Privacy policy

Dialog is built to know as little about you as possible. Your messages, calls, files, name and photo are encrypted on your device, and we do not have the keys to open them. Below is exactly what data does reach our server, why, and how long it stays there.

Who is responsible for your data

The data controller is Dialog. You can write to us at [email protected] or in Dialog, to the user @dialog.

What we cannot see

• The content of your messages, voice messages, photos and files: they are end-to-end encrypted with the Signal protocol.
• Your profile name, bio and photo: they are encrypted with a key that only your contacts have.
• Group names and members, in encrypted groups.
• Your password: the server only receives a key derived from it, from which the password cannot be recovered.
• Your 24-word recovery phrase: it never leaves your device.
• The content of calls: it is encrypted between devices.

What data we keep

Your account

The random account number, public encryption keys, creation date, last connection, privacy settings and, if you turn them on, the two-step verification secret and your username. A username is public by nature: anyone who knows it can find you.

Your devices

For each linked device: its type (for example Android or macOS), its name (encrypted when set from the app), when it was linked, its last connection and, if you use notifications, the notification token issued by Google or Apple.

Phone number (optional)

Only if you add it, so friends who have it in their contacts can find you. We keep it on the server while it is linked to your account and use it only for that search. To confirm it we send you a code by SMS through an SMS provider (Twilio). The code expires after 10 minutes.

Finding friends from your contacts (optional)

The app sends the server only fingerprints (hashes) of the numbers in your contacts, not their names. The server compares them with accounts that chose to be findable by number and does not keep them.

Messages

An encrypted message stays on the server only until it reaches all of the recipient's devices and is deleted right after. If the recipient never connects, the message is deleted after at most 30 days.

Files

Photos, voice messages and files are encrypted before they are uploaded. We only know their size and date. Files in chats are deleted from the server automatically after at most 30 days.

Encrypted backup

If you turn it on, your history and contacts are stored on the server encrypted with a key derived from your account, which we do not have. You use it to get your chats back on a new device.

Spam reports

If you report someone, we keep who reported whom, the reason you chose and the identifiers of the messages you chose to include, not their content. We use them only to stop abuse.

Key transparency log

Accounts' public keys are recorded in a verifiable log, so that nobody, not even us, can secretly replace someone's key. Entries remain in the log after an account is deleted, because such a log cannot be changed retroactively.

IP address

Like any online service, the server sees the IP address you connect from. We use it only in memory to limit abuse (for example too many login attempts) and do not save it in the database. In calls, the person you talk to can see your IP address if the call goes directly. With "Calls only through the Dialog server", calls go through our relay server, which sees IP addresses but not the content.

Technical logs

The server writes a technical log for operation and security. It may contain an account identifier for some events (for example an account deletion or a spam report), but never message content or IP addresses. Logs are kept for at most 30 days.

Notifications

On phones, notifications go through Google (Firebase Cloud Messaging) and Apple (Apple Push Notification service). A notification contains only a signal that something arrived and a random identifier, not the message, the sender or the chat. The app then fetches the encrypted message directly from our server.

Why we process data

• To run the service you use: your account, message delivery, calls, notifications (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR).
• To protect the service and its users from spam and abuse (Article 6(1)(f), legitimate interest).
• Your phone number and contact search, only because you turned them on (Article 6(1)(a), consent). You can remove them at any time in the settings.

We do not sell data, do not show ads based on data about you and do not use data for profiling.

Where the data is

Dialog's servers are in the European Union, at Hetzner Online GmbH. The dialog.pm website is delivered through Cloudflare. Notifications go through Google and Apple, which may process data outside the EU under transfer frameworks approved by the European Commission.

How long we keep data

• Account data, for as long as you have the account.
• Messages, until delivered, at most 30 days. Files, at most 30 days.
• A device that has not connected for 30 days is removed from the account automatically, except the most recently used device.
• After an account is deleted: the account number stays reserved so it is never given to someone else; the username stays reserved for 30 days; the fingerprint used to remotely wipe old devices is kept for 400 days; spam reports and the key transparency log remain for the safety of other users.

Your rights

You have the right to know what data we hold about you, to correct it, to ask for its deletion, to restrict or object to processing, and to receive your data in a portable format. You can delete your account at any time in the app: Settings → Account. For other requests, write to [email protected]. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Romanian data protection authority (ANSPDCP, dataprotection.ro) or the authority of your country.

The dialog.pm website

The website uses no cookies, visitor statistics or tracking tools. Fonts are hosted on the site itself, not by third parties. The only thing saved in your browser is the theme you choose (light or dark), if you change it.

Minimum age

Dialog is meant for people aged 16 or over.

Changes

If we change this policy, we publish the new version here with its date. For important changes we also tell you in the app.