Privacy Policy

Friendly Echo · effective 19 October 2026

The short version. Everything you share (messages, your name and photo, and whatever else the app lets you share) is end-to-end encrypted on your device. Only the people in your groups can read them. We can't. There are no accounts: no email, no phone number, no contact list. Our server only passes sealed envelopes along and forgets them within 72 hours.

1. Who is responsible

Ariel Monti, Gerberweg 61, Nidau, Switzerland. Contact: ariel@horoboro.com. This policy covers Friendly Echo and its relay server at this domain.

2. What stays on your device

What you share, what friends share with you, the groups you're in, the people in them, and your encryption keys are stored only on your device. They are excluded from iCloud and device backups. You can erase all of it at any time with the app's Delete my data, or by deleting the app.

3. What our relay server processes

Data	Why	How long
Encrypted envelopes (we cannot read them)	To deliver messages between your devices and your friends'	In memory only, until delivered or 72 hours at most. Never written to disk.
Mailbox ID: a random-looking code derived from a key made on your device	To know which envelopes are for you	While envelopes wait for you (72 hours at most)
IP address	To keep the connection open and to limit abuse (rate limiting)	In memory while connected; not logged
Push token from Apple or Google (only if notifications are switched on)	To wake your device when something arrives while the app is closed	In memory; removed after 72 hours without a connection, when Apple or Google report it invalid, or with Delete my data
When we last woke your device	So a burst of messages sends one notification, not many	In memory; cleared when your device connects, or after 72 hours
Proof that the app is genuine (Apple App Attest)	So only the real app can use the relay	Checked once, not stored. We keep only a signed access pass on your device, valid 30 days
Counts (how many envelopes, error codes)	To run the service	Logs contain no IPs, IDs or content

Notifications. A push sent through Apple or Google contains only a random envelope ID: no name, group or text. Your device then fetches the encrypted message from us and writes the notification itself, on the device. Apple and Google learn that your device received a push from Friendly Echo, and when. "Typing…" signals go only to friends who have the app open at that moment; they are never stored, queued or pushed.

Legal bases: providing the service you asked for (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR), and our legitimate interest in keeping it secure and free of abuse (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). For users in Switzerland, the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) applies.

4. Sensitive information

What you share can be sensitive, for example about your health or wellbeing. It is created on your device and shared only with the people you choose, end-to-end encrypted. We never receive it in readable form.

5. Who else is involved

Our hosting provider: Hetzner, Germany, which runs the server under a data processing agreement.
Apple: the App Store, App Attest, the Apple Push Notification service if notifications are on, and TestFlight for beta versions (Apple shares crash reports and the feedback you choose to send with us).
Google: Firebase Cloud Messaging, only on Android devices with notifications on.

Apple and Google may process push tokens in the United States, under the EU–US and Swiss–US Data Privacy Frameworks. We don't sell data, show ads, use analytics or track you.

6. Your rights

You can ask for access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability, or object to processing. Because we hold almost nothing, and only for up to 72 hours, the quickest way is Delete my data in the app: it leaves every group, clears your mailbox on the relay and erases your device's data and keys. You can also write to ariel@horoboro.com. You may complain to a data protection authority: in Switzerland the FDPIC, in the EU the authority of your country.

7. Age

Friendly Echo is for people aged 16 and over.

8. Security

End-to-end encryption between devices, TLS 1.3 to the relay, keys that never leave your device, and a relay that keeps nothing on disk. Safety codes let you check, in person, that you're talking to the right person.

9. Requests from authorities

We follow valid legal orders. We can only hand over what we have, as described above: no message content, nothing that identifies you by name, and nothing older than 72 hours.

10. Changes

If this policy changes, we'll update the date at the top. Material changes will be announced in the app.