International discussion platform
Terms of Service
Discussion Privacy Policy
September 12, 2024 : The Privacy Policy for users in your country has been updated to comply with territorial restrictions when displaying advertisements in countries with a large number of Russian-language channels.
1. Introduction
This Privacy Policy sets out how we, chatters, a social platform for business communication (hereinafter referred to as "Discussion"), use and protect your personal data that you provide or that is otherwise received or generated by us in connection with your use of our cloud messaging services (hereinafter referred to as the "Services"). For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, the pronouns "we" and "our" refer to chatters, and "you" and "your" refer to you as a consumer of the Services.
1.1. Privacy Principles
In matters of collecting and processing personal data, Discussion adheres to two fundamental principles:
·We do not use your correspondence data to display advertising.
·We only store the data that is necessary for the correct operation of our service as a reliable and multifunctional messaging service.
1.2. User Agreement
This Privacy Policy is part of the chatters User Agreement, which defines the terms of use of our Services. Therefore, this Privacy Policy should be read in conjunction with the User Agreement, available at https://discussion.chat/privacy
This Privacy Policy sets out:
·the legal basis on which we process personal data;
·what personal data we may collect from you;
·how we ensure the security of personal data;
·the purposes for which we may use personal data;
·with whom personal data may be transferred; and
·what rights you have in relation to your personal data.
2. Legal grounds for processing personal data
The basis for processing your personal data is its necessity for the implementation of our legitimate interests (including (1) providing effective and up-to-date Services to users and (2) detection, suppression and other measures to prevent fraud or security threats in connection with the provision of the Services by us), except in cases where your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms requiring the protection of personal data prevail over our interests.
3. Types of personal data we use
3.1. Basic account information
Discussion is a chat service. When you create an account in Discussion, you provide a phone number and basic account information (such as your name, profile photo, and user bio).
The profile name, profile photos, and username (if you choose one) you choose are always visible to other chatters users, to make it easier for your contacts and others to recognize and contact you. We do not ask for your real name, gender, age, or preferences.
The display name does not have to be your real name. Please note that the user who added you to their contacts will see you not under the name you provide, but under the name they have saved for your number in their contacts list. For example, your father may list his name as "Alexander S.", but you will see him as "Dad" and your subordinates will see him as "Boss" (or whatever name they choose to add to their contacts).
3.2. Email address
When you enable two-step verification for your account or save documents to Discussion Passport, you can provide a password recovery email address. This address is used only to send you a code as part of the forgotten password recovery process. We do not send annoying "You haven't checked in for a while" emails or marketing emails.
Starting in September 2022, we may ask some users for an email address to send you account login codes via email instead of SMS (with the option to "Sign in with Google" / "Sign in with Apple ID"). This email address is stored separately from the password recovery email and is only used to send you account login codes. The email address used to log into your account is stored until you specify a new email address or delete your account.
3.3. Your messages
3.3.1. Cloud chats
Discussion is a cloud service. We store messages, photos, videos, and documents from your cloud chats on our servers so that you can access your data from any device at any time, without using third-party backup services. All this data is securely encrypted, and the encryption keys are stored in several data centers located in different jurisdictions. This means that technical staff in any of the data centers or intruders (for example, in the event of a data center breach) will not be able to access user data.
3.3.2. Secret chats
Secret chats use end-to-end encryption. This means that all data in them is encrypted using a key that only you and your interlocutor have. No one, including us, can see the content of the correspondence in such chats without direct access to your device. We do not store secret chats on our servers. We also do not keep track of messages sent in secret chats, and after a short period of time we have no information about who you sent messages to in such chats and when. For the same reason, secret chats are not available in cloud storage - messages in them can only be viewed on the device from which or to which they were sent.
3.3.3. Media files in secret chats
When you send photos, videos and other files in a secret chat, each of these files is encrypted with a separate key, unknown to the server, before being downloaded. Then this key and the file location are encrypted again, this time with the secret chat key, and sent to the recipient. The recipient can download and decrypt the file. So, technically the file is on one of the Discussion servers, but to everyone except you and your interlocutor it looks like a meaningless string of characters that cannot be deciphered. We do not know what is hidden behind these random characters or what chat they belong to. From time to time we clear the servers of this data to free up space.
3.3.4. Public Chats
In addition to private messages, Discussion supports public channels and groups. All public chats are cloud chats (see section 3.3.1). The information you post in public communities is encrypted - like all data in Discussion - both at rest and in transit, but your public messages are available to all users.
3.4 Phone Number and Contact List
In Discussion, phone numbers act as unique identifiers. Phone numbers allow you to easily migrate your communications to Discussion instead of using SMS or other messaging apps, while still maintaining your existing circle of contacts. We ask for permission before synchronizing your contacts.
We store up-to-date data about your contacts so that we can notify you when someone registers for Discussion and display their names correctly in notifications. To do this, we only require the number, first name, and last name; we do not store any other data about your contacts.
