Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how ChatWithOthers.online (“we”, “us”, “the site”) collects, uses and protects your personal data when you use our service.

1. Data we collect

Depending on how you use the site, we may collect and store the following information:

• Account data: nickname, age, gender, country and city/location you choose.
• Chat data: messages you send or receive, including text, emojis, images and videos.
• Technical data: IP address, browser / device information (user agent), timestamps of your activity.
• Usage data: last active time, who you have chatted with, reports and blocks you submit.

2. How we use your data

We use this data to:

• Provide the chat matching and messaging functionality.
• Show who is online and available to chat.
• Deliver notifications such as new message indicators.
• Allow you to block users or report abusive behaviour.
• Detect spam, abuse or rule violations and keep the site safe.
• Protect the service from technical attacks and misuse (security/logging).

3. IP addresses & logging

For security and abuse-prevention reasons, we may log your IP address, approximate location (based on IP) and your browser / device information.

• This data helps us detect and block spam, bots, repeated abuse or attempts to bypass bans.
• IP and technical logs may be visible in admin tools that monitor live activity, online users and recent chats.
• In serious cases (e.g. illegal content, threats, child safety issues), logs may be used to cooperate with law enforcement if required by law.

4. Cookies & sessions

The site may use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

• Session cookies to keep you logged in while you browse the site.
• Security cookies (for example, to help protect against CSRF and other attacks).
• Preference cookies, such as your theme (dark/light mode) choice.

These cookies are mainly “essential” for the site to function. We do not currently use third-party tracking cookies for advertising.

5. Who can see your data

• Other users can see the nickname, age, gender and location that you choose to display, and the content you send directly to them in chats.
• Site administrators may access chat logs, reports, blocks and technical logs in order to:
  • Handle abuse, reports and safety issues,
  • Investigate violations of the rules,
  • Maintain and debug the service.

6. Data retention

We keep your data only for as long as it is reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, and as required by applicable law.

• Chat messages may be stored so you and the other user can view your conversation history and for moderation/safety.
• Technical logs (IP, user agent, last active) may be kept for a limited period to help detect abuse and secure the system.
• If you stop using the site, your account data and logs may eventually be archived or deleted in the normal course of maintenance.

7. Legal basis (GDPR)

If you are in the EU/EEA, including Cyprus, we rely on the following legal bases under the GDPR:

• Contract / service provision: we need some data (like nickname and messages) to provide the chat service you requested.
• Legitimate interests: we log IP and usage data to prevent abuse, secure the site and improve reliability.
• Legal obligations: in some cases, we may need to retain or share data to comply with applicable laws.

8. Your rights

Depending on your location and local laws (including GDPR), you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate information.
• Request deletion of your personal data, where legally allowed.
• Object to certain types of processing, such as excessive logging not required for security.
• Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances.

To exercise your rights, you can contact the site administrator using the contact details below.

9. Safety and responsibility

• You are responsible for the content you share in chats (messages, photos, videos).
• We cannot fully control how other users behave, but we provide tools to block and report them.
• We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect the site, but no online service can be 100% secure.

10. Third parties

At this time, the site is primarily self-hosted and does not intentionally share your personal data with advertisers or unrelated third parties for marketing purposes.

However, technical providers such as hosting companies, DDoS protection services or infrastructure providers (for example, DNS/CDN providers) may process IP addresses and traffic data as part of keeping the site online.

11. Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or if you want to request access, correction or deletion of your data, please contact the site administrator using the contact method provided on the main site (for example, contact form or email).

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the service or in legal requirements. When we do, we will post the updated version on this page. Continued use of the site after any changes means you accept the updated policy.

This Privacy Policy is provided for general information and does not replace formal legal advice. Local laws in your country may also apply.