Privacy Policy

Plain-language summary of how LostChat handles your information. This is an independent project, not legal advice.

What we collect

• Your username and a hashed password. We never store your password in plain text, and we never ask for an email, phone number, or real name.
• The messages, groups, and profile details you create, so your conversations are there when you return.
• Basic technical data needed to run the service (such as a session cookie to keep you logged in).

How your messages are protected

• Traffic is encrypted in transit (HTTPS).
• Direct messages (DMs) are private between the two people in them. LostChat staff do not read DMs — the only exception is when someone reports a message: staff then see that message and a few messages around it so they can understand what happened.
• Group chats (public and private groups) can be viewed by LostChat admins and the founder to keep the community safe — for example to investigate bullying, spam, or rule-breaking. Assume anything you post in a group could be seen by staff.
• Passwords are hashed; staff cannot read them.
• The database is backed up nightly and backups are kept for 7 days.

What staff can do

• Staff (moderators, admins and the founder) can warn, time out, or suspend accounts that break the community guidelines, and remove messages, groups or profile content.
• Every staff action is recorded in an internal log.

What LostChat can't protect you from

If you use LostChat on a device or network managed by a school or employer, the people who run that device or network may be able to see your activity through their own monitoring tools. LostChat cannot and does not hide your activity from them, and makes no promise of invisibility on managed devices. Please use LostChat responsibly.

Your control

• Edit or delete your own messages at any time.
• Delete your account from Settings — this removes your account and your messages.
• Block users you don't want to hear from.

Contact

Questions about privacy can be raised with the site owner, Izzy.

Last updated: October 2026.