Your Privacy is Our Default

The Short Version

This policy covers the FunChat web application at funchat.in (and our rebranded sites that run on the same service), including global chat, random text/voice/video chat, chat rooms, Friends, games (Draw & Guess and Ludo), confessions and VIP membership. It applies to all users worldwide.

For the purposes of India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), FunChat acts as the "Data Fiduciary" for the limited personal data described below. Please read the Terms of Service and the Disclaimer as well.

What We Collect

You never need to give us your real identity to use global chat, random chat, chat rooms, voice/video or games. Here is exactly what we collect, and why:

• Display name: You choose any username you like. It does not have to be your real name. Phone numbers and phone-number-like names are not allowed as usernames.
• Chat messages: Relayed in real time between users. Global chat messages are deleted 15 minutes after they are sent and chat-room messages after 10 minutes. Random chat is not stored. We do not read, sell or analyse your messages for advertising. Automated safety filters scan messages as they pass through (see "Automated Moderation and Safety Systems"), and a small number may be kept longer only if reported for review.
• Images, GIFs and voice notes: Follow the same short retention window as messages, unless they are part of a safety report under review. Images are screened automatically for nudity before delivery.
• Flagged-image choices: When screening flags an image in random chat, we record that the sender chose to send it and that the receiver accepted or declined it, together with the username, IP address and time. We do not keep the image for this purpose.
• IP address and connection data: Stored to enforce bans, block abuse and bots, detect VPN/proxy misuse, show an approximate country/flag, and keep the server logs we are required to keep. Not used for advertising and not sold.
• Device ID cookie: A random, non-identifying ID stored in a cookie so we can recognise the same browser across visits. It is used to prevent ban evasion, to protect a username you were recently using from being taken over (for 72 hours), and to let VIP status follow you. It contains no personal information.
• Session token: A random token in your browser's local storage that keeps you signed in. Expires after 30 days of inactivity.
• Optional account details: If you set a password, we store only a one-way hash of it (never the password itself). If you add an email address (for VIP, sign-in by email code, or recovery), we store it to send your confirmation, one-time sign-in codes, VIP expiry reminders and account notices.
• VIP / membership records: If you buy VIP, we store the plan, amount, payment reference (UTR), your chosen username, the email you give, and optionally a payment screenshot, to verify and process your purchase and answer payment queries. We never see or store your card details, UPI PIN or bank login.
• Friends: If you use Friends, we store your Friends ID, display name, friend list, blocks and your direct messages with friends, which are deleted 90 days after they are written (voice messages are different: the audio is deleted after 24 hours), or sooner if you or the sender delete them. One-time photos are viewable once and are deleted from our servers after being viewed or after 33 seconds, whichever comes first. Friend requests link to an ID you choose to share.
• Random-chat history (accounts): For each of your last 15 random-chat matches we keep the partner's display name, when it happened, how long it lasted and how many messages were sent, so you can add a friend or report someone. We do not keep the content of the chat for this purpose. Older entries are overwritten automatically.
• Games are for entertainment only: Draw & Guess, Ludo, Tic Tac Toe and any other game here are free social games. FunChat does not run betting, gambling or real-money games, so we never collect bank, card or wallet details for gameplay, and scores and points carry no monetary value.
• Games (Draw & Guess, Ludo): Your display name, the games you played and when, scores, in-game chat lines that may be needed if another player reports you, and your IP/device for ban enforcement. Ludo may fill empty seats with computer-controlled bots. Bots are not people and collect nothing.
• Reports and moderation records: Reports you send or that are made about you, the messages involved, any automated review result, and ban records (see "How Long We Keep Data").
• Activity trail (logged-in accounts): Short records of security-relevant events such as sign-ins, username changes and account actions, kept for 30 days to investigate abuse, fraud and legal requests.
• Support messages and bug reports: What you write to us, plus your username and any email you provide, so we can reply. We reply from our support mailbox.

Features and the Data Each One Uses

This is a plain list of what each part of FunChat does with your data. Everything not listed here is not collected.

