Information you provide
Account data can include your email address, nickname, automatically assigned or user-edited username, optional profile information, people you choose to follow or contact, and settings. iChat does not collect your date of birth or birth year. You confirm that you are 13 or older when accepting the current Terms and Community Standards; the service records that confirmation without recording a birth date. We collect the content you intentionally publish to iShare, reports you submit, and communications you send to support.
Messages, voice messages, selected photos, and the photos or short videos you intentionally publish to iShare are processed and stored to deliver communication to the audience you select. Public iShare media remains restricted while its post is pending moderation. If you deliberately report a received chat message, iChat sends only that message’s bounded text snapshot or media type, your selected reason and optional note to the restricted safety queue; surrounding messages are not included. Voice and video call media is transmitted in real time through the configured media service and is not recorded by iChat. The current launch architecture uses encryption in transit and does not claim that messages or calls are end-to-end encrypted.
Information used by features
- Country or region: you may enter a coarse profile region manually or derive one from a one-time approximate location while the profile screen is open.
- Chat location: after you explicitly choose it, Android may provide foreground location for a static pin or a live session lasting no more than one hour. iChat does not request background-location permission.
- Microphone and camera: requested only when you record a voice message or start or accept a voice or video call.
- Contacts and phone lookup: iChat does not scan or upload your Android address book. Exact phone lookup is rate-limited; your verified number is optional, private by default and never displayed on public profiles or iShare.
- Purchases: product, transaction and purchase-token information needed to verify point purchases and prevent fraud.
- Device and diagnostics: app version, notification registration and app-integrity signals are processed for reliability and abuse prevention. Translation and voice transcription run only after your explicit action. The current build does not include generative summaries, a chatbot, crash reporting or advertising SDKs.
On-device ranking, translation and transcription
iShare ranking is a deterministic local algorithm, not generative AI. Translation runs only after an explicit tap through the device-side ML Kit model, and Voice to text uses an installed Android on-device speech service when supported. The current build has no generative AI, chatbot or generated summaries. Public posts are delivered from the iChat service over the network.
Why we use information
We use information to provide accounts and communication, deliver and rank iShare content, verify purchases, prevent fraud, moderate harmful content, respond to reports, protect children, provide support, comply with law, and improve reliability. We do not sell personal information and do not use private-message content for advertising.
Website and support communications
The public website does not require an account. Hosting providers may process basic request data such as IP address, browser type, requested page, time and security signals to deliver the site and prevent abuse. If you email support, we use the address and message content only to respond, keep necessary support records and meet legal or security obligations. Do not send passwords, private keys or unnecessary identity documents.
Sharing and processors
Service providers may process limited data to operate cloud hosting; Firebase authentication, notifications and storage; realtime call transport; payments; abuse prevention; and customer support. They act for iChat under their service terms and are not permitted to use private communications for advertising. Google Play processes in-app purchases under its own terms. Public iShare posts are visible according to the audience you select. We may disclose information when legally required or necessary to protect people from serious harm.
Retention and deletion
We retain account data while your account is active, transaction and referral reward records for legally required and fraud-prevention periods, and safety records as needed to prevent repeat abuse. Unused invite links expire after 30 days. A deletion request begins a seven-day recovery period before eligible account data is deleted or anonymized. Some records may be retained when required for fraud prevention, legal obligations, security or dispute resolution.
You can request deletion inside the Android app or from the account deletion page. Before deletion, Me → Download my data can export supported account data, contacts, iShare posts and accessible chat history as structured JSON. You may also request access, correction or export through support.
Children and international users
iChat is currently limited to people aged 13 and over. Regional rules may require a higher age, verified age signal or parental authorization. The onboarding screen asks for a minimum-age confirmation but no date of birth. Data may be processed in countries other than yours with appropriate contractual and technical safeguards.
Security and changes
We use encryption in transit, access controls, server-side purchase verification, app integrity checks and restricted moderation access. Reported private-message snapshots are available only to authorized safety reviewers; the rest of the conversation is not exposed through the moderation workspace. No service is perfectly secure. Material policy changes will be announced in the app or on this page before they take effect where required.