Privacy Policy
Last updated: July 28, 2026
Alt Chat (“we”, “us”) runs a social network for people who don’t fit the mainstream, on Android, iOS and AltChat.com. This policy explains what we collect, why, and who we share it with. You must be 18 or older to use Alt Chat.
Information you give us
- Account: your email address, or — if you sign in with Google — the email and basic profile Google returns. Passwords are handled by Google Firebase Authentication; we never see or store your password.
- Profile: display name, unique username, bio, profile and gallery photos, birthday, gender, orientation, interests, mood, and the groups you feature.
- Location:when you tap “Use my location”, your device’s coordinates are used to power Lurk distance and matching. See Third parties below for how your city name is resolved. You can use most of Alt Chat without sharing location.
- Content: posts, poll votes, comments, wall posts, ratings, direct messages, and images you upload or send.
Information collected automatically
- Basic usage and device data, presence/online status, and — if you allow it — a push-notification token so we can notify you about messages, likes, replies, matches and events.
How we use it
- To create and run your account and profile across all platforms.
- To power the Realm, Lurk, Rate, Groups, Chatrooms, Whispers and Night Chats, and to show approximate distance to other members.
- To keep Alt Chat safe: moderation, blocking, and enforcing our rules and age requirement.
- To send notifications you’ve enabled.
Third parties we use
- Google Firebase (Authentication, Firestore, Storage, Cloud Functions, Cloud Messaging) — our core backend and data processor.
- BigDataCloud— when you tap “Use my location” on the website, your coordinates are rounded to roughly one kilometre and sent to BigDataCloud solely to look up your city and country name. Your precise coordinates are never sent to them — only Alt Chat stores your exact location point.
- GIPHY — used only when you search for a GIF.
- Apple / Google Play — process purchases made in the mobile apps.
We do not sell your personal information.
Who can see your information
Your public profile and posts are visible to other members per the privacy controls in Edit Profile (follower/following visibility, wall settings, rating visibility, who can rate you). Night Chats are anonymous until you choose to reveal yourself. Direct messages are visible only to you and the recipient.
Your choices & deleting your account
You can edit or remove profile information, manage blocked users, and control notifications any time in Edit Profile. You can permanently delete your account there — this removes your profile, content and sign-in credentials. Some records may persist briefly in backups or as anonymized/tombstoned data where needed for safety or by law.
Contact
Questions about privacy? Contact us at support@altchat.com.