Updated October 23, 2026

Privacy policy

SocialTap is individually operated. This policy explains how SocialTap handles information when you use its messaging service, website, and connected clients. Contact [email protected] about privacy or use Your data & removal.

Messages and calls are processed by our servers.

Private chats have access controls, but are not end-to-end encrypted. When you accept an AI chat disclosure, messages can also be processed by the connected AI provider.

Information we collect

Account username, email address, password hash if you use a password, age range, California/outside-California residency category, confirmation date, and accepted policy version.
Messages, uploaded files and images, chat memberships, invitation records, read state, call-history events, and moderation reports.
Optional profile images, bio, status, linked Steam or Last.fm activity, cosmetic inventory and points, and preferences.
Activity needed for presence, delivery, account security, and enabled achievements, including last-seen times and usage counters.
Technical connection information, such as IP address and browser/device information, that may appear in application or hosting-provider logs.
Contact details and information you submit in safety, copyright, or privacy requests.

How we use information

We use information to operate accounts and messaging, deliver calls, display information according to your settings, administer optional features, prevent abuse, investigate reports, fulfill requests, and comply with legal obligations. We do not sell personal information or use it for cross-context behavioral advertising in this service.

Who can receive information

Messages and files are available to authorized conversation members. Public profile information and Global Chat content can be visible to other users according to the feature and your settings. Recipients can save or copy content.

Our hosting and infrastructure providers process information to run the service. Google processes sign-in requests when you choose Google login. Steam and Last.fm process requests if you link those services. External fonts, styles, and scripts used by some screens are delivered by their CDN providers, which receive ordinary connection information.

Authorized staff may access information to operate the service, investigate reports, and meet legal duties. Information may be disclosed when legally required, to address threats or abuse, or as permitted by applicable law. We do not disclose private messages merely because someone requests them.

AI-connected chats

Eligible accounts aged 13 and older can connect their own AI accounts, subject to the provider’s age and permission rules. Each human participant must accept the chat disclosure before the agent can read or process that chat. An external MCP client can read messages in its authorized chats and process them with its own providers. SocialTap's optional OpenAI auto-reply feature sends up to 12 recent text messages, each limited to 500 characters, to OpenAI. The request sets store: false; this is not a promise that the provider has zero retention. Provider policies and account configuration also apply. Attachments are not included in the auto-reply text payload.

You can revoke your chat consent or revoke your connection in account settings. Revoking access stops future access; it cannot retrieve data already sent to an external provider.

Voice calls

Voice audio travels through SocialTap's relay server, which processes it while forwarding it to the other participant. The current relay does not record or transcribe calls. Call-history events can remain in messages. Other participants may independently record; comply with applicable consent laws and do not assume a call is confidential from its participants.

Safety requests and temporary restrictions

Takedown submissions notify authorized administrators and may temporarily restrict identified media, exact copies, and detected visual near-matches while staff review the request. We use local file signatures and conservative image similarity checks; these do not establish that content is unlawful or detect every related image. We record administrative notifications, review actions, restriction decisions, and blocked access attempts with timestamps and account identifiers where available. Staff can restore access following review. Previously downloaded copies cannot be recalled.

Security

Passwords are stored as hashes. Account email addresses and certain credentials and safety records are encrypted in storage. Chat messages and ordinary attachments are stored in a form our service can process. Hosted connections should use HTTPS. No service can guarantee absolute security.

Retention and deletion

Ordinary messages and profile information remain until removed, the account is deleted, or retention is otherwise required by law.
Chat attachment downloads expire after 30 days. Scheduled cleanup clears expired payload bytes. Associated messages, filenames, and expiry metadata can remain until their message is removed.
Account deletion removes the account and related service records. Files no longer attached to a message are cleared by cleanup. Other users' copies and external-provider copies are outside that deletion.
Safety cases remain while open. Closed cases are eligible for deletion after 180 days from receipt, unless evidence is on a legal hold. Restricted evidence is retained until its documented hold expires; legally required reporting can require at least one year of preservation.
Hosting logs and historical backups follow the operator's documented provider retention schedule. Deletion from the live service does not instantly erase backups; restored data must have removal decisions reapplied.

Your choices and requests

Manage profile visibility, integrations, and connections in account settings. You can remove your messages, download an account-data export, delete your account, or submit access, correction, deletion, age-correction, and other privacy requests. We verify identity and authority before sensitive changes; we do not require identity documents by default. Legal exceptions may limit a request. We will explain the result.

Where applicable, California residents may have additional access, correction, deletion, opt-out, limitation, and nondiscrimination rights. Submit a request. We do not require you to create an account to contact us about your rights.

Cookies and tracking signals

We use session cookies for sign-in and security, and browser storage for preferences. SocialTap does not use advertising trackers in this service. Do Not Track does not change these essential functions. Global Privacy Control expresses an opt-out of sale/sharing; we do not sell or share information for cross-context behavioral advertising. Third-party resources may receive connection information; their practices are governed by their own policies.

Children and teens

SocialTap is intended for people aged 13 and older and does not offer accounts for children under 13. Age confirmation is self-reported, not identity verification. If you believe a child under 13 has an account, use the safety form or contact support. We investigate credible reports and remove ineligible accounts and their information, subject to legal preservation duties. California teen accounts receive restricted starting settings and can use AI-connected chats with the same per-chat sharing choices.

Changes to this policy

We post the updated policy and date here. Material changes require appropriate notice and, when required, consent before applying the new practice. A policy update alone does not authorize a new use of previously collected information.