• Global chat: your display name, messages, images, GIFs, voice notes and votes, deleted 15 minutes after they are sent; your IP address and device ID for safety.
• Random chat (text, voice, video): messages are relayed live and not stored. Images and voice notes are deleted within a few hours. Calls go directly between the two people (or through a relay server) and are not recorded. Images are screened automatically. We keep only the minimum needed for safety: bans, reports, and your last 15 matches (partner name, time, length, message count).
• Chat rooms and the voice room: room messages, deleted after 10 minutes; room membership and moderation records (warnings, bans).
• Friends: your Friend ID, display name, friend list, blocks and requests; text messages (deleted after 90 days); voice messages (audio deleted after 24 hours); one-time photos (screened, and deleted as soon as they are viewed or 33 seconds after they are sent, whichever comes first); call history lines (who called, missed or answered, and for how long, kept like text messages); and your voice-call on/off setting. We do not record calls.
• Games (Draw & Guess, Ludo): your display name, games played and scores, and chat lines needed for reports; IP and device for ban enforcement. Bots are not people and collect nothing.
• Confessions and community features: the posts, comments and images you submit and their moderation status.
• AI features: text you send to the AI companion, and text reviewed by automated moderation, is processed by a third-party AI provider. It is not used to build an advertising profile.
• VIP: your username, email (if you give one), plan, payment reference and optional payment screenshot; the badge style you choose and whether it is shown.
• Safety systems: automated filters, image screening, spam detection, bans, reports and the abuse records described in "How Long We Keep Data". Phone numbers and social-media names are detected automatically to protect you.
• Accounts and settings: optional password hash, email, session token and preferences (sound, theme, wallpaper) stored on your device or account.
• Ads and analytics: advertising partners and Google Analytics, described under "Cookies" and "Third-Party Services".

What We Never Collect

• Your real name or phone number for regular chat use (and we actively block phone numbers in chat)
• Your GPS or precise location (we only derive an approximate country from your IP address)
• A browser/canvas fingerprint built from your device's hardware or rendering characteristics
• Your browsing history or activity outside FunChat
• Your payment card, UPI PIN or bank login — that never reaches our servers

Note: Google's own advertising and analytics cookies (see "Third-Party Services" below) are set directly by Google when you use the site, under Google's own privacy practices — not something we control at the data-collection level, but something you can opt out of.

Cookies and Local Storage

FunChat uses the following cookies and similar technologies:

• Strictly necessary / security: a random device-ID cookie (see above), our session cookie, and cookies from Cloudflare (bot protection and the Turnstile captcha). These are needed to run the service and keep it safe, and cannot be switched off while using the site.
• Local storage: we store your session token and preferences (for example chat mode, theme, which popups you have seen) in your browser's local storage on your device.
• Advertising: our advertising partners (Google AdSense, PixFuture and others that serve ads through third-party ad frames) may set cookies or use similar technologies to show and measure ads, and, where permitted, to personalise them.
• Analytics: Google Analytics / Tag Manager use cookies to give us aggregate statistics about site use.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings (this resets your device ID, and may sign you out). You can opt out of personalised Google ads through Google's Ads Settings. Blocking security cookies may stop the captcha or the site from working.

FunChat does not use canvas or hardware fingerprinting.

Third-Party Services

FunChat uses a small number of third-party services to deliver the product and keep it free. These providers process data on our behalf or on their own terms, as described below. We do not sell your personal data.

• Advertising partners (Google AdSense, PixFuture, and other networks served through ad frames): Serve the ads that keep FunChat free. They may use cookies and collect device and usage data under their own privacy policies. You can opt out of personalised Google ads via Google's Ads Settings. We are not responsible for the content of third-party ads.
• Google Analytics / Tag Manager: Aggregate usage statistics. This does not involve reading your chat content.
• Cloudflare: CDN, security, DDoS and bot protection, the Turnstile captcha, and (for voice/video features) call-routing (TURN) relay. Cloudflare processes connection metadata as part of normal operation. Voice and video are sent peer-to-peer or through the relay, and we do not record calls.
• Email delivery provider (SMTP2GO): Used to send one-time sign-in codes, VIP receipts and expiry reminders, account notices and support replies. Your email address and the message are processed by this provider to deliver the email.
• AI providers (Google Gemini or similar): Used for automated moderation of reported content, and to power the optional AI companion. Message text may be sent to the provider for this purpose. We do not allow these providers to use it to build an advertising profile of you.
• Google Fonts: Loads typefaces. Google may log font-request metadata such as IP address and browser.
• Background Radio (public radio streams): The optional radio player plays public radio stations from their open, publicly available streaming links, so your device connects directly to the station's stream and that broadcaster may see your IP address and device details. FunChat does not host, record or own any music, stores no copyrighted content, and does not send your chat data to these stations.
• Giphy: Powers GIF search. If you search for or send a GIF, your search query is sent to Giphy.
• Payment apps (UPI) and QR generation: Payments happen in your own UPI/payment app. QR images are generated through a QR service that receives no personal data.

