Arriving
The moment the page loads
Every website receives some technical details from your browser, and this one is no different. That means your device type and operating system, the browser you use, device identifiers, mobile network information, and server logs noting your IP address, the time you came in and what the system did in response.
Your IP address gives us a rough idea of where you are. A more precise location is only collected if you allow it on your device.
We also see usage data: which pages you open, which features you touch, how long you stay and which link sent you here. Cookies and similar technologies are part of how this works, the cookie policy covers them separately.
Your account
Guest session, or a full sign-up
You can start without a form; a guest session is created in the background so your calls and coins have an account to belong to.
If you register, we store what you give us: an email address, a username, a display name and a password, plus anything optional you choose to add: an avatar, a bio, a date of birth, a gender. Sign in with Google or Apple and that service passes us your name, email address and profile picture.
Some of this is public by design. Your display name, avatar, public profile page, any videos you publish and public comments can be seen by other people, and public profile pages can be picked up by search engines. Your email address and phone number (if you add one) are never shown publicly. Your password is stored encrypted and is not visible to anyone, staff included.
If you delete or change public content, search engines may keep showing the old version for a while. Cached copies are outside our control.
The call
What happens on camera
A call needs your camera and microphone, and your browser asks before either turns on. Messages you send to other people, and anything you send our support inbox, are stored as communications.
Still frames for safety checks
On the matching screen and during calls, the service can take still images from your own camera, run face detection on them inside your browser, and send us the results: how many faces are in frame, how bright the picture is, and which match or call it came from. When our settings ask for it, the still image itself is uploaded as well. This is switched on and adjusted from our side; there is no toggle for it in the app, which is exactly why it is written down here.
These frames are used for safety checks and nothing else: confirming there is a real person in front of the camera, and catching cameras pointed at things the other person did not agree to see. They are not shown to the person you were talking to and do not appear on your profile.
Paying
Coins and card details
When you buy coins we keep billing details and the record of the transaction. The payment itself goes through third-party providers. We do not store full card numbers.
Why we hold any of this
What the information is used for
- running the service: connecting calls, processing purchases, delivering the features you ask for;
- tailoring it: match suggestions, recommendations, the interface settings you prefer;
- talking to you: service notices, replies to your questions, support;
- safety: spotting fraud, abuse and breaches of our terms and guidelines;
- fixing and improving things, using patterns in how the site is used;
- meeting legal obligations and protecting users, the public and the service.
Other hands
When information leaves us
We do not sell personal information. It is shared only in these situations:
- You agree to it. You tell us to pass something on, and we do.
- Service providers. Hosting, payments, analytics, content delivery and support tools: companies working for us under confidentiality obligations.
- The law requires it. A legal process or government request, or to protect the rights, property or safety of users, the public or the service.
- A business transfer. If the service is merged, acquired, reorganised or sold, information can move with it.
- Aggregated figures that cannot reasonably identify you.
For visit counting we use Google Analytics, and only after you choose "Allow analytics" in the cookie banner; the cookie policy explains how to change that. We may also receive aggregated or anonymised data from analytics partners. Third-party services linked from the site run under their own privacy policies, not this one.
Leaving
How long things are kept
While your account is active, its information stays. Close it and we remove or anonymise your personal data within a reasonable period, unless the law makes us keep something. Public content that other people viewed or interacted with may survive in anonymised form. Still frames from safety checks are kept only as long as a safety review, a report dispute or a legal duty needs them. Legal, tax and regulatory rules can require longer retention for some records.
Your side
What you can ask for
Depending on where you live, you may be able to:
- get a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
- have it corrected, or deleted (some legal exceptions apply);
- receive it in a machine-readable format;
- limit how we process it in certain circumstances;
- stop marketing messages: via the unsubscribe link or your notification settings.
Send the request to [email protected]. We answer within a reasonable time and as the applicable law requires.
Under 18
Minors
camsoda.chat is for adults. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18, or under the minimum age where they live. If we learn we have, we delete it as quickly as we can. Think a minor has given us their details? Tell us: the child safety page explains how.
Locks and limits
Security, and changes to this page
Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Access is controlled, storage runs on standard infrastructure, and security is assessed regularly. No system on the internet is completely secure, though, so use a strong password you do not use anywhere else.
When this policy changes in a meaningful way we update the date at the top, and for significant changes we give notice on the site or by email before they apply. Carrying on using the site after that counts as accepting the new version.