Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 2026

topixbox is in private beta. A full GDPR-grade privacy policy will be published before public launch. This document describes the current state of data processing.

No account required

TopixBox does not collect your name, email, or phone number. Your identity is a randomly generated UUID stored in your browser's localStorage.

What we store

Your UUID, nickname, and optional avatar photo
Messages you post to the public board (7-day TTL, then auto-deleted)
Private chat messages (7-day TTL, end-to-end encrypted)
Photos you upload (stored in object storage; 7-day TTL on public board, E2E encrypted in private chats)
Asynchronous voice messages (treated as media; same retention as photos)
Server-side connection logs (IP address, user agent, timestamps) for security and abuse prevention; retained up to 30 days

Voice & video calls

1-to-1 calls use WebRTC peer-to-peer streaming routed via our coturn TURN servers when direct connection is not possible. Call audio/video is not recorded or stored on our servers; only call signalling metadata (start, end, duration) is logged for diagnostics.

Photo moderation

Uploaded images on the public board and avatars are automatically scanned by an on-premises three-stage AI moderation pipeline:

Stage 1 — Falconsai NSFW detector (the safe/unsafe verdict on direct nudity)
Stage 1.5 — OCR keyword check (catches porn-site screenshots that the NSFW model misses)
Stage 2 — NudeNet detector (runs only on Stage-1-flagged images to attach a granular label for the audit log)

All moderation runs on our own servers (no images sent to third parties). Chat photos are end-to-end encrypted and are never scanned.

Third-party processors

topixbox uses the following third-party services to operate the platform:

Cloudflare (USA) — CDN, DDoS protection, edge geo-block of sanctioned countries. Receives request IPs and headers transiently. DPF-certified for EU→US transfers.
IONOS (EU) — server hosting in Frankfurt and Berlin. Personal data stored exclusively in the EEA.
Sentry (USA) — error and crash telemetry. Receives stack traces and limited request metadata; no message content. DPF-certified.
SeaweedFS (self-hosted, EU) — object storage for photos, avatars, and voice messages. Located on our IONOS infrastructure.

Data deletion

All messages and media auto-expire after 7 days (TTL enforced by ScyllaDB). Connection logs are retained up to 30 days. You can also request immediate deletion via the Data Deletion page.

Sanctioned regions

topixbox is not available in countries under OFAC or EU comprehensive sanctions, including Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Syria, Belarus, Russia, and the occupied regions of Ukraine. Visitors from these regions receive an HTTP 451 response.

California residents (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) gives you these rights:

Right to know what personal information we collect about you
Right to delete your personal information
Right to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information
Right to non-discrimination for exercising your CCPA rights

To exercise any of these rights you have two channels: email [email protected] or use the form on our Data Deletion page.

We do not sell or share your personal information with third parties for advertising, marketing, or any other commercial purpose. See also our Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information notice.

Contact

Privacy questions or data subject requests: [email protected]