HuiChat Privacy Policy

Last updated: 14 October

This policy explains what HuiChat (“the app”) collects, why, who it is shared with, and how long it is kept. It describes the app as it is actually built; where a section says we do not do something, that is because the app contains no code to do it.

1. Who we are

HuiChat is published by NovaxFusion , England. For any question about this policy or about your data, write to novaxfusion1@gmail.com.

2. What the app collects

Information you give us

Data	Why
Display name	So other people can recognise you.
Phone number (optional)	Only if you sign up with one. It lets other people find you and lets you sign in again. You may instead sign up anonymously, in which case we never receive a phone number.
Password	Handled by Google Firebase Authentication. It is sent to Firebase, not to our servers, and we never see or store it.
Profile picture (optional)	Shown to people you talk to.
Messages and attachments	Text, images, audio recordings and documents you send, so they can be delivered and shown in your conversation history.

Information the app generates

Data	Why
An account identifier	Identifies your account. For anonymous accounts this is the only identifier you have, and it is what other people use to reach you.
Device identifier	Keeps your session tied to one device and ends an older session when you sign in elsewhere.
Notification token	Issued by Google (Android). It is the address your device is reachable at for notifications; it identifies the installation, not you personally.
Call records	Who called whom, when, the type of call and whether it was answered, so your call history can be shown.
Message delivery state	Sent, delivered and read markers.

What the app does not collect

We do not collect your contacts or address book.
We do not collect your location.
We do not use advertising identifiers, and the app shows no advertising.
We do not sell personal data, and we do not share it with data brokers.
We do not use your messages to build advertising or marketing profiles.

3. Calls

Voice and video calls connect directly between the two devices wherever the network allows it. When a direct connection is not possible, the audio and video are relayed through a server we operate so the call can still go through. That relay passes the encrypted media along; the content of a call is not recorded or stored by us. What we do keep is the call record described above: who called whom and when.

4. How your information is used

To deliver your messages, calls and attachments to the people you send them to.
To show your conversation and call history when you open the app.
To notify you of an incoming message or call when the app is closed.
To sign you in and keep your account secure.
To diagnose faults and keep the service running.

We do not use your information for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

5. Who your information is shared with

With other users: your display name, profile picture, account identifier and the messages you choose to send are visible to the people you talk to.

With service providers, strictly to run the service:

Google Firebase Authentication — sign-in and credentials.
Google Firebase Cloud Messaging — delivering notifications to your device.
Our cloud hosting and storage provider — running the servers and storing messages and attachments.

These providers process data on our instructions and are not permitted to use it for their own purposes. We may also disclose information where we are legally required to do so, or where it is necessary to protect the rights and safety of our users.

6. Security

Traffic between the app and our servers is encrypted in transit using TLS. Credentials are held by Firebase Authentication rather than by us. Access to production systems is restricted to the people who operate the service.

HuiChat does not currently offer end-to-end encryption. Messages and attachments are protected in transit, but they are stored on our servers in a form the service can read. We say so plainly rather than implying a protection the app does not provide.

7. How long data is kept

Messages, attachments and call records are kept while your account exists, so your history is there when you open the app.
Deleting a message removes it from the conversation for the people in it.
When you delete your account, it is deactivated immediately and you can no longer sign in or be found or contacted by other users. Residual copies may persist in encrypted backups for a limited period before being overwritten in the ordinary course.
Messages you had already sent may remain visible to the person who received them, in the same way a sent email does.

8. Your rights and choices

You can, from inside the app, change your display name and picture, delete individual messages, and delete your account outright (Profile → Delete your account).

Depending on where you live you may also have the right to request a copy of your data, ask for it to be corrected or erased, object to or restrict how it is processed, and complain to your data protection authority. Write to novaxfusion1@gmail.com and we will respond within the period the applicable law requires.

9. Children

HuiChat is not directed at children under 18, and we do not knowingly collect information from them. If you believe a child has given us personal information, write to us and we will delete it.

10. International transfers

Our servers and those of our providers are located in USA. If you use the app from elsewhere, your information is transferred there and handled under this policy and the safeguards required by the applicable law.

11. Changes to this policy

If this policy changes we will update the date at the top of this page, and for a significant change we will tell you in the app before it takes effect.

12. Contact

novaxfusion1@gmail.com

This page is also reachable from inside the app, under Profile → Privacy policy and from the sign-in and sign-up screens.