Privacy Policy

Last updated: February 19, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains what data Cloak collects, why we collect it, and how you can control it. Cloak is built on a zero-knowledge architecture — we only store what is necessary to run the service, and we cannot read your messages by design.

Cloak is operated by Cloak Software LLC ("the Company", "we", "us", "our"). You can reach us at admin@cloak.chat.

What We Collect

Account Information

When you register, we collect:

Email address: for account verification, password recovery, and policy updates
Username: your display identity on the platform (max 32 characters, alphanumeric)
Password: stored as a bcrypt salted hash, never in plaintext
Date of birth: to verify you are at least 13 years old (COPPA compliance)
Invite code: used during our beta period to manage access

Profile Information

You may optionally provide:

Profile avatar and icon images
Status message

All profile information is user-provided and visible to other Cloak users.

Messages and Content

Messages you send are encrypted on your device before they leave it. Our servers store only the encrypted ciphertext. Cloak cannot decrypt, read, or access the plaintext content of your messages. This applies to:

Direct messages: encrypted using the Signal Protocol (Curve25519 key exchange, Double Ratchet algorithm)
Channel and server messages: encrypted using AES-256-GCM with per-server shared keys and per-message random IVs
File attachments: transmitted via encrypted WebTransport streams
Voice and video calls: end-to-end encrypted using WebRTC Insertable Streams with AES-256-GCM

Technical Data

Authentication tokens: JWT-based session tokens for account security (24-hour expiry)
Email verification status: timestamp indicating when your email was verified
Subscription status: your plan tier and payment status (payment details handled by Stripe)

Billing Information (Paid Members)

If you subscribe to a paid plan, we additionally collect:

Billing address: street address, city, state, postal code, and country — stored by Stripe and on our servers to process your subscription
Payment history: transaction amounts, payment status (succeeded or failed), and timestamps — stored on our servers for your records
Stripe customer ID: a unique identifier linking your Cloak account to your Stripe customer record

Card summary details (brand, last 4 digits, and expiration date) are retrieved from Stripe for display in your account settings but are not stored on Cloak's servers.

Feedback and Reports

If you submit feedback or a report, we collect:

Your user ID and username
Feedback type and message content
Optional attachments or screenshots you choose to include
For reports: the reported user's information and your notes

What We Do NOT Collect

Your real name or phone number
Browser fingerprints, cookies, or tracking pixels
Browsing behavior, page views, or session analytics
Contact lists from other services
IP addresses (we do not log IPs)

We do not use Google Analytics or any other third-party tracking software on our website or in our application.

Encryption and Security

Cloak is built on a zero-knowledge architecture. All encryption and decryption happens entirely on your device. Even Cloak's own infrastructure cannot access your messages.

Message Encryption

Direct messages use the Signal Protocol, employing Curve25519 key exchange and the Double Ratchet algorithm for forward secrecy
Server and channel messages use AES-256-GCM with a random initialization vector (IV) generated for each message
Voice and video use end-to-end encryption via WebRTC Insertable Streams, ensuring media is encrypted before leaving your device

Key Storage

Your encryption keys are stored locally on your device, encrypted using your operating system's keychain (macOS Keychain, Windows DPAPI, or Linux Secret Service). Keys are never sent to or stored on Cloak's servers.

Secret Key

When you first set up your account, a 64-character secret key is generated. This key is required for identity recovery and can be exported as a PDF. If you lose this key and lose access to all your devices, your encrypted data cannot be recovered. Cloak does not have a copy of your secret key.

Password Storage

Passwords are hashed using bcrypt with an automatically generated salt before storage. We never store passwords in plaintext. Password requirements include a minimum of 10 characters with at least one uppercase letter, one number, and one special character.

Transport Security

All communication between your device and our servers uses HTTP/3 WebTransport over TLS 1.3, providing both encryption in transit and low-latency real-time messaging.

How We Use Your Data

We use your data to:

Operate the service: deliver encrypted messages, manage your account, authenticate you
Verify your age: ensure compliance with COPPA (minimum age 13)
Send transactional emails: account verification, password recovery, and policy updates only
Process payments: if you purchase a subscription (handled by Stripe)
Report errors: only if you opt in to crash reporting (see below)

We do NOT use your data to:

Send marketing emails or newsletters
Serve advertisements
Build behavioral profiles
Sell or rent to third parties
Train machine learning models

Third-Party Services

These services receive limited data to provide specific functionality:

Stripe (Payments)

Processes subscription payments. Your billing address is stored on our servers and shared with Stripe. Card summary information (brand, last 4 digits, expiration) is retrieved from Stripe to display in your account settings but is not stored on Cloak's servers. Your Stripe customer ID is stored to manage your subscription, and payment amounts and statuses are stored locally for your transaction history.

