Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains what information Payra ("we", "us") collects when you use the Payra mobile application and website, how we use it, and the choices you have. Our guiding principle is simple: collect as little as possible, and make the content of your conversations technically unreadable to anyone but you and your recipients.

1. End-to-end encryption

Messages, voice and video calls, and files you share through Payra are protected with end-to-end encryption. Encryption keys are generated on your device, and your private keys never leave it. This means:

• We cannot read your messages or listen to your calls.
• We cannot hand the content of your conversations to anyone else, because we do not possess it in readable form.
• If you enable encrypted key backup, your backup is encrypted with a password known only to you before it reaches our servers.
• Your chat history is stored on your device, not on our servers. Our servers act as a courier: a sealed message is held only until it is delivered to your contact, then removed from our side. The lasting copy of your conversations lives in your phone's local storage.

2. Information we collect

Account information

• Display name and username — chosen by you, visible to your approved contacts.
• Email address — used to create and verify your account (via one-time code) and for account recovery.
• Password — stored only as a salted cryptographic hash.
• Profile photo — optional, visible to your approved contacts.

Service data

• Connections — the list of contacts you have approved (your Family and Friends circles), so we can deliver your messages.
• Delivery metadata — technical information needed to route encrypted messages and calls (e.g., that a sealed message was sent from one account to another, and when).
• Device push token — so we can notify you of new messages when the app is closed.
• Basic logs — short-lived technical logs (such as errors and abuse-prevention counters) used to keep the service reliable and secure.

What we do not collect

• No advertising identifiers, no tracking across other apps or websites.
• No sale or sharing of personal data with data brokers or advertisers — ever.
• No access to your phone's address book unless you explicitly use a feature that requests it.

3. How we use information

We use the information above solely to: create and secure your account, deliver your encrypted messages and calls, send notifications you've enabled, prevent spam and abuse, comply with legal obligations, and improve the reliability of the service. We do not use your data for advertising or profiling.

4. Children and guardian accounts

Payra offers guardian-managed accounts for children. A parent or legal guardian creates and controls the child's membership in their family circle, and approves who the child can communicate with. We collect the same minimal account data for child accounts and never use children's data for marketing. If you believe a child is using Payra without appropriate guardian consent, contact us at privacy@payra.app and we will act promptly.

5. Data retention

• Encrypted messages held for delivery are removed from our servers once delivered, or after a limited holding period if the recipient stays offline.
• Account information is kept for as long as your account exists.
• Technical logs are retained briefly and then deleted or anonymized.
• When you delete your account, associated personal data is deleted as described on our account deletion page.

6. Data sharing

We do not sell personal data. We share data only with infrastructure providers strictly necessary to run the service (such as hosting), bound by confidentiality obligations, or when required by applicable law. Because of end-to-end encryption, the content of your communications is not available to us or to them.

7. Security

Beyond end-to-end encryption, we use transport encryption (HTTPS/TLS) for all connections, salted password hashing, rate limiting and abuse throttling, and least-privilege access to production systems. No system is perfectly secure; if we ever learn of a breach affecting your data, we will notify you as required by law.

8. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, export, or delete your personal data, and to object to or restrict certain processing. You can exercise most of these directly in the app (Settings), delete your account entirely (see how), or email privacy@payra.app — we respond to all requests.

9. International transfers

Our servers may be located in a different country than you. Wherever your data is processed, it receives the same protections described in this policy.

10. Changes to this policy

If we make material changes, we will notify you in the app and update the date at the top of this page. Continued use of Payra after changes take effect means you accept the updated policy.

11. Contact

Questions about privacy? Email privacy@payra.app or see our contact page.