Draft — not yet in force. Highlighted details are still being finalised; email us with any question in the meantime.

This Privacy Policy explains how [Company Name] (“Ekko”, “we”, “us” or “our”) collects, uses, shares and protects personal information when you use the Ekko app, website and related services (the “Service”). It covers owners (people with an account), senders (anyone who sends an ekko, with or without an account) and website visitors. [Company Name] is the controller of this information.

In short: senders are anonymous to owners, not to Ekko. We keep what we need to run the Service and keep people safe, we don’t sell personal information, and we don’t show ads.

1. Information we collect

We do not collect your contacts or precise location. The app uses your microphone only when you record a voice reply, and asks your permission first. The sender page uses the sender’s microphone only when they record, with their browser’s permission.

If someone under 18 tries to sign up, we delete the account straight away and keep only a scrambled (hashed) form of the app’s installation identifier with the date they turn 18, so the same device can’t immediately retry. That record is deleted on that date.

2. Sender anonymity and hints

Owners see an ekko’s content, never the sender’s account, IP address, precise location, device identifier or contact details. Sender information is kept apart from what owners can see, only authorised staff can look up a sender’s IP address, and every lookup is recorded with a reason.

An owner may see a hint from a fixed list, based only on data recorded when the ekko was sent: the city and country, the type of device (iPhone, iPad, Android or computer), or the app the sender came from. We never guess or make up a hint, and never show one when the data is missing. The sender page lists which hints are possible before anyone sends, and lets the sender turn them off.

Sender information is used for safety investigations, abuse prevention, legal compliance and hints only. It is never used for advertising.

3. Signing in with Google

You can choose to create or sign in to your Ekko account with your Google account. If you do, Google shares with us, with your permission, only the basic profile information you approve on Google’s consent screen: your name, email address, profile picture and a Google account identifier. We do not ask for access to your Gmail, contacts, calendar, Drive, location or any other Google data.

• How we use it: to create your account, sign you in, fill in your email address, and suggest your Google name and photo as your display name and profile photo, which you can change. We use your email to send account and safety messages.
• How we store it: the Google account identifier and email are stored with your account, encrypted in transit and at rest, so we can recognise you next time. We never receive or store your Google password.
• How we share it: we do not sell Google user data, use it for advertising, or share it with anyone except the service providers that host our systems on our behalf, or where the law requires. We do not use it to train AI models.
• How long we keep it: until you delete your Ekko account, when it is deleted along with the rest of your account (section 6). You can also disconnect Ekko from your Google account at any time at myaccount.google.com/permissions.

Ekko’s use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

4. How we use information

We use personal information to provide and secure the Service, apply voice disguise and effects, enforce our Terms, improve the Service, communicate with you, and comply with the law. Where the law asks for a legal basis we rely on our contract with you; our legitimate interests in safety, security and improving the Service; legal obligations; and, where needed, your consent.

Every ekko is checked by automated moderation before delivery. Text is checked by moderation models; voice ekkos are transcribed and the original recording is checked, before any voice effect is applied. These checks are run by specialist providers acting on our instructions. An ekko that may break our rules is held back. Reports are reviewed by trained staff, and any decision to close an account permanently involves human review.

We do not use your ekkos to train AI models.

Your own replies are not moderated: you decide where to post them. They are checked only for signs that you may be at risk of harming yourself, so we can show you where to find support; that check never blocks or changes a reply.

5. Sharing information

We share personal information only with:

• service providers who host, store, moderate, transcribe or deliver on our behalf — cloud hosting and storage, content moderation and speech-to-text providers, email and push notification services — under written contracts
• Apple (App Attest) and Google (Play Integrity), which check that a request confirming your age came from the genuine Ekko app on a real device — they receive information about the app and device, not your ekkos
• public authorities, where the law requires it or where needed to protect someone from serious harm; content sexualising minors is reported to the relevant authorities
• a successor organisation in a merger, acquisition or sale of assets, in which case we will tell you

We do not sell personal information, share it for targeted advertising, or show ads.

Ekkos and replies you export and share on other platforms are governed by those platforms’ terms. We can’t control copies others save or share.

6. How long we keep it

A sending device’s identifier is deleted after a year without use, unless it is banned or an owner has blocked it. Moderation results (category and scores, not the ekko itself) are kept for a year. Records of staff looking up sender information are kept for two years, and records of review decisions for three. When deciding how long to keep data we consider how sensitive it is, the risk if it were disclosed, whether we still need it, and the law.

7. Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, download or delete your personal information, to restrict or object to its use, and to withdraw consent. Email hey@ekko.onl to use these rights. You can also complain to your local data protection authority. We won’t treat you differently for using them.

You can delete your account at any time in Settings → Delete account; section 6 explains what happens. You can edit your profile, turn adult content and strong-language filtering on or off, control each type of notification, and block senders in the app.

We may decline a request where it would expose someone else’s information, compromise a safety investigation or conflict with a legal obligation. We’ll explain why, and you can appeal by emailing hey@ekko.onl. An agent may make a request for you where the law allows; we may verify both of you.

8. Age

Ekko is only for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18; if we learn we have, we delete it. If the App Store or Google Play tells us you are under 18, you can’t sign up, and an existing account is reviewed by a person. Moderation also looks for signs in ekkos and profile text that an account belongs to someone under 18; a person reviews every one, and no hints are ever shown about a sender who may be under 18. If you believe an account belongs to someone under 18, tap “Report account” on their page or tell us at hey@ekko.onl; a person reviews every report. A parent or guardian can contact us at hey@ekko.onl.

9. Security

Information is encrypted in transit and at rest. Ekko text, transcripts, original recordings and sender information are also encrypted by Ekko itself, with keys kept apart from the database. Passwords are stored hashed. Access to sender information is limited to authorised staff and every lookup is logged. No system is perfectly secure, so use a strong, unique password.

10. International transfers

Your information may be processed in [Countries]. Where the law requires, we use appropriate safeguards for these transfers.

11. Cookies and similar technologies

Our website uses only what it needs: a cookie that remembers your language, and technologies that keep the sender page working and secure. We don’t use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies, and don’t use analytics cookies. The app stores your login and settings on your device.

12. Changes to this policy

We will give at least fourteen days’ notice of a material change, in the app or by email, before it takes effect. If this policy is translated, the English version governs.

13. Contact

[Company Name], [Address]. Privacy questions: hey@ekko.onl.