Terms of Service

The full terms below are what count, but here is the gist. Your messages belong to you, and they are locked on your device before they ever reach us, so we can't read them. Be decent to the people you talk to. Don't use Ghost-ed to hurt anyone or to break the law. Keep your password safe, because it is the only key to your encrypted history and we have no way to get it back for you. The Ghost-ed name, logo and design are ours; please don't copy them.

You need to be at least 13 years old, or older if the law where you live sets a higher age for using services like this one. If you are under the age of adulthood where you live, please make sure a parent or guardian has read these terms and is comfortable with you using the app.

You also need to be allowed to use the service under the laws that apply to you, and you can't use Ghost-ed if we have previously closed your account for breaking these terms.

When you sign up, we ask for your name, a username, your email address and a password. Please give us details that are genuinely yours. Your username is how other people find you, so pick one that doesn't pretend to be someone else or infringe on anyone's trademark. We may ask you to change a username that does.

You are responsible for what happens under your account, so keep your password to yourself. One thing is worth saying clearly: your password also unlocks the encryption key that protects your messages. If you forget it and reset it, you will be able to log in again, but messages sent before the reset can no longer be opened. That is not a bug. It is the price of a design where we never hold your keys.

If you think someone else has got into your account, change your password straight away and let us know.

Everything you create on Ghost-ed, including your messages, photos, voice and video notes, documents and sticker packs, stays yours. We don't claim ownership of any of it.

Messages and attachments are end-to-end encrypted in your browser before they are sent. Our servers store and pass along locked data that only the people in the conversation can open. To make the app work at all, we do see some things that aren't encrypted:

• who you talk to, and when;
• the type and size of a message, and delivery, read and reaction status;
• your profile details and photo, group names and photos, and chat backgrounds;
• emoji-only messages sent by someone you have ghosted, because we have to check that they really are only emojis.

So that we can store and deliver your content, you give us a limited, worldwide, royalty-free permission to host, copy and transmit it, only as far as that is needed to run Ghost-ed for you. That permission ends when the content is deleted from our systems, except for copies that other people in the conversation already have.

You are responsible for what you share, and you confirm that you have the right to share it. Because we can't read encrypted content, we rely on you, and on people telling us when something is wrong, to keep Ghost-ed a good place to be.

Ghost-ed only works if people feel safe on it. Please don't use it to:

• harass, threaten, bully, stalk or intimidate anyone;
• share sexual content involving minors, or any content that exploits or endangers children;
• share intimate images of someone without their consent;
• promote violence or terrorism, or organise anything illegal;
• send spam, scams, phishing links or malware;
• pretend to be another person or organisation;
• share material that infringes someone else's copyright, trademark or privacy;
• probe, overload or interfere with our servers, get around rate limits or security measures, or access accounts or data that aren't yours;
• collect other people's information through automated means, or resell access to the service.

If someone is making you uncomfortable, you can ghost them, leave the conversation, or tell us about it. If you believe someone is in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services first.

Ghosting lets you quiet or lock a one-to-one chat on your own terms. It controls what the other person can send you inside Ghost-ed. It doesn't stop them from reaching you some other way, and it isn't a substitute for reporting someone who is putting you at risk.

A view-once photo can be opened a single time by each person it is sent to, and the file is then removed from our servers. We can't stop someone from photographing their screen, though, so please only send things you would be comfortable with the recipient keeping.

When disappearing messages are on, new messages are wiped for everyone once the time you picked has passed, counted from when each one is seen. In a group, the clock starts once everyone in it has seen the message, and a message nobody has opened yet stays until they do. Using “undo seen” stops the clock again. The content and any attachments are deleted from our servers. We keep a bare record that a message was sent, and by whom and when, because features like streaks rely on it; we could see that much anyway. As with view-once photos, anyone in the chat can still save or screenshot a message before it goes.

Voice and video calls connect directly between the people on the call wherever possible. When a direct connection isn't possible, the call may pass through a relay server, still encrypted. We don't record calls. Please don't record anyone yourself without their permission, and remember that Ghost-ed is not a replacement for a phone line and can't be used to reach emergency services.

Scheduled messages are sent at the time you choose, as long as the service is running. We will do our best, but we can't promise that a message will go out to the exact minute.

A few parts of Ghost-ed depend on other companies. Verification and password reset codes are sent by email through a delivery provider. GIF search is powered by GIPHY, and GIFs you pick from it are subject to GIPHY's own terms. Calls may use public servers to help devices find each other. We only share what each of these services needs to do its job, and we aren't responsible for how they run their own services.

The Ghost-ed name, the ghost logo, the look and feel of the app, the built-in stickers, and the software that runs it are owned by Ghost-ed and protected by copyright, trademark and other laws. We give you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable and revocable licence to use the app as it is meant to be used. That licence doesn't let you copy, modify, resell or redistribute any part of Ghost-ed, reverse-engineer it except where the law allows, or use our name and logo in a way that suggests we endorse you.

If you send us ideas or feedback, we may use them to improve Ghost-ed without owing you anything for it. We are always grateful for them all the same.

Our Copyright Notice and Intellectual Property Notice set this out in more detail.

We respect other people's work and expect you to do the same. If you believe something on Ghost-ed infringes your copyright, please get in touch with:

• your name and contact details;
• a description of the work you believe has been copied;
• where it appears on Ghost-ed, such as the username, group or sticker pack;
• a statement that you believe in good faith the use isn't authorised, and that the information in your notice is accurate and you are the owner or allowed to act for them.

Since most content is end-to-end encrypted, we often can't see the material itself. We will act on what we can: removing public content such as profile pictures or sticker packs, and closing the accounts of people who infringe again and again.

You can stop using Ghost-ed whenever you like. If you would like your account and its data deleted, contact us from the email address on the account and we will take care of it.

We may limit, suspend or close an account that breaks these terms, puts other people at risk, or exposes us to legal trouble. Where it is reasonable and safe to do so, we will tell you first and explain why. If you think we have made a mistake, reply and we will take another look.

We work hard to keep Ghost-ed reliable and secure, but we can't promise it will always be available, free of bugs, or that a message or call will always get through. We may change, pause or retire features as the app grows. To the fullest extent the law allows, Ghost-ed is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied.

Please keep your own copies of anything that matters to you. End-to-end encryption means that if your keys are lost, we can't recover the messages they protected.

To the fullest extent the law allows, we aren't liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential losses, or for lost data, profits or goodwill, arising from your use of Ghost-ed. We also aren't responsible for what other users say or do. Nothing in these terms limits liability that can't be limited by law, or takes away rights you have as a consumer where you live.

As Ghost-ed changes, these terms will too. When we make a change that matters, we will update the date at the top of this page and, where it makes sense, let you know in the app before it takes effect. If you keep using Ghost-ed after that, you are agreeing to the updated terms. If you don't agree, you can close your account at any time.

Questions, reports and copyright notices can all be sent the same way: reply to any email we have sent you, such as your verification code, and it will reach a real person on our team. We read everything, and we will get back to you as soon as we can.