Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 21, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains what information HandeChat ("HandeChat", "we", "us") collects when you use the HandeChat app and website, why we collect it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. It applies to the HandeChat mobile app (Android package com.handechat.app), HandeChat Web, and handechat.com.

About HandeChat

HandeChat is a messaging app offering one-to-one and group chat, voice and video calls, voice messages, photo/video/file sharing, stories, channels, and live streaming, plus a separate, opt-in end-to-end encrypted chat feature. This policy covers the data practices of the HandeChat app and its backend services — it does not apply to other companies' apps or websites you may reach through a link inside HandeChat.

Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly, information created by your use of messaging, calling, and live-streaming features, and limited technical information needed to operate and secure the service. We don't collect more than the features below require, and we do not sell your personal information.

Account and Profile Information

Creating a HandeChat account requires a phone number, which we verify with a one-time code sent by SMS or WhatsApp, and a PIN, which we store only as a salted, one-way cryptographic hash — we cannot see or recover your actual PIN.

• Phone number (required) — used to sign in, verify your identity, and let other users find you if you use phone lookup.
• PIN (required) — a numeric code you choose instead of a traditional password; stored as a hash, never in plain text.
• Display name (required) — shown to the people you message and call.
• Username, bio, and profile photo (optional) — shown on your profile if you choose to set them.
• Language preference — used to decide which language the app and automatic translations are shown in.

Messages and Communications

For your ordinary Direct, Group, Channel, and Bot conversations, message text is stored on our servers so it can be delivered, synced across your devices, and — if you use these features — translated or included in a delivery/read receipt. This is standard server-side storage, protected in transit by TLS encryption, not end-to-end encryption; see "Encryption and Private Communications" below for what that distinction means and where true end-to-end encryption is actually available.

You can set a per-conversation auto-delete timer so new messages are automatically removed after a period you choose, edit or delete messages you sent, and delete an entire conversation from your own account.

Photos, Videos, Voice Messages and Files

Photos, videos, voice messages, and documents you send are uploaded to our storage and made available to a conversation's participants through time-limited, signed download links — they are never posted at a permanent public URL. Profile, group, and channel photos are the one exception: those are intentionally public, since they're meant to be visible to anyone who views the profile, group, or channel.

If you use the voice-to-text feature on a voice message, that message's audio is sent to a speech-recognition provider (Google Cloud Speech-to-Text, or OpenAI's Whisper, depending on configuration) solely to produce the transcript — see "Third-Party Service Providers" below.

Voice Calls, Live Streaming, and Virtual Gifts

Voice and video calls, and live-stream audio/video, are transmitted in real time through our real-time media infrastructure (LiveKit). Call and stream media is relayed, not recorded or stored by HandeChat. We do keep call records — who called whom, the call type, and its start time, end time, and duration — as call history on your account.

If you watch or host a live stream, your participation (that you joined, and when) is recorded so viewer counts and history work, and any comment you post on a live stream is visible to other viewers and stored the same way a chat message is.

If you send or receive a virtual gift during a live stream, we record that transaction (sender, recipient, gift, and time) against your account's in-app Coins balance. Coins are a virtual currency usable only inside HandeChat; as of this policy, Coins can only be credited by HandeChat administrators — there is no way to purchase Coins with real money, so we do not collect any payment card or bank account information for this feature.

Device and Technical Information

To keep you signed in securely across devices and deliver push notifications, we store limited information about each device you use HandeChat on:

• An app-generated device identifier — never your phone's hardware serial number or IMEI.
• Device platform, model name, and app/OS version, so we can show you a readable list of your own sessions under Settings → Devices & sessions.
• A push-notification token (from Google Firebase Cloud Messaging) used to deliver notifications to that device.
• IP address and user-agent, recorded when you sign in, to secure your account and detect suspicious activity.

Contacts and Finding People

HandeChat does not read, upload, or store your phone's address book. Two narrow features let you connect with people: sharing a single contact card from your phone as a message (you pick the contact yourself; only that one contact's name and number are sent, as ordinary message content), and looking up one phone number at a time to see if it belongs to a HandeChat user. A number you look up is used only to answer that one request and is not stored afterward.

Notifications

By default, a push notification for a new message includes a short preview of the sender's name and the message text, delivered through Google's Firebase Cloud Messaging. You can turn previews off at any time in Settings → Notifications, in which case notifications only say a message arrived, without its content. Messages in an end-to-end encrypted chat never include real content in a push notification — you'll always see a generic "New encrypted message" instead.

Translation and Voice Processing

If you translate a message, or turn on automatic translation, the text of that message is sent to our translation provider (Google Cloud Translation, or a self-hosted LibreTranslate instance, depending on configuration) solely to produce the translation, and is not retained by us beyond what's needed to show it to you. The same applies to voice-message transcription, described above. Messages inside an end-to-end encrypted chat are never sent for translation or transcription, because we cannot read their content.

