "we" mean Toni. We're responsible for your information under this policy. You can reach us at [email protected].

This policy covers parlonix.com, the app at app.parlonix.com, community pages at yourname.parlonix.com, and the Windows and Android apps. Also read the Terms of Service.

What we collect

Your account

Username and email address. The email is for signing in, verifying your account, password resets and important notices. It isn't shown to other users.
Your password, but only as a one way hash (Argon2id). We can't see your actual password.
Two factor sign in, if you turn it on: the secret your authenticator app uses, and your backup codes.
Who invited you, if you signed up with someone's invite code.

Your profile

Display name, avatar, banner, bio, status message, accent color and whether you're online, away or on do not disturb. Other users can see these.

What you post and do

Messages in community channels, and direct messages (DMs) and group DMs.
Forum posts and replies. When a post is edited, we keep each earlier version on our server. Readers see that it was edited and by whom, not the old text.
Reactions, poll votes, saved items, which messages you've read, friends and who you've blocked.
Files you upload: images, attachments, avatars, banners, community icons and custom emoji.
Communities you create or join, and your roles in them.
Reports you send to staff, and reports about you.

Sign in and device records

Each time you sign in, we record the IP address, your browser or device (the user agent), when it started and when it was last used. You can see this list in Account settings and sign other devices out. Each record is deleted 30 days after that sign in.
To slow down password guessing and spam signups, we log sign in and signup attempts. These store a one way hash of the IP address, not the address itself.
Our web server keeps access logs (which include IP addresses) for security and troubleshooting. They're deleted after 14 days. The app's own logs don't record IP addresses.

Online status

While you have Parlonix open, our server notes that you're online and what you're doing (for example, which voice channel you're in) so your friends and communities can see it. That note expires about 45 seconds after you close Parlonix.

Voice, video and screen share

Calls go through a voice server we run ourselves (LiveKit), on our own server. It passes the audio and video between the people in the call. We don't record calls. Nothing said or shown in a call is saved. The app only keeps track of who's in a voice channel right now, so it can show that in the sidebar.

Push notifications

If you use the Android app and allow notifications, we store a device token from Google so we can send them. A notification includes who sent the message, the channel or conversation name and the first 140 characters of the message, and it's delivered through Google's Firebase Cloud Messaging.

Why we use it

To run Parlonix: show your messages to the right people, keep you signed in, deliver notifications, search, and everything else you'd expect the app to do.
To keep it safe: stop spam and attacks, look into reports, and enforce the Terms.
To talk to you about your account: verification, password resets, security notices and changes to these policies.
To fix bugs and keep the service working.
Because the law requires it, where it does.

If you live somewhere with laws like the GDPR, our legal reasons are: running the service you signed up for (contract), keeping it secure and free of abuse (legitimate interests), notifications you turned on (consent, which you can take back in settings) and legal obligations.

What we don't do

No ads. There are none, and we don't build advertising profiles.
We don't sell your data or share it with anyone for their own marketing.
No analytics or trackers. No Google Analytics, no tracking pixels, no third party scripts watching what you do. The one cookie we set keeps you signed in. The app also saves a few settings in your browser, like your theme.
We don't train AI on your content or let anyone else do it.

Files, links and outside content

File links work without signing in

Uploaded files are stored on our own server. Each one gets a long random link (128 bits, so it can't be guessed), and we never publish a list of them. But anyone who has the link can open the file without signing in. That includes attachments in DMs. If you or someone else copies a file link out of Parlonix and shares it, it works for whoever gets it. Don't upload anything you'd be in real trouble over if the link got out.

Link previews

When a message contains a link, our server visits the page to build a preview (title, description, image). The website sees our server, not you.

Things your device loads from other sites

Images in link previews and GIFs are loaded by your browser straight from the site they're on, which means that site can see your IP address.
GIF search uses Klipy. Your search goes through our server, so Klipy sees the words you searched for but not who you are. The GIFs themselves load from Klipy.
Embedded videos (YouTube, Vimeo, Twitch and others) are loaded from those sites when shown, and their own privacy policies apply.
Fonts on our website and in the app come from Google Fonts, so Google sees your IP address when they load.