Our automated algorithms can also analyze anonymized sets of phone numbers to estimate the number of possible Discussion contacts an unregistered potential user might have. When you select the "Invite Friends" option in the settings, these statistics are displayed next to your contact list, so you can estimate who might be most interested in registering for Discussion.
You can always disable contact syncing or delete your contacts from our servers in Settings > Privacy > Data Management.
On Android devices, Discussion asks for permission to access your call log (READ_CALL_LOG). If you grant this permission, chatters will be able to verify your login details with a phone call instead of asking for a code. Call log access is only used so that Discussion can record that you have received a confirmation call to log in.
3.5. Location Data
If you share your location in a chat, your location data is treated like other messages in Cloud Chats or Secret Chats, respectively.
If you enable location broadcasting in any chat or the "Show me here" feature in the "People Nearby" section, Discussion will use this data to show your location to people you have shared it with, even when the app is closed, as long as these additional features are enabled.
3.6. Cookies
We only use cookies that are necessary for us to operate and deliver the Services online. We do not use cookies to create a user profile or to show you advertising based on your preferences. The cookies we use are small text files that allow us to deliver and personalize the Services, thereby improving your user experience. Internet browsers usually allow you to manage cookie settings, including the ability to accept or reject their use, and to delete them. You can block cookies in your browser, but if you do this, you will not be able to log in to Discussion Web.
4. Security of personal data
4.1. Data storage
If you registered with Discussion from Europe, your data is stored in data centers in the Netherlands. These data centers are owned by third parties, and Discussion leases dedicated space in them. However, the servers and networks hosted in these data centers that contain your personal data are the property of Discussion. We do not transfer your personal data to data centers. All data is securely encrypted and cannot be accessed by local Discussion technical staff or by malicious users (e.g. in the event of a data center breach).
4.2. Data protected by end-to-end encryption
Your messages, media, and other files from secret chats (see 3.3.2 above), as well as the content of your calls and the data you store in Discussion Passport, are processed only on your device and the device of the person you are talking to. All of this data arrives on our servers already encrypted, and only you and your interlocutor have the key to decrypt it. Although Discussion's servers process end-to-end encrypted data to transfer it to the recipient - or, in the case of Discussion Passport, store it - we do not have the technical ability to decrypt it. Therefore, we do not store and process your personal data as such, but rather random strings of characters that have no meaning without the encryption keys - which we do not have.
4.3. Data Retention Period
Unless otherwise stated in this Privacy Policy, the personal data you provide is stored only for as long as it is necessary for us to fulfill our obligations to provide the Services.
5. Processing Personal Data
5.1. Our Services
Discussion is a cloud service. We process your data to provide you with access to cloud chats, including your message history, media, and files, on the devices of your choice without the need for third-party backup services or cloud storage services.
5.2. Security and Safety
Discussion has large communities that we need to protect from abuse and violations of our Terms of Service. In addition, Discussion has over 800 million users, making it an attractive target for spammers. To better protect your account and prevent spam, abuse, and other violations of our Terms of Service, we may collect metadata, such as your IP address, the devices and Discussion apps you have used, your username history, and similar information. Such metadata, if collected, is retained for no more than 12 months.
5.3. Spam and Abuse
To combat fraud (phishing), spamming, and other forms of abuse and violations of the Discussion User Agreement, our moderators may review messages that are reported by recipients. If, after reviewing, the moderators confirm that your message is spam, your account may be limited, either temporarily or permanently. During the period of restrictions, you will not be able to contact users not on your contact list. You can appeal the moderators' decision through a bot. In the case of more serious violations, your account may be completely blocked. To combat spam and phishing, we may also use automated algorithms to analyze messages in cloud chats.
5.4. Working on multiple devices at the same time
We may also store some aggregated metadata to create Discussion features (see section 5.5 below) that are available simultaneously on all of your devices.
5.5. Advanced Features
We can create new, useful features using some aggregate data about how you use Discussion. For example, when you search for chats, you'll see the contacts you frequently message in the box at the top of the screen. To make this feature work, we count the people you message most often. A similar rating is calculated for inline bots, so the app can guess which bots you're most likely to use in the attachment menu (or when you start a new message with the "@" symbol). If you'd like to turn this feature off and delete the data, you can go to Settings > Privacy > Data Management and turn off "Suggest people when searching."
5.6. No advertising based on chat data
Unlike other online services, we do not use your chat data to show you advertising based on your preferences or for other commercial purposes. Discussion only stores the data it needs to function properly as a reliable and functional cloud service.
Discussion offers advertisers a platform for placing advertising messages in large channels (1000 subscribers or more), but the content of such messages depends only on the subject of the channels. No data from your chat is collected or analyzed for the purpose of showing advertising or advertising messages.
The functionality of the advertising platform does not apply to users with a Discussion Premium subscription.
5.6.1. Advanced advertising options in some countries
The data on the basis of which certain ads are shown is never transferred to third parties (including advertisers).
The advertising platform functionality does not apply to users with a Discussion Premium subscription, and the data specified in this section is not processed for them.
