Privacy Policy
We built Sonar so your messages, your habits, and your identity stay yours. Here is a straightforward explanation of what data we store, how we protect it, and what you control.
1. Information We Store
We collect only the absolute minimum amount of information required to operate Sonar and connect you with your contacts:
Your email address, display name, username, bio, and optional details you choose to add (such as profession, education, skills, and profile picture). We never require a phone number.
Your application settings, such as theme choices, read receipt preferences, online status visibility, and your contact list.
2. End-to-End Encryption for Messages and Calls
Your private conversations belong solely to you. All text messages, voice notes, photos, stickers, and audio calls on Sonar are end-to-end encrypted before they leave your device. This ensures that only you and the person you are communicating with have the keys to view or hear them. Sonar servers, our engineers, and third parties cannot read or listen to your private communications.
3. Ephemeral Data and Deletion
We believe data should not linger forever. Sonar automates the cleanup of temporary content across our systems:
- Stories: Photo and text stories published to your profile automatically expire and are removed 24 hours after posting.
- View-Once Photos: Media sent with view-once enabled is permanently deleted from our storage servers immediately after the recipient opens and closes the image.
- Disappearing Messages: When you set a self-destruct timer on a chat, messages are permanently purged from database records as soon as the timer expires.
- Trace-Free Deletion: When you delete a message for everyone, it is removed without leaving a "this message was deleted" notification behind.
4. Infrastructure and Storage Partners
To provide fast and reliable messaging globally, Sonar utilizes trusted infrastructure providers. We use Google Firebase for authentication and database real-time syncing, and Cloudinary for securely hosting encrypted media attachments and profile photos. These services act strictly as data processors and do not have access to your encrypted messaging keys.
5. Your Privacy Controls
You have complete control over how your information is displayed to others. From your Sonar settings, you can customize:
- Profile Visibility: Choose whether everyone or only your verified contacts can view your full bio and professional details.
- Story Privacy: Limit story views to your contact list, open them to everyone, or hide them completely.
- Activity Indicators: Turn your online status, typing indicators, and read receipts on or off at any time. You can also freeze your "Last Seen" timestamp.
6. Managing and Deleting Your Data
You can update or remove any optional profile information directly within the app at any time. If you wish to stop using Sonar, you can log out or request total account deletion, which permanently erases your profile, contact associations, and account records from our live databases.