How We Use Information

We use the information described above to:

• Provide the core service: deliver messages, calls, live streams, and notifications, and sync them across your devices.
• Verify your identity and keep your account secure, including detecting and preventing fraud, spam, and abuse.
• Operate features you choose to use, such as translation, transcription, auto-delete timers, and phone lookup.
• Respond to support requests and enforce our Terms of Service, including reviewing content submitted in a report.
• Maintain the reliability of the service, including diagnosing and fixing problems.

How Information Is Shared

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only: with the other participants of a conversation, call, or live stream (an inherent part of how messaging works); with the service providers described in the next section, solely to operate the features they support; as moderation evidence, if you or someone else submits a report about a message; and if required to comply with a valid legal request.

If you block another user, HandeChat prevents further messages and calls between you, but does not delete conversation history either of you already has.

Third-Party Service Providers

HandeChat uses the following categories of service providers to operate the app. Each receives only the data needed to perform its specific function, and none are permitted to use it for their own advertising.

• SMS/WhatsApp delivery (sent.dm, with Twilio as a backup provider) — receives your phone number and a verification code, solely to deliver it to you.
• Push notifications (Google Firebase Cloud Messaging) — receives your device's push token and notification content, solely to deliver the notification.
• Real-time calling and live streaming (LiveKit media server infrastructure) — relays call/stream audio and video between participants; it is infrastructure, not a data recipient that retains your media.
• Translation (Google Cloud Translation, or a self-hosted alternative) — receives message text you choose to translate, solely to translate it.
• Voice transcription (Google Cloud Speech-to-Text, or OpenAI Whisper, depending on configuration) — receives voice-message audio you choose to transcribe, solely to transcribe it.
• Cloud storage (Amazon S3-compatible storage, where configured) — stores the media files described above.

Security

We use industry-standard safeguards: all traffic between your device and our servers is encrypted with TLS; PINs are stored only as salted, one-way hashes; and access to production systems is limited to authorized personnel. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Encryption and Private Communications

It's important to understand the difference between how HandeChat protects data in transit and how it protects the content of a conversation:

• Encryption in transit: every connection between the app and our servers uses TLS, so data cannot be read while traveling over the network. This applies to all HandeChat traffic.
• Server-side storage: for your ordinary Direct, Group, Channel, and Bot conversations, message text is stored on our servers so we can deliver, sync, and (if you use these features) translate or transcribe it. It is not end-to-end encrypted.
• End-to-end encryption (E2EE): HandeChat offers a separate, opt-in "Encrypted chat" type, available only for one-to-one conversations you specifically start as encrypted. In an encrypted chat, your device and the other person's device hold the only encryption keys; text, photos, videos, files, and voice messages are encrypted on your device before they ever leave it, and our servers store and relay only ciphertext we cannot decrypt. Group conversations, channels, bots, and your ordinary Direct/Group chats are not covered by this end-to-end encryption.

Even in an encrypted chat, some information is not, and cannot be, hidden from our servers: who the participants are, when messages were sent, and their approximate size. Encrypted-chat content is never sent for translation, transcription, or automatic moderation, and push notifications for it never include real content.

Data Storage and Retention

We keep your account and content for as long as your account is active, or as needed to provide the service. Access and sign-in tokens expire automatically (typically within minutes to a few weeks), and sign-in records are used to secure your account. If you set a per-conversation auto-delete timer, matching messages are permanently removed on that schedule.

Some technical records — including sign-in sessions (with IP address and device information) and device-pairing security logs — are currently retained without an automatic expiration date; we are working to add a defined retention period for these records.

Account and Data Deletion

You can permanently delete your HandeChat account at any time from inside the app, under Settings → Account → Delete account, by confirming your PIN. Deletion takes effect immediately and cannot be undone or scheduled for later.

When you delete your account, we anonymize your profile (your phone number, username, display name, bio, and photo are removed or replaced, and the account can no longer sign in), remove your authored stories and profile photo, and disable your encrypted-chat devices. Messages you sent remain visible to the other participants of those conversations, attributed to "Deleted User", because deleting your account does not delete a conversation from someone else's history.

If you're unable to use the app, you can request deletion the same way from our website: Request account deletion

Your Choices and Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete your personal information, or to object to or restrict certain processing. You can exercise most of these directly in the app:

• Edit your profile, username, bio, and photo at any time in Settings.
• Turn message previews, translation, and other optional features on or off in Settings.
• Review and sign out any of your active sessions in Settings → Devices & sessions.
• Block or report another user directly from their profile or a conversation.
• Delete your account and data as described above.

For anything not available in the app, or a request under a specific privacy law, contact us using the details below.

Children's Privacy

HandeChat is not directed at children, and you must be at least 13 years old to create an account. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us so we can investigate and delete it.

International Data Processing

HandeChat's servers and service providers may be located in a different country than you are. By using HandeChat, you understand that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in a country with different data-protection laws than your own.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as HandeChat's features change. If we make a material change, we will update the effective date above and, where appropriate, notify you in the app.

Contact Us

Questions about this Privacy Policy or your data:

Questions: support@handechat.com.