Large channels (1000 subscribers or more) can display ads that depend on the language of the messages - however, the same language is often used in several neighboring countries. To avoid displaying inappropriate ads, advertisers have the option of displaying ads depending on approximately certain countries and cities, which include the user's phone prefix or IP address (no other geolocation data is used for these purposes). This, in particular, allows advertisers to avoid displaying ads in a certain country or in certain territories (for example, if an advertiser creates an ad for Russian-speaking users, but would not like it to be displayed in Russia).
If you subscribe to enough large public channels on a certain topic (e.g. Finance, Politics & Events, or Humor), you may see ads intended for channels in that category in other large channels as well.
The advertiser may provide us with an anonymized list of encrypted identifiers based on phone numbers (but not containing the phone numbers themselves) to determine the range of users to whom certain ads will be shown in large channels. This prevents any third parties, including advertisers, from learning your phone number or Discussion ID.
6. Interacting with Bots
6.1. The Discussion Ecosystem provides access to an API that developers can use to create their own bots. Bots are programs that can be embedded directly into the Discussion interface: you can chat with them by selecting them from the chat list, add them to groups, or use a special built-in interface to access their functions directly from the input field in your chats ("inline bot"). To perform any of the listed actions, it is necessary to send some of your data to the third-party developers of the corresponding bot.
6.2. Methods for obtaining data by bots
Bot developers can obtain your data when you interact with bots, namely:
· send messages to the bot;
· use the inline bot;
· are a member of a group to which the bot has been added;
· click on buttons in messages sent by the bot;
·pay for goods and services using a bot (see point 7 below).
6.3. Data that bots may collect
In any of the cases listed in the previous point, the developers of the automated user (bot) may receive public information about your account (see point 3.1 above): the name you choose, the username and profile photos.
Bots may also collect the following data when you interact with them:
·Bots, of course, receive messages that you send to them.
·If you follow links or click buttons in bot messages, it may learn your IP address (provided that the bot is directly associated with the site to which the link leads).
·If you are in the same group with the bot, it may know that you are a member of it.
·When you start a message with a username that belongs to an inline bot (e.g. @gif), the interface changes and everything you type in the input line becomes a request to that bot. This request is sent to the bot so that it can perform its function. We will warn you about this the first time you use the inline bot.
·Bots added to a group can work in two modes: with or without access to messages in the group. Bots with access to messages can see everything that happens in the group. The list of group members indicates whether the bot has access to messages in the group.
6.4. Third-party bots are independent of Discussion
With the exception of our own bots, no other bots or their developers are affiliated with Discussion. They are completely independent from us. They must ask your permission before accessing your data or data from you.
7. Third-Party Payment Services
7.1. Payment Data
Discussion does not process payments made by users: this function is performed by various payment systems around the world. These payment systems themselves process and store your bank card data. Neither Discussion nor the sellers of goods and services (bot developers) have access to this data. Although we use the services of payment systems, they are completely independent from Discussion. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the privacy policies of such payment systems before transferring your data to them.
7.2. Bank Card Data
When making a purchase, you enter your bank card data in the interface of the payment system that processes the payment. This information is then sent directly to the payment system's server. Your bank card data is never sent to Discussion servers, we do not have access to it and we do not store it. If you save your bank card details, they will be stored on the servers of the corresponding payment system, and the system, in turn, will provide Discussion with a token (electronic key), which you can then use for new payments. It is not possible to restore your bank card details using this token.
7.3 Delivery details
When you place an order and enter the details required for delivery, we send them directly to the seller bot developer. You can save this information in Discussion if you do not want to re-enter it when making purchases in the future. An easy way to delete this information is available in the application interface.
7.4. Deleting payment details
You can delete all payment details associated with your account at any time. To do this, in the Discussion application, simply go to Settings > Privacy > Data management and select the option "Delete payment details". If you choose to clear your payment data, we will delete all information we hold that is necessary for the delivery of goods, and tokens from all payment systems, and we will also send requests to the payment system operators to delete all your bank card data that they hold.
7.5. Disputing Payments
Discussion does not store any bank card data or transaction information, so we cannot consider claims or requests for refunds. All disputed payment issues are the responsibility of the bot developers, payment systems and banks involved in the transaction.
8. Who your personal data may be shared with
8.1. Other Discussion users
Other Discussion users are users with whom you voluntarily communicate and share information. Please note that by accepting the Terms of Service and communicating with other Discussion users, you authorize us to share your personal data with such users on your behalf in accordance with this Privacy Policy. We take all appropriate technical and organizational measures (including encryption of personal data) to ensure a level of data security appropriate to the risks involved.
8.2. Discussion group companies
In order to provide, improve and support our Services, we may share your personal data with: (1) our parent company Discussion Group Inc., a BVI registered company of the Discussion group, (2) Discussion Inc., a BVI registered company of the Discussion group, and (3) chatters FZ-LLC, a Dubai registered company of the Discussion group. We take appropriate measures to ensure the safety and security of this personal data, including the use of Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission in agreements with other companies in the Discussion group.