Some of these providers (advertising, Analytics, Cloudflare, AI, email) operate servers outside India. See "Cross-Border Data Transfer" below.

How Long We Keep Data

• Global chat messages: Permanently deleted 15 minutes after they are sent (including text, images and voice notes).
• Chat room messages: Permanently deleted 10 minutes after they are sent (text, images, GIFs, voice notes, polls).
• Random chat: Messages are relayed live and not stored. Images and voice notes sent in random chat are deleted from our servers within a few hours.
• Friends messages: Deleted 90 days after they were written (we warn you from day 83), or after 7 days or 24 hours if either person turned on Disappearing messages for that chat. Saved random-chat transcripts you keep in Friends follow the same 90-day rule.
• Friends voice messages: The audio file is deleted from our servers 24 hours after it is sent (or sooner if you delete the message). The chat then shows a small "expired" note with no audio. The first time someone receives a voice message we tell them about this.
• NSFW appeal images: If you ask us to review an image our filter blocked, that image is deleted automatically within 5 minutes.
• Reported Friends conversations: The saved copy of a reported conversation is kept for review. It is cleared 30 days after a report is dismissed, cleared or the person is unbanned, and after 180 days in every case. The ban record itself is kept as described under ban and security records.
• Deleted accounts in Friends: When someone deletes their account, their friends see "Deleted account", their messages show as not available, and their voice messages and photos are removed from our servers.
• Friends photos and voice messages: A one-time photo is deleted from our servers as soon as it is viewed or 33 seconds after it was sent, whichever comes first. The audio of a voice message is deleted 24 hours after it was sent. The chat keeps only a small "expired" note.
• Random-chat history: Only your last 15 matches (partner name, time, duration, message count) are kept; older ones are overwritten.
• Reported content (under moderation review): Kept for as long as needed to investigate the report and enforce any resulting ban, then deleted.
• Activity trail: 30 days, unless needed longer for an investigation or a legal request.
• Session/device tokens: Expire after 30 days of inactivity.
• Flagged-image consent records (username, IP, time, choice): Kept for at least 180 days, and longer where needed to answer a legal request or complaint.
• Ban and security records (username, IP, device, reason, duration): A history of bans is kept in a secure internal log, independent of whether a ban later expires, to prevent evasion and to comply with Indian legal requirements. Permanent-ban and CSAM/underage-safety records are retained as needed for platform safety and any applicable legal reporting obligation.
• Server and connection logs (IP address, timestamps): Retained for at least 180 days, as required under CERT-In's directions for intermediaries operating in India, and longer where a legal request requires it.
• Account deletion: If you delete your FunChat account, your Friends account, or both, from Settings, there is a 72-hour window in which you can cancel. After 72 hours the deletion happens automatically. A minimal internal snapshot (account details and associated IP/device history) is kept for at least 180 days after deletion for fraud prevention, legal compliance and to answer lawful requests, then removed.
• VIP and payment records: Kept for as long as needed for accounting, fraud prevention, to honour your purchase, and as required by tax and financial record-keeping law. Deleting an account does not erase these.
• Support messages and emails: Kept for as long as needed to resolve your query and for a reasonable period afterwards.

When the purpose for which we collected data has ended and no law requires us to keep it, we delete it or make it non-identifiable.

Cross-Border Data Transfer

FunChat uses global service providers (including Cloudflare, advertising and analytics networks, an email delivery provider and AI providers) whose servers may be outside India. Where this happens, we rely on those providers' own security and privacy safeguards and, where applicable, on transfers being permitted under Section 16 of the DPDP Act. We do not sell your data to any third party, in India or abroad.

Child Safety and CSAM Reporting

FunChat has a zero-tolerance policy for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and any content that exploits, sexualizes, or endangers minors. Our platform is intended for users aged 18 and over only, and this is enforced through age confirmation at signup, automated AI moderation of reported content, and account/IP bans.

