Porch

Privacy at Porch

Your conversations
aren’t the product.

Porch is a small, invite-only service for friends. We use data to run the service, keep it safe, and deliver what you ask for—not to sell ads or build advertising profiles.

Effective July 29, 2026 · Last updated July 29, 2026

1. Scope and operator

This policy covers the Porch websites, Stable and Canary web clients, desktop clients, APIs, and related communication services at porch.chat. “Porch,” “we,” and “us” refer to the private Porch service operator. Questions and requests can be sent to admin@porch.chat.

The short version: Porch stores the account and conversation data needed to provide a private communication service. We do not sell personal information and do not use third-party advertising trackers.

2. What we collect

Account and profile information

This includes your email address, username, display name, password hash or passkey credentials, profile image, biography, preferences, blocked-user list, and account security settings. Porch never stores your password in plain text.

Content and social information

We store messages, reactions, uploaded files, community and channel membership, friends, group conversations, moderation records, and other content you choose to provide. Other participants can save or share content they can access.

Calls, video, and screen sharing

Porch processes realtime audio, camera video, and screen-share streams so participants can communicate. Porch does not intentionally record those live streams as a platform feature. Text chat, clips, or files that you deliberately upload are stored as content.

Technical and security data

We process IP addresses, browser and device details, app version, session identifiers, request timestamps, connection events, crash or error information, notification subscriptions, and security or anti-abuse signals. The public website is hosted using GitHub Pages, which logs visitor IP addresses for security.

Cookies and local storage

Porch uses essential cookies and browser storage for sign-in, security, client configuration, and preferences. We do not use advertising cookies on the public site.

3. How we use information

  • Provide accounts, messages, communities, calls, uploads, search, notifications, and updates.
  • Authenticate users, preserve preferences, and keep sessions secure.
  • Detect abuse, spam, malicious traffic, compromised accounts, and service failures.
  • Respond to support requests, enforce community and service rules, and investigate incidents.
  • Maintain backups, diagnose performance, and improve the reliability of Porch.
  • Comply with valid legal obligations and protect people, Porch, and the public.

Depending on where you live, these activities may rely on providing the service you requested, legitimate interests in operating and securing Porch, consent where required, or compliance with law.

4. When data is shared

We disclose data only in limited situations:

  • People you communicate with. Messages, profile details, presence, and shared media are visible according to the communities, channels, and conversations you choose.
  • Infrastructure providers. OVH hosts the core Porch service. Cloudflare provides DNS, traffic protection, and Turnstile bot checks. GitHub hosts the public website and source repositories. An email delivery provider handles transactional messages such as verification and password resets.
  • Safety and legal needs. We may preserve or disclose information when reasonably necessary to address fraud or abuse, protect someone from harm, defend legal rights, or respond to a valid legal request.
  • Service transition. If operation of Porch changes hands, relevant data may transfer with the service, subject to this policy and reasonable notice.

We do not sell personal information.

5. Retention and deletion

Account data and user content are generally retained while your account is active or as needed to provide Porch. Security logs, moderation records, and backups may remain for a limited period after deletion when needed for safety, recovery, dispute resolution, or legal compliance. Some content may remain visible to others when retaining conversation context is necessary or when another participant has copied it.

You can request account deletion from Porch’s account settings. You may also contact admin@porch.chat.

6. Your choices and rights

Porch provides controls for profile visibility, direct messages, activity sharing, notifications, blocked users, data export, and account deletion. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may also have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, or receive a copy of personal data, or to object to certain processing.

Send a request from the email associated with your account to admin@porch.chat. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request.

7. Security

Porch uses encrypted network connections, hashed passwords, optional passkeys and multi-factor authentication, restricted operational access, backups, and service monitoring. No online system can guarantee absolute security. Use a unique password, enable stronger authentication when available, and report suspicious activity promptly.

8. International use and age

Porch’s primary infrastructure is operated in North America. Accessing Porch from another country may transfer data across borders with different privacy laws. Porch is not intended for children who cannot legally consent to use of an online communication service in their location. Do not create an account if you do not meet the applicable minimum age.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as Porch changes. The effective date at the top will be updated, and material changes may also be announced in Porch or through another reasonable channel.

10. Contact

Privacy, safety, account, and legal questions can be sent to admin@porch.chat.