8.3. Translating Chats, Channels, and Individual Messages on Request
Users can translate individual text messages into another language by selecting “Translate” from the message pop-up menu (to use this feature, you must first enable message translation in Settings > Language in the Discussion app). Discussion Premium users can also optionally enable automatic real-time translation in any chat, group, or channel.
To enable automatic translation of messages on request, Discussion may use a third party, Google LLC, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc, so the text of the original messages may be shared with Google for translation. Google will only have access to the original message data to provide the translation and will not use the data in any of its other products or services or for advertising purposes.
8.4. Transcription of voice and video messages upon user request
Some users can convert voice or video messages to text by clicking the voice recognition button ("-> A") next to such a message (to use this option, you must first subscribe to Discussion Premium under Settings > Discussion Premium).
To provide the ability to convert a voice message or video message to text upon user request, chatters may use the services of a third party, Google LLC, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc, so the audio data of the original voice and video messages may be transmitted to Google to obtain text versions. Only audio data may be transmitted for this purpose (no other data, including the user's IP address and any account information, is transmitted). Under the agreement between Discussion and Google, Discussion, on behalf of its users, pays for the recognition of messages, and Google is given access to the audio data of the original messages solely for the purpose of providing text versions—Google may not create registries of the audio data or text versions of the audio data, and may not use the data in its other products and services or for advertising purposes.
9. Your rights in relation to the personal data you provide
9.1. Your rights
Under applicable data protection laws, you have rights in relation to your personal data in certain circumstances. You have the right to: (1) request a copy of all of your personal data stored by Discussion and transfer that copy to another service; (2) delete (see section 10 below) or amend your personal data; (3) restrict or object to the processing of your personal data; (4) rectify any inaccurate or incomplete personal data stored by Discussion; and (5) lodge a complaint with a national data protection authority about our processing of your personal data.
9.2. Exercising your rights
If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please see section 12 below for details.
9.3. Managing your data
You can manage the use of your data (e.g. delete synced contacts) in Settings > Privacy (using one of our mobile apps).
If you are not willing to provide Discussion with the minimum data required to operate the application, unfortunately we will not be able to provide you with the Services. In this case, you can delete your account on the deactivation page.
10. Deleting data
10.1. Accounts
You can delete your Discussion account on the deactivation page. When you delete your account, all of your messages, media files, contacts, and any other data in the Discussion cloud will also be deleted. You must confirm the deletion of your account through the application. After this, it will not be possible to restore the account.
10.2. Messages
·If you delete a message in a secret chat, the message will also be deleted from the device of the person you are talking to.
·You can delete a message in a cloud chat for all participants for at least 48 hours after sending it. If more than 48 hours have passed, the message will only be deleted from your message history, and a copy will remain on the server as part of the recipient's message history. If the recipient also deletes the message, it will be gone forever.
Any participant in a private chat can delete any messages, sent or received, for both themselves and their interlocutor, without any time limit. Any participant in a private chat can also completely clear the chat history for both participants, which will delete all messages in that chat, regardless of how many messages each participant has stored.
·If you delete a message in a supergroup or channel, it will be deleted for all group members (channel subscribers). Please note that in supergroups, deleted messages and original versions of edited messages are stored for 48 hours after deletion, as they are displayed in the admin activity log.
10.3. Deleting messages by timer
In secret chats, you can set up a timer for deleting messages. The countdown to deletion will begin as soon as such a message is read (two check marks will appear next to it). After the set time, the message (photo, video file, etc.) will be deleted on the devices of both participants of the secret chat. Media files that are automatically deleted shortly (less than a minute) after viewing are hidden under a translucent cover when received. The countdown begins when the recipient clicks on such a file to view. In cloud chats, you can also set up automatic message deletion by timer.
10.4. Automatic Account Deletion
By default, if you do not sign in to your account or use Discussion for at least 6 months, your profile is deleted along with all messages, media, contacts, and other data that you store in the Discussion cloud. The period after which an inactive account is automatically deleted can be changed in the "Settings" menu.
11. Changes to the Privacy Policy
We reserve the right to review this Privacy Policy and make changes to it as necessary. Any changes to this Privacy Policy will come into effect when a new version is published on this page at https://discussion.chat/privacy. Check the page from time to time to stay informed about changes to the text of the Privacy Policy.
July 8, 2023
The privacy policy for users of your country has been updated in order to comply with territorial restrictions when displaying advertisements in countries with a large number of Russian-language channels.
Important changes to our Privacy Policy will be announced in the Discussion app.
12. Additional Information
You can find answers to frequently asked questions in the Chatters Questions section. You can also contact Discussion support by going to Settings > Ask a Question in the app (please note that Discussion support is staffed by volunteers).
To get a copy of your data stored in Discussion, install the Discussion Desktop app on your computer and go to Settings > Advanced Settings > Export Discussion data.
Discussion is an open source project. You can learn more by following the links below:
API: https://core. Discussion.app/api;
Bot platform: https://core. Discussionapp /bots;
Encryption protocol: https:// .Discussion/mtproto;
Source code: https:// Discussion.app /apps#source-code;
You can also verify that the chatters clients available in the app stores use exactly the source code we publish: https://core.chatters.app/reproducible-builds.