Under Indian law (the POCSO Act, 2012 and the Information Technology Act, 2000), any person who becomes aware of an offence against a child is legally required to report it — and this obligation applies to us as a platform. When CSAM or child endangerment is detected or reported on FunChat, we:

• Immediately and permanently ban the account and its associated IP address;
• Preserve the relevant evidence for law enforcement; and
• Report the matter to India's National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in) and/or the jurisdictionally appropriate Special Juvenile Police Unit or local police, as required under the POCSO Act — this is our primary reporting channel as an India-based platform. Where relevant, we may additionally report to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the US as a supplementary international channel, but this does not replace our reporting obligation to Indian authorities.

Anyone who self-discloses that they are under 18 while using FunChat will also have their account and IP permanently banned, since the platform is not intended or permitted for minors.

If you encounter any content that exploits or endangers a child, please report it immediately using the in-app report button, or contact us at contact@funchat.in. You can also report directly to cybercrime.gov.in or your nearest police station at any time — you do not need to wait for us.

Automated Moderation and Safety Systems

To keep FunChat safe, we use automated tools and limited human review. They help us follow the due diligence expected of an intermediary. They do not make FunChat the author, editor or publisher of what users say.

• Word and content filters: Messages in global chat, chat rooms, games and private messages are checked automatically against strict English, Hindi and Hinglish abuse lists and child-safety terms, as they pass through. Matching messages are blocked and may count as a violation.
• Personal-contact blocking: Phone numbers (including numbers disguised with spaces, symbols, emoji or spelled-out digits), links to other sites and social-media names or IDs (such as Instagram, Telegram and Snapchat) are blocked automatically to protect users from scams, harassment and unwanted contact. Phone numbers cannot be used as usernames. These filters are imperfect.
• Spam and rate limits: Repeated identical messages, link spamming and message flooding are detected automatically. Limits apply, for example a maximum of 5 messages per minute in chat rooms and for newer accounts in global chat. Spam can lead to a temporary ban.
• Image screening: Images are screened by an automated model, partly in your browser and partly on our server before delivery. Suspected nudity is blocked.
• Encryption and disappearing messages: Friends messages are encrypted in transit (HTTPS) but are not end-to-end encrypted, because we need to be able to review a message that someone reports. We do not read your chats otherwise. In any Friends chat either person can choose to have messages deleted after 7 days or 24 hours instead of the 90-day default.
• Friends reports: When you report someone in Friends, you choose the message that broke the rules, and only that message plus the 5 messages before it and the 5 after it are saved with the report and read by an automated AI review. The rest of your chat is not sent. Scams, fraud and blackmail lead to a 15-day ban, death or rape threats to a 30-day ban, and child-safety content and real terrorism to a permanent ban. Anything unclear is held for a person at FunChat, who can read the reported message and the messages around it and then unban or ban for good. We may share it with the authorities where the law requires.
• AI review of reports: When a user is reported, an automated model may review the recent messages involved and recommend an outcome. A human may review where needed. AI decisions can be wrong.
• Bans: Users who violate the rules are banned by username, device and/or IP address, for periods that match the severity (for example 5 minutes for a first offence and 15 minutes after that for abuse or harassment, up to permanent for severe violations like CSAM, self-disclosed underage use or serious threats of violence).

No human routinely reads your conversations. Where an automated system affects you, you can ask us to review the decision by writing to support@funchat.in.

Some content, including AI-generated content (for example the AI companion or AI image features), is covered by the same rules as user content, and may be labelled as AI-generated where the law requires it.

Your Rights

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the rules made under it (which are being brought into force in phases), you have rights over the personal data we hold about you. This is primarily your email address, account and VIP details, and our safety and ban records. You can:

• Access: Ask for a summary of the personal data we hold linked to a username, email or Friends ID you control, and who we shared it with.
• Correct or update: Ask us to correct inaccurate data (for example a typo in your email). You can change your email and password yourself in Settings, and rename your username.
• Erase: Delete your account yourself from Settings (FunChat, Friends or both; 72-hour cancellation window, then automatic deletion), or ask us to delete data. We must keep some records (bans, reports, CSAM/underage-safety records, payment records and the retention snapshot described above) where the law requires or where needed for safety and legal claims, so we cannot delete a ban record on request.
• Withdraw consent: For optional uses such as personalised ads (via Google's Ads Settings and your browser settings), or by removing your email and stopping use of the account. Withdrawal does not affect what was lawfully done before.
• Nominate: Nominate another person to exercise these rights for you if you die or become incapacitated.
• Grievance redressal: Raise a complaint with our Grievance Officer (see below). If you are not satisfied, you may complain to the Data Protection Board of India once it is operational.

