Privacy Policy
Last updated: September 18, 2026
1. Overview
DodoChat ("we", "us", "our") operates dodochat.lol. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect information when you use our random video and text chat service. We are committed to protecting your privacy and being transparent about our data practices.
The short version: No account is required to chat. Signing up is optional and handled by our sign-in provider, Clerk. We process IP addresses for abuse prevention and approximate location, retain session analytics and moderation records, and do not intentionally record video or audio streams.
2. What We Collect
Automatically collected:
- IP address — used for connection limits, rate limiting and bans. Feedback currently stores the sender's IP address; banned IPs remain until an administrator removes them.
- Approximate location — inferred from IP or a trusted proxy's country header. A partner may see country/city, and administrators can view approximate geographic information about connected users.
- Session analytics — session identifiers, start/end times, duration, selected/shared interests, skips and WebRTC connection metrics are stored for operational analysis.
- Moderation records — reports and flagged messages can be retained for review. Text messages are held in active-session memory and normally removed when the chat ends.
Optional accounts:
If you choose to sign up or sign in, authentication is performed by Clerk (clerk.com). Clerk processes your sign-in details (for example email address, password or Google sign-in) under its own privacy policy; we do not receive or store your password. DodoChat stores Clerk's user identifier, your public profile (display name, avatar colour, up to five interests and a language), your saved connections, blocks and reports you file, and a self-reported 18+ attestation. Strangers you meet anonymously never see your email or Clerk identity. When two signed-in adults are matched, each sees the other's public profile (display name, avatar colour, interests and language) so a connection can be saved after a conversation. You can delete your account at any time from your profile; this removes your profile, connections and blocks and deletes your sign-in with Clerk. Reports you filed or that were filed against you may be retained for safety and moderation.
What we do NOT collect:
- We do NOT store your video or audio streams
- We do NOT record your video calls
- We do NOT maintain a general archive of unflagged chat messages after a session ends
- We do NOT require a name, email, or account to chat with a stranger
- We do NOT use tracking cookies
- We do NOT sell data to third parties
- We do NOT request device GPS coordinates
3. Video and Audio
Video and audio use WebRTC. Media usually travels between browsers; when direct connection fails it may be relayed through a configured TURN server. Signaling messages pass through DodoChat. We do not intentionally record media streams. Your chat partner can record or share what they see or hear, so avoid sharing sensitive information.
4. Cookies and Local Storage
We use minimal browser storage:
- Local storage — saves theme and site-branding preferences. Administrators' bearer tokens are also stored locally in their browsers.
- Session storage — holds your self-reported 18+ declaration for the current tab session.
- Sign-in cookies — if you use an account, Clerk sets its own session cookies in your browser to keep you signed in. Anonymous chat does not use them.
- No tracking cookies — we do not use advertising cookies or third-party trackers.
We do not use advertising cookies in this application code. Your browser may also store normal network cache data.
5. Data Sharing
We do not sell, trade, or share your personal information with third parties except:
- Law enforcement — if required by law or to prevent serious harm, we may share IP addresses and session data with authorities
- Clerk — if you create an account, Clerk acts as our authentication provider and processes your sign-in information and session tokens.
- Service providers — where deployed through Cloudflare Tunnel, Cloudflare handles requests and may process network information. The pages also request fonts, country flags and admin map resources from third-party hosts.
6. Data Retention
- Active chat messages: normally removed from server memory when a chat ends; flagged message excerpts may remain in reports.
- Reports: currently limited to the most recent 5,000 records; feedback to the most recent 1,000 records.
- Analytics sessions: currently retained without an automatic time limit.
- Banned IP addresses: retained until removed by an administrator.
- Server and proxy logs: retention depends on operational log configuration. A fixed time-based policy has not yet been implemented.
7. Security
We take reasonable security measures to protect the data we do collect:
- HTTPS encryption on all connections
- bcrypt password hashing for admin accounts
- Rate limiting to prevent abuse
- Input and authentication controls described in the project security documentation
- Restricted file permissions on sensitive data
8. Your Rights
Anonymous sessions are not linked to a name or account, so locating a specific person's records can be difficult. If you have an account you can delete it yourself from your profile. For requests concerning information that can be identified, contact us:
- Ask what information may be associated with you
- Ask for correction or deletion where we can identify the record and are able to act
Contact: privacy@dodochat.lol. We cannot verify legal compliance from source code alone.
9. Children's Privacy
DodoChat is strictly for users 18 years and older. We do not knowingly collect any information from children under 18. If you believe a child under 18 is using our service, please report it immediately to legal@dodochat.lol and we will take immediate action.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will update the "Last updated" date when changes are made. Continued use of DodoChat after changes means you accept the updated policy.