September 12, 2024 : The Privacy Policy for users in your country has been updated to comply with territorial restrictions when displaying advertisements in countries with a large number of Russian-language channels.
1. Introduction
This Privacy Policy sets out how we, chatters, a social platform for business communication (hereinafter referred to as "Discussion"), use and protect your personal data that you provide or that is otherwise received or generated by us in connection with your use of our cloud messaging services (hereinafter referred to as the "Services"). For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, the pronouns "we" and "our" refer to chatters, and "you" and "your" refer to you as a consumer of the Services.
1.1. Privacy Principles
In matters of collecting and processing personal data, Discussion adheres to two fundamental principles:
·We do not use your correspondence data to display advertising.
·We only store the data that is necessary for the correct operation of our service as a reliable and multifunctional messaging service.
1.2. User Agreement
This Privacy Policy is part of the chatters User Agreement, which defines the terms of use of our Services. Therefore, this Privacy Policy should be read in conjunction with the User Agreement, available at https://discussion.chat/privacy
This Privacy Policy sets out:
·the legal basis on which we process personal data;
·what personal data we may collect from you;
·how we ensure the security of personal data;
·the purposes for which we may use personal data;
·with whom personal data may be transferred; and
·what rights you have in relation to your personal data.
2. Legal grounds for processing personal data
The basis for processing your personal data is its necessity for the implementation of our legitimate interests (including (1) providing effective and up-to-date Services to users and (2) detection, suppression and other measures to prevent fraud or security threats in connection with the provision of the Services by us), except in cases where your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms requiring the protection of personal data prevail over our interests.
3. Types of personal data we use
3.1. Basic account information
Discussion is a chat service. When you create an account in Discussion, you provide a phone number and basic account information (such as your name, profile photo, and user bio).
The profile name, profile photos, and username (if you choose one) you choose are always visible to other chatters users, to make it easier for your contacts and others to recognize and contact you. We do not ask for your real name, gender, age, or preferences.
The display name does not have to be your real name. Please note that the user who added you to their contacts will see you not under the name you provide, but under the name they have saved for your number in their contacts list. For example, your father may list his name as "Alexander S.", but you will see him as "Dad" and your subordinates will see him as "Boss" (or whatever name they choose to add to their contacts).
3.2. Email address
When you enable two-step verification for your account or save documents to Discussion Passport, you can provide a password recovery email address. This address is used only to send you a code as part of the forgotten password recovery process. We do not send annoying "You haven't checked in for a while" emails or marketing emails.
Starting in September 2022, we may ask some users for an email address to send you account login codes via email instead of SMS (with the option to "Sign in with Google" / "Sign in with Apple ID"). This email address is stored separately from the password recovery email and is only used to send you account login codes. The email address used to log into your account is stored until you specify a new email address or delete your account.
3.3. Your messages
3.3.1. Cloud chats
Discussion is a cloud service. We store messages, photos, videos, and documents from your cloud chats on our servers so that you can access your data from any device at any time, without using third-party backup services. All this data is securely encrypted, and the encryption keys are stored in several data centers located in different jurisdictions. This means that technical staff in any of the data centers or intruders (for example, in the event of a data center breach) will not be able to access user data.
3.3.2. Secret chats
Secret chats use end-to-end encryption. This means that all data in them is encrypted using a key that only you and your interlocutor have. No one, including us, can see the content of the correspondence in such chats without direct access to your device. We do not store secret chats on our servers. We also do not keep track of messages sent in secret chats, and after a short period of time we have no information about who you sent messages to in such chats and when. For the same reason, secret chats are not available in cloud storage - messages in them can only be viewed on the device from which or to which they were sent.
3.3.3. Media files in secret chats
When you send photos, videos and other files in a secret chat, each of these files is encrypted with a separate key, unknown to the server, before being downloaded. Then this key and the file location are encrypted again, this time with the secret chat key, and sent to the recipient. The recipient can download and decrypt the file. So, technically the file is on one of the Discussion servers, but to everyone except you and your interlocutor it looks like a meaningless string of characters that cannot be deciphered. We do not know what is hidden behind these random characters or what chat they belong to. From time to time we clear the servers of this data to free up space.
3.3.4. Public Chats
In addition to private messages, Discussion supports public channels and groups. All public chats are cloud chats (see section 3.3.1). The information you post in public communities is encrypted - like all data in Discussion - both at rest and in transit, but your public messages are available to all users.
3.4 Phone Number and Contact List
In Discussion, phone numbers act as unique identifiers. Phone numbers allow you to easily migrate your communications to Discussion instead of using SMS or other messaging apps, while still maintaining your existing circle of contacts. We ask for permission before synchronizing your contacts.
We store up-to-date data about your contacts so that we can notify you when someone registers for Discussion and display their names correctly in notifications. To do this, we only require the number, first name, and last name; we do not store any other data about your contacts.
Our automated algorithms can also analyze anonymized sets of phone numbers to estimate the number of possible Discussion contacts an unregistered potential user might have. When you select the "Invite Friends" option in the settings, these statistics are displayed next to your contact list, so you can estimate who might be most interested in registering for Discussion.