When staff can read your messages

We'd rather be upfront about this. Messages aren't end-to-end encrypted, so the people who run Parlonix technically could read them. Here's the rule we hold ourselves to, and the app enforces it:

Only through an audit. To read a community's channels, or one person's messages and DMs, a Parlonix staff member has to open an audit and write down why. The audit lasts 60 minutes.
Only for safety and abuse. Things like reports of harassment, threats, scams, illegal content or a community set up to break the rules. Not curiosity.
Every look is logged, with who looked, at what, when and the reason they gave. Staff can only audit a person ranked below them, and reading DMs needs a higher level of staff access.
Deleted messages. When you delete a message it disappears for everyone, but we keep the text for 30 days in case it's needed for a safety report (see how long we keep things). During those 30 days an audit can see it, marked as deleted.
Reports. When someone reports a message, staff see it and the messages around it so they can understand what happened.

Audits don't show you as online and don't join you to anything, so the people being looked into don't see it happening. Community moderators can't do any of this. They only see what their own roles let them see in their own community.

How long we keep things

Account and profile: Until you delete your account.
Messages, posts, DMs and uploads: Until you or a moderator delete them, or the community is deleted. Forum edit history stays as long as the post does.
Deleted messages: When you delete a message, it disappears for everyone straight away. We keep the text for 30 days in case it's needed for a safety report, then erase it for good. If someone reported it, a copy stays with the report as evidence.
Sign in records (IP address, device): 30 days from each sign in, then an hourly cleanup deletes them. Signing out ends the session at once. All of them go when you delete your account.
Sign in attempt log: Hashed addresses only. Deleted after 3 days by the same hourly cleanup, including attempts on an account that has since been deleted.
Server logs: Deleted after 14 days.
Online status: About 45 seconds after you close Parlonix.
Push tokens: Tied to the sign in on that phone. We stop using one when you sign out, and it's deleted along with that sign in record, or straight away when you delete your account. If Google tells us a token stopped working, we stop using it and delete it after 30 days.
Staff and moderation records: Kept after an account is deleted, because they're the record of how abuse was handled.
Backups: Nightly, encrypted. We keep 14 daily, 8 weekly and 12 monthly copies, so anything deleted is gone from backups within about a year.

Deleting your account

You can delete your account in Account settings. When you do:

Your profile is removed and your account is anonymised: your email, username, avatar, banner and bio go.
Your sessions and devices are removed and you're signed out everywhere.
Messages and posts you wrote in communities stay, shown as written by "Deleted user". Conversations would stop making sense otherwise. If you want them gone too, delete them before you delete your account, or email us.
Direct messages you sent stay visible to the other people in that conversation, shown as from "Deleted user". A conversation nobody else is left in is deleted, with its files.
Records of your sign in attempts aren't tied to your name, and age out within 3 days like everyone else's.
If you own a community, you have to hand it over to someone or delete it first.
Copies in backups disappear as the backups roll off, within about a year.

You can also email [email protected] from the address on your account and ask us to do it.

Your choices and rights

See and fix your data. Most of it is in the app already. Edit your profile and email in Account settings.
Get a copy. Email [email protected] and we'll send you a copy of your data.
Delete it. See above.
Turn things off. You can choose which notifications you get, set yourself to do not disturb, block people, and sign other devices out at any time.
Object or complain. If you think we're handling your data wrong, tell us. Depending on where you live you can also complain to your local data protection authority.

We'll answer requests within 30 days, and we may need to check it's really you first. We don't charge for this.

Kids

Parlonix is for people 13 and older. Everyone confirms their age when they sign up. If we learn an account belongs to someone under 13, we'll delete it. If you're a parent and think your child under 13 has an account, email [email protected] and we'll sort it out.

Security

Everything between you and Parlonix is encrypted in transit with HTTPS (TLS). Calls are encrypted in transit with DTLS SRTP.
Messages are not end-to-end encrypted. They're stored on our server in a form we can read, which is how history, search and the forum work.
Passwords are hashed with Argon2id. Sign in tokens are stored only as hashes.
Two factor sign in with an authenticator app is available.
Backups are encrypted before they leave our server.
Staff access to messages goes through logged audits, as described above.

No system is perfectly secure. If we ever have a breach that puts your data at risk, we'll tell you and, where the law requires, the authorities.

Changes to this policy

We'll update this policy when Parlonix changes how it handles data. If a change matters, we'll tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect. The date at the top says when it last changed.

Contact

Questions, requests or complaints about privacy: [email protected].

We don't publish a postal address. Reach us at [email protected].