Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 8, 2026 · Русская версия

This is the English version of Whorl's Privacy Policy. Whorl ("we") is a free messenger available at whorl.wtf as a web app that can be installed on phones and computers. We keep only what the messenger needs to work, show no ads, and never sell your data.

1. Data we collect

• Account data: email address, username (@username), display name, bio, profile photos.
• Sign-in data: passwords and the optional cloud password are stored only as Argon2id hashes; the authenticator secret is stored encrypted; backup codes as hashes; passkey public keys.
• Sessions: device and browser type, IP address, sign-in and last activity time (visible to you in Settings → Devices).
• Content: messages, photos, videos, voice and video messages, files, stickers, reactions, polls, comments, drafts and locations you choose to share — to deliver them and sync them across your devices.
• Contacts and settings: your contacts in Whorl, group and channel memberships, block list, folders and preferences.
• Notifications: your browser's push subscription endpoint. Calls: time, duration and participants; audio and video are never recorded.
• Moderation: reports you send or receive and the decisions taken.

2. Google user data

If you sign up or sign in with Google, Whorl requests only the basic scopes openid, email and profile. We receive your name, email address (and whether it is verified), profile photo and your Google account identifier.

• How we use it: only to create your Whorl account, sign you in, and fill in your profile name and photo (you can change both at any time).
• What we don't do: we do not access your Gmail, contacts, Drive files or any other Google data, and we never post anything on your behalf.
• Sharing: data received from Google is not shared with or sold to third parties, is not used for advertising, and is not used to train AI or machine-learning models.
• Storage and protection: it is stored on our servers in our database, protected in transit with TLS and at rest with encryption, with access limited to Whorl's administrators.
• Retention and deletion: it is kept while your account exists. You can unlink Google in Whorl's settings or revoke access at myaccount.google.com/connections; deleting your Whorl account deletes the data received from Google.

Whorl's use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

3. How we use data

To deliver messages, calls and notifications and sync them between your devices; to sign you in and protect your account (email confirmation, password reset, new sign-in alerts); to fight spam and abuse; to keep the service running and fix errors. We do not use your data for advertising or build advertising profiles.

4. How we protect data

All connections use HTTPS/TLS. Message text, drafts, comments, polls, locations, voice transcripts and all files are stored encrypted (AES-256) with a key kept separately from the database. This is not end-to-end encryption: the server decrypts messages to deliver them to the chat's members. Backups are encrypted separately. Two-step verification and passkeys are available in Settings.

5. Service providers

Cloudflare Turnstile (bot check at sign-up), Resend and SMTP2GO (sending confirmation and service emails), browser push services (Apple, Google, Mozilla and others; notification content is encrypted), GIPHY (GIF search queries), Yandex Maps and OpenStreetMap (maps for shared locations; our server sends only the point's coordinates to look up an address), websites you link to (to build link previews), Cloudflare R2 (encrypted backups). We disclose data to authorities only when the law requires it.

6. Retention and deletion

Data is kept while your account exists. You can delete messages, chats or your whole account at any time in Settings. Deleting the account removes your profile, contacts, folders, settings and sessions; messages you sent in other people's chats stay there labeled "Deleted account". Accounts inactive longer than the period you choose (12 months by default) are deleted automatically, with an email a week before. Encrypted backups are deleted after at most 6 months.

7. Your rights and contact

You can view and change your data in Settings, hide your last seen time, block users, end sessions and delete your account. For any question about your data, including a copy of what we store, write to support@whorl.wtf. Whorl is not intended for children under 14. We may update this policy; the date of the current version is shown at the top, and we announce significant changes through the official @whorl account.