You can always disable contact syncing or delete your contacts from our servers in Settings > Privacy > Data Management.
On Android devices, Discussion asks for permission to access your call log (READ_CALL_LOG). If you grant this permission, chatters will be able to verify your login details with a phone call instead of asking for a code. Call log access is only used so that Discussion can record that you have received a confirmation call to log in.
3.5. Location Data
If you share your location in a chat, your location data is treated like other messages in Cloud Chats or Secret Chats, respectively.
If you enable location broadcasting in any chat or the "Show me here" feature in the "People Nearby" section, Discussion will use this data to show your location to people you have shared it with, even when the app is closed, as long as these additional features are enabled.
3.6. Cookies
We only use cookies that are necessary for us to operate and deliver the Services online. We do not use cookies to create a user profile or to show you advertising based on your preferences. The cookies we use are small text files that allow us to deliver and personalize the Services, thereby improving your user experience. Internet browsers usually allow you to manage cookie settings, including the ability to accept or reject their use, and to delete them. You can block cookies in your browser, but if you do this, you will not be able to log in to Discussion Web.
4. Security of personal data
4.1. Data storage
If you registered with Discussion from Europe, your data is stored in data centers in the Netherlands. These data centers are owned by third parties, and Discussion leases dedicated space in them. However, the servers and networks hosted in these data centers that contain your personal data are the property of Discussion. We do not transfer your personal data to data centers. All data is securely encrypted and cannot be accessed by local Discussion technical staff or by malicious users (e.g. in the event of a data center breach).
4.2. Data protected by end-to-end encryption
Your messages, media, and other files from secret chats (see 3.3.2 above), as well as the content of your calls and the data you store in Discussion Passport, are processed only on your device and the device of the person you are talking to. All of this data arrives on our servers already encrypted, and only you and your interlocutor have the key to decrypt it. Although Discussion's servers process end-to-end encrypted data to transfer it to the recipient - or, in the case of Discussion Passport, store it - we do not have the technical ability to decrypt it. Therefore, we do not store and process your personal data as such, but rather random strings of characters that have no meaning without the encryption keys - which we do not have.
4.3. Data Retention Period
Unless otherwise stated in this Privacy Policy, the personal data you provide is stored only for as long as it is necessary for us to fulfill our obligations to provide the Services.
5. Processing Personal Data
5.1. Our Services
Discussion is a cloud service. We process your data to provide you with access to cloud chats, including your message history, media, and files, on the devices of your choice without the need for third-party backup services or cloud storage services.
5.2. Security and Safety
Discussion has large communities that we need to protect from abuse and violations of our Terms of Service. In addition, Discussion has over 800 million users, making it an attractive target for spammers. To better protect your account and prevent spam, abuse, and other violations of our Terms of Service, we may collect metadata, such as your IP address, the devices and Discussion apps you have used, your username history, and similar information. Such metadata, if collected, is retained for no more than 12 months.
5.3. Spam and Abuse
To combat fraud (phishing), spamming, and other forms of abuse and violations of the Discussion User Agreement, our moderators may review messages that are reported by recipients. If, after reviewing, the moderators confirm that your message is spam, your account may be limited, either temporarily or permanently. During the period of restrictions, you will not be able to contact users not on your contact list. You can appeal the moderators' decision through a bot. In the case of more serious violations, your account may be completely blocked. To combat spam and phishing, we may also use automated algorithms to analyze messages in cloud chats.
5.4. Working on multiple devices at the same time
We may also store some aggregated metadata to create Discussion features (see section 5.5 below) that are available simultaneously on all of your devices.
5.5. Advanced Features
We can create new, useful features using some aggregate data about how you use Discussion. For example, when you search for chats, you'll see the contacts you frequently message in the box at the top of the screen. To make this feature work, we count the people you message most often. A similar rating is calculated for inline bots, so the app can guess which bots you're most likely to use in the attachment menu (or when you start a new message with the "@" symbol). If you'd like to turn this feature off and delete the data, you can go to Settings > Privacy > Data Management and turn off "Suggest people when searching."
5.6. No advertising based on chat data
Unlike other online services, we do not use your chat data to show you advertising based on your preferences or for other commercial purposes. Discussion only stores the data it needs to function properly as a reliable and functional cloud service.
Discussion offers advertisers a platform for placing advertising messages in large channels (1000 subscribers or more), but the content of such messages depends only on the subject of the channels. No data from your chat is collected or analyzed for the purpose of showing advertising or advertising messages.
The functionality of the advertising platform does not apply to users with a Discussion Premium subscription.
5.6.1. Advanced advertising options in some countries
The data on the basis of which certain ads are shown is never transferred to third parties (including advertisers).
The advertising platform functionality does not apply to users with a Discussion Premium subscription, and the data specified in this section is not processed for them.
