Privacy Policy
In short. The messages, calls, files and locations you send are end-to-end encrypted: only you and the people you write to can read them, not us.
We have no ads, we use no analytics or tracking tools, and we do not sell data. We keep only what is needed to deliver your messages and to run the service safely.
1. Who is responsible for your data
CERVIT SOLUTIONS S.R.L., VAT RO22506808, J23/2599/2007, Intrarea Violetelor nr. 6, Otopeni, Ilfov, Romania. For any question about your data: cervitsol@gmail.com.
2. What data we process, why, and for how long
| Data | Why | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Your email address, or the address of the Google account you sign in with | Your account and sign-in. You receive a one-time code by email. | As long as the account exists. A session expires after 90 days without use. Sign-in codes are deleted after 48 hours. |
| Technical device data: a random device identifier (stored only as a cryptographic hash), the device's Nod address, its public keys and proof that it belongs to your account | So others can send you encrypted messages and your devices can recognise each other. | Expires after 30 days unless the device renews it. |
| Pending messages: end-to-end encrypted packets, with the sender's and recipient's Nod addresses and the time | Delivering messages to people who are not online at that moment (relay). We cannot read them. | Until delivered, at most 30 days. |
| Contact-book invitations: your public contact code and the messages you wrote to the invited person, encrypted with a key that exists only in the link you sent | So the invited person can read your messages after joining Nod. The key never reaches us. | Until accepted or cancelled, at most 30 days. |
| Phone–Nod Web link: encrypted messages between your own devices | Using Nod in the browser together with your phone. | Messages are deleted after 5 minutes. The link expires after 90 days without use. |
| Calls: each phone’s IP address, seen by our call servers while the call lasts | Connecting calls between networks that cannot reach each other directly, and group calls. Audio and video are encrypted. | The relay for one-to-one calls keeps no call log. Technical errors and the group-call server may write the IP address to the system log, kept for about 4 weeks. |
| Technical logs: IP address, time, requested page and browser type; the address we send a sign-in code to | Security and troubleshooting. | Web log: 7 days. Email log: about 4 weeks. |
| Anti-abuse counters: cryptographic hashes of the session and IP address | Limiting repeated attempts (for example, guessing codes). | One day. |
| Waking the phone (Android): the notification identifier of the app on your phone (Firebase token) | So messages and calls arrive even when the app is closed. The signal sent through Google contains nothing from the message, nor who wrote to you. | As long as you use the app. Deleted with the account or after 60 days without renewal. |
| Reports (“Report” in the app): the email you send us, with the reason, the details and, only if you choose, the last messages received from that contact | Handling abuse and replying to you. | Until resolved, at most 6 months. |
Our servers are hosted by Contabo GmbH in Germany, so the data stays in the European Union. The provider makes backups of the whole server, kept for 10 days: data we delete also disappears from them within 10 days at most.
3. What stays only on your device
Your Nod identity and its keys, your contacts, conversations, files, the names you give contacts and your contact-book invitations (including the invited person's name and number) stay on your device. In the app they are kept in an encrypted local vault. Backups are made by you and stay with you. We have no access to them. The list of contacts you blocked stays there too: the server does not know whom you blocked.
4. App permissions
- Camera and microphone: for calls and voice messages, only while you use them.
- Location: only when you send your location to a contact; it reaches them end-to-end encrypted. The preview map and the link in the message use Google Maps, which receives the coordinates when the map loads.
- Contacts: we do not read your contact book. When you invite someone, the system shows your contacts and gives us only the person you pick. Their name and number stay on your phone, and the invitation SMS is sent from your own messaging app.
- Notifications and background operation: so you receive messages and calls even when the app is not open.
- Screen capture: only when you start screen sharing during a call.
- Accessibility: only if, during a screen share, you allow someone to control your phone remotely. The service does not read what is on the screen; it only performs the taps and scrolls you approved, and it stops when you end the share.
5. Who we work with
- Google: if you sign in with Google, Google confirms your email address to us, under Google's policy. The Nod Web sign-in page loads the Google button, which sends your IP address to Google. Google Maps receives the coordinates when you open or preview a location. Google Firebase Cloud Messaging carries the wake-up signal to your phone, without any content.
- Contabo GmbH (Germany): our server provider.
- Google Play and Microsoft Store: if you install the app from them, under their policies.
We do not give your data to anyone else, except where the law requires it.
6. Legal bases
We process data to provide the service you asked for (your account and message delivery, Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR), in our legitimate interest in keeping it secure (logs and abuse limits, Art. 6(1)(f)), and with your consent for location, contacts and accessibility (Art. 6(1)(a)), which you can withdraw at any time in your phone settings.
7. Deleting your account
You can delete your account yourself at any time:
- In the app: Settings → Profile, security and backup → Your account → Delete account.
- In Nod Web: Settings → Delete account.
- By email, if you no longer have access to the app: see the account deletion page.
Immediately deleted from the server: sessions, sign-in codes, devices and their public keys, messages still waiting for delivery, Nod Web links and invitations. In the app, the local data is deleted too. Messages already received by others stay on their devices. Technical logs expire on their own, after the periods above, and data disappears from the provider's backups within 10 days at most.
8. Your rights
You have the right to know what data we hold about you, to correct it, delete it, ask for its restriction or portability, object to its processing and withdraw your consent. Write to cervitsol@gmail.com; we answer within one month. You can also lodge a complaint with the Romanian data protection authority, ANSPDCP (www.dataprotection.ro), or with the authority in your country.
9. Security
Messages are end-to-end encrypted with the Olm protocol (vodozemac library). Each device has its own keys, which never leave the device. The connection to the server uses TLS.
10. Children
Nod Chat is not intended for children under 16.
11. Changes
If we change this policy, we update the date above. Important changes are announced in the app.