Resend (Email)

Delivers transactional emails including account verification, password recovery, and subscription receipts. Only your email address and the email content are shared.

BugSplat (Crash Reporting — Opt-In)

Cloak uses BugSplat for crash reporting. This is fully opt-in. By default, no crash data is sent. You can control this in your user settings:

Off (default): no crash data is sent
On: crash logs, stack traces, app version, and basic OS information are sent to BugSplat

You can change this setting at any time.

Tenor (GIF Search)

Powers GIF search within the application. Your search queries are sent to Tenor's API. GIF favorites are stored on our servers, not shared with Tenor.

We do not share your data with advertisers, data brokers, or any parties not listed above.

Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

If you are in the EU/EEA, here is the legal basis we rely on for each type of processing:

Contract (Art. 6(1)(b)): account registration, encrypted message delivery, payment processing, and all core service functionality
Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)): age verification (COPPA) and responding to lawful government requests
Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)): opt-in crash reporting via BugSplat. You can withdraw consent at any time in your settings

International Data Transfers

Our servers and several of our third-party service providers (Stripe, Resend, BugSplat) are based in the United States. If you are located outside the US, your data will be transferred to and processed in the US. However, due to our zero-knowledge architecture, the data transferred consists primarily of encrypted ciphertext that neither we nor any third party can decrypt.

These transfers are necessary to perform our contract with you (Art. 49(1)(b) GDPR) and are further protected by our providers' data processing agreements.

Cloak Software LLC is the data controller. Our third-party service providers act as data processors under data processing agreements.

Data Retention and Deletion

We retain your data for as long as your account exists. Message retention varies by plan — free users' direct messages persist for a limited time, while paid users can customize retention periods. Regardless of plan, all messages are stored as encrypted ciphertext that can only be decrypted on authorized devices.

You can request permanent deletion of your account and all associated data by contacting us at admin@cloak.chat. When your account is deleted, we delete:

All your encrypted messages and attachments
Your profile and account information
Your credentials and authentication tokens
Your friend relationships and memberships
Your subscription and payment records
Your feedback and report history

This deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. Encryption keys stored locally on your devices are not affected by server-side deletion — you should remove the application from your devices separately.

Your Rights

Regardless of where you live, you can:

Access your data: view your profile, messages (on your device), and settings through the app
Correct your data: update your profile, email, and username at any time
Delete your data: request permanent deletion of your account and all associated data
Control crash reporting: opt in or out of crash reporting at any time

For EU/EEA Residents (GDPR)

You additionally have the right to:

Request a copy of your personal data
Object to processing of your data
Request restriction of processing
Data portability: receive your data in a machine-readable format
Withdraw consent at any time
Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority

For California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)

We do not sell or "share" (as defined by the CPRA) your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

Category	What We Collect	Source	Purpose	Shared With
Identifiers	Email, username	You	Account operation	Resend (email)
Customer records	Email, hashed password	You	Authentication	None
Commercial info	Subscription status, billing address, payment history	You / Stripe	Payment processing	Stripe
Sensory data	User-uploaded images (encrypted)	You	Message delivery	None
Age / DOB	Date of birth	You	COPPA age verification	None

We do not collect: protected classifications, biometrics, geolocation, professional/employment info, education records, or inferences.

Your CCPA/CPRA rights:

Right to know: what data we collect and how we use it (see above)
Right to delete: request deletion of your data at any time
Right to opt-out of sale: we do not sell your data, so there is nothing to opt out of
Right to non-discrimination: we will not treat you differently for exercising your rights

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at admin@cloak.chat.

Children's Privacy

Cloak requires users to be at least 13 years old. We collect date of birth at registration to verify this. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, please contact us at admin@cloak.chat and we will delete it.

Disclosure for Legal Reasons

We may disclose your data if required by law, court order, or government request. However, due to our zero-knowledge architecture, any message content disclosed would be encrypted ciphertext that we cannot decrypt. We also reserve the right to reject unlawful requests to protect our users' privacy and safety.

Changes to This Policy

We will notify you of significant changes by posting the updated policy and updating the date above. Continued use of Cloak after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

Contact

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy:

Email: admin@cloak.chat