Your privacy, plainly.

The short version

• We store only what matching and safety need. No real names, birthdays, locations or server lists.
• Chats are anonymous. Your Discord username is shared only if you choose to share it.
• Voice is never recorded.
• Chat messages are deleted 72 hours after a chat ends.
• We never sell your data and never use it for advertising.
• You can see what we store and delete your account any time with /safety.

What we store and why

Your Discord account ID

Discord gives us this when you use the app. It's how we know which profile is yours.

The profile you create

Your display name (a random alias unless you choose one), an optional short intro, optional pronouns, your interests, what you're looking for, the languages you speak, your age group (not your birthday) and your search preferences. We use these to find compatible people for you.

LGBTQ+ Circle membership — only if you join

Joining the LGBTQ+ Circle tells us something sensitive about you, so we ask for your explicit consent first. We use it only to match you with other Circle members. It is never shown on your profile or to anyone outside the Circle — but people you meet in Circle chats will know you joined it. Leaving the Circle deletes your membership straight away and withdraws your consent.

Your activity

Your searches, who you were matched with, your private feedback after a chat (it's never shown to the other person), your connections, the people you block, reports you make or that are made about you, and short-lived safety counters such as how often you skip matches. We use these to avoid repeat matches, respect your choices, and keep people safe.

Anonymous chat messages

Messages you send in an Echofolk chat are relayed to the people you're matched with under your alias. We keep them for up to 72 hours after the chat ends so that reports can be reviewed, then delete them. If someone reports a chat, the recent messages from it are copied into the report.

Where you used Echofolk

When you search from inside a server, we note which server, so “only this server” matching works. Server admins' settings for Echofolk are stored too.

What we don't collect

Your real name, email address, phone number, birthday, location, the list of servers you're in, or messages you send anywhere other than an Echofolk chat. Voice conversations are never recorded. Voice rooms are ordinary Discord channels, so Discord's own privacy policy applies to them.

If you use one-click joining for the Echofolk community server, Discord gives us a short-lived permission that we use once to add you to the server. We don't store it.

Why we're allowed to use it

We use your profile and activity to provide the matching you asked for, safety information because we have a legitimate interest in protecting the people who use Echofolk, and LGBTQ+ Circle membership only with your explicit consent.

Who can see what

• People you're matched with see your alias, intro, pronouns and shared interests — and your Discord username only if you share it. In a voice room, Discord shows everyone's profile.
• Our moderators see reports, including the messages attached to them, and account status, so they can act on rule-breaking.
• Service providers: Discord, which runs the platform, and the hosting provider that runs our servers and database. They may process data in other countries.
• We don't sell, rent or share your data with advertisers or data brokers.

How long we keep it

• Chat messages: 72 hours after the chat ends, unless they're part of a report.
• Finished searches: 7 days.
• Match history: 90 days.
• Your profile, connections and blocks: until you delete your account.
• LGBTQ+ Circle membership: until you leave the Circle or delete your account.
• Reports and moderation decisions: as long as needed to keep people safe and handle appeals.

Your choices and rights

• See what we store: /safety → Your data.
• Change your profile any time: /profile.
• Leave the LGBTQ+ Circle any time from your profile.
• Delete your account and data: /safety → Delete my account.

Deleting your account removes your profile, connections, history and chat messages. Reports about rule-breaking are kept for safety without your profile attached. If an account was banned or suspended, we keep a one-way scrambled version of its Discord ID so deletion can't be used to get around the ban.

Depending on where you live, you may have further rights, such as asking for a copy of your data or for it to be corrected. To use them, contact us at tiffingames.studio@gmail.com.

Age

Echofolk matchmaking is for people 18 and over. If you believe someone younger is using it, please report them in the app or contact us.

Changes and questions

If this policy changes, we'll update this page and the date above. For anything about your privacy, contact us at tiffingames.studio@gmail.com.

See also the Echofolk terms of service. This policy covers the Discord app; the website privacy page covers this website.