Large channels (1000 subscribers or more) can display ads that depend on the language of the messages - however, the same language is often used in several neighboring countries. To avoid displaying inappropriate ads, advertisers have the option of displaying ads depending on approximately certain countries and cities, which include the user's phone prefix or IP address (no other geolocation data is used for these purposes). This, in particular, allows advertisers to avoid displaying ads in a certain country or in certain territories (for example, if an advertiser creates an ad for Russian-speaking users, but would not like it to be displayed in Russia).
If you subscribe to enough large public channels on a certain topic (e.g. Finance, Politics & Events, or Humor), you may see ads intended for channels in that category in other large channels as well.
The advertiser may provide us with an anonymized list of encrypted identifiers based on phone numbers (but not containing the phone numbers themselves) to determine the range of users to whom certain ads will be shown in large channels. This prevents any third parties, including advertisers, from learning your phone number or Discussion ID.
6. Interacting with Bots
6.1. The Discussion Ecosystem provides access to an API that developers can use to create their own bots. Bots are programs that can be embedded directly into the Discussion interface: you can chat with them by selecting them from the chat list, add them to groups, or use a special built-in interface to access their functions directly from the input field in your chats ("inline bot"). To perform any of the listed actions, it is necessary to send some of your data to the third-party developers of the corresponding bot.
6.2. Methods for obtaining data by bots
Bot developers can obtain your data when you interact with bots, namely:
· send messages to the bot;
· use the inline bot;
· are a member of a group to which the bot has been added;
· click on buttons in messages sent by the bot;
·pay for goods and services using a bot (see point 7 below).
6.3. Data that bots may collect
In any of the cases listed in the previous point, the developers of the automated user (bot) may receive public information about your account (see point 3.1 above): the name you choose, the username and profile photos.
Bots may also collect the following data when you interact with them:
·Bots, of course, receive messages that you send to them.
·If you follow links or click buttons in bot messages, it may learn your IP address (provided that the bot is directly associated with the site to which the link leads).
·If you are in the same group with the bot, it may know that you are a member of it.
·When you start a message with a username that belongs to an inline bot (e.g. @gif), the interface changes and everything you type in the input line becomes a request to that bot. This request is sent to the bot so that it can perform its function. We will warn you about this the first time you use the inline bot.
·Bots added to a group can work in two modes: with or without access to messages in the group. Bots with access to messages can see everything that happens in the group. The list of group members indicates whether the bot has access to messages in the group.
6.4. Third-party bots are independent of Discussion
With the exception of our own bots, no other bots or their developers are affiliated with Discussion. They are completely independent from us. They must ask your permission before accessing your data or data from you.
7. Third-Party Payment Services
7.1. Payment Data
Discussion does not process payments made by users: this function is performed by various payment systems around the world. These payment systems themselves process and store your bank card data. Neither Discussion nor the sellers of goods and services (bot developers) have access to this data. Although we use the services of payment systems, they are completely independent from Discussion. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the privacy policies of such payment systems before transferring your data to them.
7.2. Bank Card Data
When making a purchase, you enter your bank card data in the interface of the payment system that processes the payment. This information is then sent directly to the payment system's server. Your bank card data is never sent to Discussion servers, we do not have access to it and we do not store it. If you save your bank card details, they will be stored on the servers of the corresponding payment system, and the system, in turn, will provide Discussion with a token (electronic key), which you can then use for new payments. It is not possible to restore your bank card details using this token.
7.3 Delivery details
When you place an order and enter the details required for delivery, we send them directly to the seller bot developer. You can save this information in Discussion if you do not want to re-enter it when making purchases in the future. An easy way to delete this information is available in the application interface.
7.4. Deleting payment details
You can delete all payment details associated with your account at any time. To do this, in the Discussion application, simply go to Settings > Privacy > Data management and select the option "Delete payment details". If you choose to clear your payment data, we will delete all information we hold that is necessary for the delivery of goods, and tokens from all payment systems, and we will also send requests to the payment system operators to delete all your bank card data that they hold.
7.5. Disputing Payments
Discussion does not store any bank card data or transaction information, so we cannot consider claims or requests for refunds. All disputed payment issues are the responsibility of the bot developers, payment systems and banks involved in the transaction.
8. Who your personal data may be shared with
8.1. Other Discussion users
Other Discussion users are users with whom you voluntarily communicate and share information. Please note that by accepting the Terms of Service and communicating with other Discussion users, you authorize us to share your personal data with such users on your behalf in accordance with this Privacy Policy. We take all appropriate technical and organizational measures (including encryption of personal data) to ensure a level of data security appropriate to the risks involved.
8.2. Discussion group companies
In order to provide, improve and support our Services, we may share your personal data with: (1) our parent company Discussion Group Inc., a BVI registered company of the Discussion group, (2) Discussion Inc., a BVI registered company of the Discussion group, and (3) chatters FZ-LLC, a Dubai registered company of the Discussion group. We take appropriate measures to ensure the safety and security of this personal data, including the use of Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission in agreements with other companies in the Discussion group.
8.3. Translating Chats, Channels, and Individual Messages on Request
Users can translate individual text messages into another language by selecting “Translate” from the message pop-up menu (to use this feature, you must first enable message translation in Settings > Language in the Discussion app). Discussion Premium users can also optionally enable automatic real-time translation in any chat, group, or channel.