To use any right, write to support@funchat.in from the email linked to your account (or give us your username so we can verify it is yours). We respond within a reasonable time and within the time the law requires. We may need to verify who you are first. We will tell you if we cannot act on a request and why.

Things you can always do without asking us: clear your cookies (this resets your device ID), change or remove your email and password in Settings, delete your account in Settings, and stop using FunChat at any time.

Children: FunChat is for adults (18+) only and we do not knowingly collect children's personal data. If we learn that someone under 18 is using FunChat, we will block them and may delete associated data except what we must keep for safety and legal reporting.

Grievance Officer

In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (as amended, including in February 2026), the contact details of our Grievance Officer are:

Grievance Officer: [Name to be filled in by site operator]
Email: support@funchat.in
Address: [Registered address to be filled in by site operator]
Response time: We acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and resolve them within the time set by the IT Rules as amended. Complaints about intimate or nude imagery shared without consent are acted on within 2 hours of a valid complaint, and we act on valid court or government orders within the time those rules prescribe (currently 3 hours).

When you complain, please tell us what the content is and where it appeared (global chat, a chat room, a game, a profile or username, and roughly when), include screenshots if you have them, and say how we can contact you. Please do not send us the content again if it is sexual material involving a child. Report it directly to cybercrime.gov.in instead.

We assist lawful requests from government agencies and courts, as required by law, including by preserving and providing relevant records.

Personal Information and Images You Choose to Share

FunChat is anonymous, and you decide what to say and send. Please do not share personal information (real name, phone number, address, school/workplace, social media handles, ID or financial details) or personal, private or intimate photos with other users.

Anything you send can be seen by the person you are chatting with, and that person (or anyone they show it to) can screenshot, save, forward, publish or misuse it — we have no technical ability to stop that. Deleting a message or image (a feature we provide) removes it from the chat, but it cannot erase copies someone has already saved or screenshotted.

If personal information or images you choose to share are leaked, saved, re-shared or misused by another user or any third party, FunChat is not responsible or liable for it. That risk is yours. This applies to every part of FunChat, including Friends chats, voice messages, photos and calls: chats can leak or be recorded, and FunChat is not responsible if they do. Never share phone numbers, addresses, ID or financial details, passwords or OTPs, personal or intimate images, or social-media IDs. If someone misuses what you shared, report them in the app and, where appropriate, to the police or the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in).

To help keep the platform safe, images you send or receive in random chat are screened by a model that runs inside your own browser; the image is not uploaded to us for that check. FunChat blocks NSFW images. Sexually explicit or nude images, and anything involving minors, are not allowed on FunChat at any cost, and any image our AI flags as possibly NSFW is blocked and not delivered. Our AI is super strict, so it can also block normal, harmless images — we would rather block a harmless image than let a prohibited one through. We operate in line with Indian law, including the Information Technology Act, 2000, the IT Intermediary Rules, 2021 and the POCSO Act, 2012, and we cooperate with Indian authorities. Users who send prohibited content can be banned permanently and reported to the authorities. This automated check is imperfect, and it does not make FunChat responsible for content sent by users or for what a user chooses to view.

Security

FunChat serves all content over HTTPS and real-time chat uses encrypted WebSocket connections. Passwords are stored only as one-way hashes. We apply reasonable security safeguards, such as access controls and monitoring, to protect the data we hold.

No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affecting your personal data occurs, we will notify the Data Protection Board and affected users as the law requires. Because most chat content is deleted automatically, the main data at risk would be account details such as email addresses and username records. Never reuse a password from another service.

Changes to This Policy

If we make any material changes to this privacy policy, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, for significant changes, tell you in the app. We encourage you to review this page periodically. Continued use of FunChat after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Privacy Questions

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how FunChat handles data, please reach out: