Privacy Policy

Version 2026-10-27

Carbide Studios operates Chillin. Contact [email protected] with privacy questions, requests, or concerns.

Age checks and agreements

Chillin is for people aged 13 and older. We use the birth date you enter to determine eligibility, then discard the birth date from the application request. We do not store it in the Chillin database. We retain the eligibility result and check date, and the versions and date of your Terms acceptance and Privacy Policy acknowledgment.

Before a profile exists, an essential browser cookie connects your browser to that result. An eligible browser’s temporary result expires after 30 minutes. An under-13 result is retained for up to one year to prevent immediate retries in that browser. A restricted existing profile remains restricted until the issue is resolved or the profile is deleted. Contact us to correct an inaccurate result.

Information used to provide Chillin

• Profiles: your chosen name, profile identifier, circle color, companion choice, friend connections, personal tags, and notification preferences.
• Groups: when you make or join a group, for example by scanning its QR code, Chillin stores the group’s name, who made it and when, who is in it, who its maker removed, its share link and when the link stops working, how many new profiles joined through it, and whether you turned off its alerts. When someone in a group invites a friend into it, Chillin stores who invited whom and when until the friend joins, the invite lapses after two weeks, the two stop being friends, the person who invited leaves the group, the group’s share link is turned off or stops working (unless the group’s maker sent the invite), or the age gate stops the group’s maker or the person who invited. If the friend says Not now, the invite is kept until then without being shown to them again, and Chillin notes the answer so later invites to that group don’t reach them; an invite held back for another reason, such as a block, is kept the same way.
• Group posts: when you post to a group’s stack, Chillin stores your words, the mood you add, any photo you add, any link and its page’s title, description and picture address, the stickers people stick on it, short voice replies and typed replies people leave on it (a typed reply can carry one photo), when each of you last looked at the stack, which posts you threw out of your own stack (only you see that), and when someone saved the week to their phone (the group sees “saved this week” in its chat for a week). Saving a photo or the week happens on your phone: Chillin only makes the picture there and hands it to your phone. A photo is made smaller on your device before it is sent, and Chillin keeps only the picture: where it was taken, the camera, and any other details the file carried are removed. Each post, with its photo, stickers and replies, is deleted a week after it was posted.
• Chats with friends: when you write to a friend, Chillin keeps a chat between the two of you that works like a group of two with nobody else in it: it stores the same things as a group post (your words, any photo or link, stickers, voice and typed replies, and when each of you last looked), and when the chat started. The voice notes you leave each other from Home show in it too and are kept as voice notes always are.
• Profile photos: if you add one, a small square copy of the picture. Your device crops and shrinks it before sending, and Chillin keeps only the image itself, removing location, camera details and other embedded information.
• Saved profiles: if you choose email recovery, your email address and the identity returned by our sign-in provider. Browser sessions allow you to stay signed in.
• Hangouts: topics, audience choices, participants, join/leave events, and timestamps. Your camera, microphone, and presence settings are used to operate the call.
• Chat: messages, and the photos, short videos and links you share in a hangout’s chat, are transmitted to hangout participants. Recent messages and shared photos and videos are held temporarily in server memory during the active hangout. Chillin removes location, filming time, camera details and other embedded information from shared photos and videos, and does not save message history, photos or videos to its database or application logs, except the words of a message someone reports, which are kept with the report for 90 days (see Reports and blocks).
• Audio and video: your microphone and camera streams are transmitted during calls when enabled. This version of Chillin does not offer call recording or transcription. Other participants can still capture content using their own devices or software.
• Voice notes: when you hold a friend’s face to record one, Chillin stores the recording (up to 30 seconds), when you made it, who it is for, and when they heard it. Chillin does not transcribe or analyze voice notes.
• Reports and blocks: when you report someone, Chillin stores who made the report, who it is about, the reason, your note, and when. Reporting a message in a hangout’s chat saves a copy of that message’s words (and whether it was a photo or video), because a hangout’s chat itself is not saved. Reporting a voice note saves when it was sent and how long it was, not the recording. Reporting a group post or a message in a chat with a friend saves a copy of its words and link, and reporting a typed reply saves a copy of that reply; the copy stays with the report for its 90 days even after the post itself is deleted. A reported photo is not copied. When you block someone, Chillin stores that you blocked them so it can keep you apart. When a host removes someone, Chillin notes it for that hangout.
• Notifications: when you enable them, the browser’s push subscription and delivery information. Notifications can show a friend’s name, their hangout topic, the start of a chat message, or that they left you a voice note (never what it says) on your device. Group notifications can also show the group’s name, the names of people in it who posted and the start of their newest post (or that it is a photo, or the title or website of a link it shares), the sticker someone stuck on your post, the start of your post or of a typed reply to a post you posted or replied to, and the name of a friend who invited you into a group. A notification about a chat with a friend can show their name and the start of what they wrote, or the sticker they stuck on your message with the start of your message. A notification already on your device stays there until you clear it, even after the post or message is deleted or fades.
• Technical information: connection information, including IP addresses and request metadata, is processed for delivery, rate limits, security, and troubleshooting.

Who receives information

Other participants receive the information you share in a hangout. Connected friends can see your profile and hangouts made available to them. Your profile photo is shown to you, your friends, people in a hangout with you, and people you were in a hangout with during the past day; anyone else, such as someone opening a forwarded invitation link, sees your initials instead. A voice note you send a friend can be played only by you and that friend, and only while you are still friends. They can capture it with their own device or software, so send only what you are comfortable sharing. If you join a group, everyone in it sees your name and Chillin face (your profile photo only if you are friends), can ask to be friends, and gets an alert when you start a hangout for the group. Your messages in a chat with a friend are seen and heard only by you and that friend, and only while you are still friends. Your posts, photos, voice and typed replies and stickers in a group are seen and heard by everyone in it, and you can be told when someone replies to or sticks something on your post, or replies to a post you replied to. A friend can invite you into a group; you are added only if you tap Join. They can capture them with their own device or software, so post only what you are comfortable sharing. Anyone with a group’s QR code or share link can join until the link is turned off or stops working, so share it carefully. Personal tags are private to your profile. Invitation links can be forwarded, so share them carefully. Reports are read only by us, to keep Chillin safe; the person you report is not told who reported them. The people you block are listed only for you, and they aren’t told.

We use LiveKit to carry calls, WorkOS for email-based profile saving and recovery, and Cloudflare for site delivery, security, and traffic analytics. Your browser or device’s push service carries notifications when enabled. These providers process the information needed for their services under their applicable arrangements and policies.

When someone shares a YouTube link in a hangout, Chillin’s server asks YouTube for the video’s title. When someone plays it for everyone, each participant’s browser loads the video from YouTube (youtube-nocookie.com), which receives that browser’s IP address and request details under Google’s own policies.

When someone posts a link to a group or in a chat with a friend, Chillin’s server visits that page once for its title, description and picture, and fetches the picture (for a YouTube link, its thumbnail) when someone there looks at it, so the site sees Chillin’s server rather than you. Chillin keeps the picture in memory for up to an hour and does not save it. Opening the link itself takes you to that site, under its own policies.

Some hangouts are started by an app Chillin works with, such as FamiTime, rather than by a person. That app receives the hangout’s link and when it closes. It does not receive who joins, your profile, or anything said or shared in the hangout. Nobody hosts these hangouts: they end when their time runs out. Joining one does not connect you to the app, and the people in it can choose to add each other as friends.

If payments are offered and you choose to make one, Stripe processes payment details. Chillin retains the order and entitlement records needed to fulfill it; it does not receive your full payment-card number. We may also disclose information when required by law or reasonably necessary to address fraud, abuse, or threats to safety.

Cookies and device storage

Chillin uses essential cookies for age screening, sign-in, and account recovery. Device storage holds preferences (including a chosen microphone and speaker), a draft hangout topic, and cached public app files. A post or reply you have sent that has not reached Chillin yet waits in device storage, so a reload or a closed app doesn’t lose it: its words, any photo, the group or friend’s chat it is for (for a friend’s chat, that friend’s profile ID), the post it replies to, your profile’s ID and when you sent it. It goes once it is up or you remove it. One that waited over an hour, or that may already have gone up, waits until you tap Try again; one for a chat you can no longer open stays until you remove it. All of them are deleted from this device when you sign out or delete your account here; if your session ends or your account is deleted elsewhere, they are deleted the next time Chillin opens on this device. Browsers can keep a copy of profile photos they have shown, and check with Chillin before showing one again. Apart from those unsent posts and replies, the app does not cache private chat or participant lists for offline use, and voice notes are not saved on your device for offline use. Signing out, clearing cookies, or uninstalling the app can remove local access without deleting information held by the service.

How long information stays

Temporary age-check records follow the periods described above. Sign-in-code flows expire after 10 minutes, and browser sessions expire after 180 days. An unsaved profile can be removed once no unexpired session or ongoing hangout needs it. Saved profiles, their connections and settings, and agreement records remain until you delete the account or we remove them. A profile photo remains until you remove or replace it, or until its profile is deleted or removed.

A voice note waits until your friend plays it to the end. They can then replay it until midnight on their device, and then it is deleted. A voice note nobody plays is deleted after 7 days. Removing a friend deletes the voice notes between you, and deleting your account deletes every voice note you sent and every one waiting for you.

A group stays until the person who made it ends it, or their profile is deleted or removed. Leaving a group takes you off its list and deletes your posts, photos, replies and stickers there, and any invites you sent to it. Being removed does the same, and the group keeps a note that you were removed, so its code won’t let you back in, until the group ends.

Group posts, with their photos and replies, are deleted a week after they were posted, or sooner when their poster or the group’s maker takes them down. A photo you added to a post or reply but never sent is held in memory only, and is gone after 15 minutes or a restart.

Messages in a chat with a friend are deleted a week after they were sent, like group posts, or sooner when you take one down; a reply goes with the message it answers. Removing or blocking the friend deletes the whole chat, as does deleting either profile, and a chat with nothing left in it is deleted after a week.

Reports are kept for 90 days, then deleted, unless we need one longer to deal with serious harm or a legal obligation. A block lasts until you unblock the person or either of you deletes your account.

Recent chat, including shared photos and videos, disappears from server memory when the hangout ends or expires, or when the server restarts. Your browser clears its chat view when you leave or end the hangout. Room-event content is cleared from the active Chillin database when a hangout ends. Limited hangout and cleanup records can remain afterward. Earlier versions saved chat during active hangouts; existing backups may still contain that older content. Deleting active data does not instantly remove existing backups or records retained by service providers. We may retain information needed for security, legal obligations, or resolving disputes. Contact us for help with a specific deletion request.

Your choices and requests

You can change your name, circle color, profile photo, companion, personal tags, and notification preferences in the app, and remove your profile photo at any time. You can unsend a voice note until your friend has heard it. You can take down your own group posts, photos and replies, take off your stickers, leave a group or turn off its alerts at any time, and the person who made a group can remove people from it or turn off its share link. You can remove friend connections, block and unblock people, and turn camera or microphone sharing off. Browser or device settings can revoke notification, microphone, and camera permissions.

Choose “Delete my account” in your profile and confirm to remove your profile, profile photo, connections, voice notes, chats with friends, groups you made and your place, posts, photos, replies, stickers and invites in other groups, personal tags, blocks, reports you made, companion choices, and agreement records from the active Chillin database. Reports other people made about you stay for their 90 days so we can still act on them. Messages you wrote are also removed from the temporary chat history. This signs out every device and ends hangouts you host. A remembered profile can also be deleted from the age and Terms screen without accepting the Terms.

We queue deletion of the saved sign-in identity and cleanup of call-service records. If a service is unavailable, we retry and retain the minimum identifiers needed to finish. Minimal age-restriction and security records can remain for their stated periods. Deletion does not instantly erase backups, legally required payment records, or copies other participants made. Contact us if you need help with related provider records or a deletion that has not finished.

To request access, correction, or help deleting your information, email [email protected]. We may need to verify that you control the relevant profile before acting. Do not send passwords or sign-in codes.

Children under 13

Under-13 users may not use Chillin. If you believe a child under 13 has a profile, contact us so we can restrict access and address the information collected. A parent or guardian can contact us about their child’s information. A “13 or older” declaration does not override information establishing that a user is younger.

Changes

We identify this policy by its version date. When the required policy version changes, Chillin will ask you to review it before continuing.