To enable automatic translation of messages on request, Discussion may use a third party, Google LLC, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc, so the text of the original messages may be shared with Google for translation. Google will only have access to the original message data to provide the translation and will not use the data in any of its other products or services or for advertising purposes.
8.4. Transcription of voice and video messages upon user request
Some users can convert voice or video messages to text by clicking the voice recognition button ("-> A") next to such a message (to use this option, you must first subscribe to Discussion Premium under Settings > Discussion Premium).
To provide the ability to convert a voice message or video message to text upon user request, chatters may use the services of a third party, Google LLC, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc, so the audio data of the original voice and video messages may be transmitted to Google to obtain text versions. Only audio data may be transmitted for this purpose (no other data, including the user's IP address and any account information, is transmitted). Under the agreement between Discussion and Google, Discussion, on behalf of its users, pays for the recognition of messages, and Google is given access to the audio data of the original messages solely for the purpose of providing text versions—Google may not create registries of the audio data or text versions of the audio data, and may not use the data in its other products and services or for advertising purposes.
9. Your rights in relation to the personal data you provide
9.1. Your rights
Under applicable data protection laws, you have rights in relation to your personal data in certain circumstances. You have the right to: (1) request a copy of all of your personal data stored by Discussion and transfer that copy to another service; (2) delete (see section 10 below) or amend your personal data; (3) restrict or object to the processing of your personal data; (4) rectify any inaccurate or incomplete personal data stored by Discussion; and (5) lodge a complaint with a national data protection authority about our processing of your personal data.
9.2. Exercising your rights
If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please see section 12 below for details.
9.3. Managing your data
You can manage the use of your data (e.g. delete synced contacts) in Settings > Privacy (using one of our mobile apps).
If you are not willing to provide Discussion with the minimum data required to operate the application, unfortunately we will not be able to provide you with the Services. In this case, you can delete your account on the deactivation page.
10. Deleting data
10.1. Accounts
You can delete your Discussion account on the deactivation page. When you delete your account, all of your messages, media files, contacts, and any other data in the Discussion cloud will also be deleted. You must confirm the deletion of your account through the application. After this, it will not be possible to restore the account.
10.2. Messages
·If you delete a message in a secret chat, the message will also be deleted from the device of the person you are talking to.
·You can delete a message in a cloud chat for all participants for at least 48 hours after sending it. If more than 48 hours have passed, the message will only be deleted from your message history, and a copy will remain on the server as part of the recipient's message history. If the recipient also deletes the message, it will be gone forever.
Any participant in a private chat can delete any messages, sent or received, for both themselves and their interlocutor, without any time limit. Any participant in a private chat can also completely clear the chat history for both participants, which will delete all messages in that chat, regardless of how many messages each participant has stored.
·If you delete a message in a supergroup or channel, it will be deleted for all group members (channel subscribers). Please note that in supergroups, deleted messages and original versions of edited messages are stored for 48 hours after deletion, as they are displayed in the admin activity log.
10.3. Deleting messages by timer
In secret chats, you can set up a timer for deleting messages. The countdown to deletion will begin as soon as such a message is read (two check marks will appear next to it). After the set time, the message (photo, video file, etc.) will be deleted on the devices of both participants of the secret chat. Media files that are automatically deleted shortly (less than a minute) after viewing are hidden under a translucent cover when received. The countdown begins when the recipient clicks on such a file to view. In cloud chats, you can also set up automatic message deletion by timer.
10.4. Automatic Account Deletion
By default, if you do not sign in to your account or use Discussion for at least 6 months, your profile is deleted along with all messages, media, contacts, and other data that you store in the Discussion cloud. The period after which an inactive account is automatically deleted can be changed in the "Settings" menu.
11. Changes to the Privacy Policy
We reserve the right to review this Privacy Policy and make changes to it as necessary. Any changes to this Privacy Policy will come into effect when a new version is published on this page at https://discussion.chat/privacy. Check the page from time to time to stay informed about changes to the text of the Privacy Policy.
July 8, 2023
The privacy policy for users of your country has been updated in order to comply with territorial restrictions when displaying advertisements in countries with a large number of Russian-language channels.
Important changes to our Privacy Policy will be announced in the Discussion app.
12. Additional Information
You can find answers to frequently asked questions in the Chatters Questions section. You can also contact Discussion support by going to Settings > Ask a Question in the app (please note that Discussion support is staffed by volunteers).
To get a copy of your data stored in Discussion, install the Discussion Desktop app on your computer and go to Settings > Advanced Settings > Export Discussion data.
Discussion is an open source project. You can learn more by following the links below:
API: https://core. Discussion.app/api;
Bot platform: https://core. Discussionapp /bots;
Encryption protocol: https:// .Discussion/mtproto;
Source code: https:// Discussion.app /apps#source-code;
You can also verify that the chatters clients available in the app stores use exactly the source code we publish: https://core.chatters.app/reproducible-builds.
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