Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Last updated: 28 July 2026

What sockets is

sockets is a free, disposable chat for two people. There are no accounts, no sign-up, and no message history. Rooms exist only while at least one person is in them; when the last person leaves, the room and everything in it is deleted.

Data we process

sockets is built to hold as little as possible. While a chat is active, the following passes through our infrastructure:

• Message content — encrypted in your browser (AES-GCM) before it is sent. The server only ever stores ciphertext, and each message is deleted from the server within seconds of being delivered.
• Nickname — whatever name you type, visible only to your chat partner, deleted when the room dissolves.
• Presence and room state — whether someone is in a room, an auto-delete setting, timestamps. Deleted when the room dissolves.
• Connection metadata — like every internet service, our infrastructure providers see your IP address and connection times while you are connected.

Your secret word or room code is never sent to any server. It stays in your browser, where it is used to derive the encryption key. A session marker is kept in your browser tab only (sessionStorage) so a page refresh doesn't disconnect you; it is erased when the tab closes.

Who processes it

We use Google Firebase (realtime infrastructure) and Vercel (page hosting) as processors. Both operate under their own GDPR-compliant terms, including standard safeguards for any EU–US data transfers. We add no analytics, no advertising, no tracking cookies, and we do not sell or share any data.

Retention

Messages: seconds (deleted after delivery). Rooms, nicknames, presence, settings: until the last person leaves, then deleted. We keep no logs of who talked to whom or what was said. Infrastructure providers retain standard short-lived connection logs under their own policies.

Your rights

Under the GDPR you have rights of access, rectification, erasure, and complaint (in Ireland, to the Data Protection Commission). In practice, sockets holds nothing about you once your room dissolves, so there is usually nothing to access or erase. For any privacy question, contact us at the address below.

Terms of use

• You must be 16 or older to use sockets.
• You are solely responsible for what you send. Do not use sockets for anything illegal, including harassment, threats, exploitation, or the exchange of unlawful material.
• Messages are encrypted end to end in your browser; we cannot read them, and therefore cannot moderate content. If you become aware of illegal use of sockets, report it to the contact address below and we will act on it, including cooperating with lawful requests from authorities.
• The panic screen is a privacy convenience for shared or public spaces. It is not, and must not be used as, a tool to obstruct any lawful process.
• sockets is provided free, "as is", without warranty of any kind. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we accept no liability for any loss arising from its use, including lost messages or unavailability. Do not rely on sockets for emergencies or critical communication.
• We may change or discontinue sockets at any time.
• These terms are governed by the laws of Ireland.

Contact

sockets is an Intum Labs project. Questions, privacy requests, or abuse reports: contact.sockets@gmail.com