Bitnod is a phone app that shows adults in the same place who nearby is open to meeting, and lets them talk privately over Bluetooth. It is run by IrietekCorp ("we"). This policy covers the Bitnod apps for iPhone and Android and this website.
The short version: Bitnod has no accounts and works phone to phone. To keep it safe, each install of the app gets a random ID with no personal data, which lets us stop a phone that was reported from using Bitnod. The app also sends a few daily totals, with no ID at all. We never learn your name, location, who you met or what you said, unless you report a message. We do not use trackers or sell data.
What the app shares with people nearby
While Bitnod is on, and you have not turned on Discreet mode, your phone broadcasts over Bluetooth:
- A rotating identifier that changes about every 10 minutes, so a radio listener cannot follow your phone over time.
- Your session name, two random words such as lemon-ginger, and the session key it comes from. Anyone nearby with Bitnod on can see this name for as long as the session lasts. It changes every session and on its own after a while without a conversation, and you can change it at any time with New name.
- A rough signal strength, which other phones show as near or far. There is no distance, direction or map.
In Discreet mode your phone only listens and broadcasts nothing, so nobody nearby sees you until you open a conversation. The person you message then sees your session name.
Messages, photos and voice notes
Messages, photos, videos and voice notes go directly from your phone to the other person's phone over Bluetooth, end-to-end encrypted. They never pass through our servers and we cannot read them. A conversation is kept only in your phone's memory and is erased 15 minutes after the connection ends, or at once if you erase everything. Read receipts are shown only if both of you turn them on.
The other person can of course remember, copy or photograph what you send. Share only what you are comfortable sharing with someone you have just met.
What stays on your phone
- For each phone you connect with, a secret the two phones share, kept for 90 days so the app can recognize that phone again. If you save someone as a contact, the private name you give them is kept with it. These are stored in the iPhone Keychain or Android Keystore and never leave your phone.
- People you block, for 90 days.
- Your settings, such as Discreet mode and read receipts, and that you accepted the terms.
Triple-tap your name in the app to erase all of this at once; nothing is sent to anyone. Uninstalling the app also erases it.
What we receive
| Data | Why | How long |
|---|---|---|
| An anonymous install record | When the app first goes online it registers a random install ID and secret. We store the ID, a hash of the secret, iPhone or Android, the day it registered, and whether it has been banned. Nothing else: no name, email, phone number or device identifier. | Until the app is uninstalled and the install has been inactive for 90 days. |
| Session key certificates | Each time you turn Bitnod on, the app asks us to certify that session's key, so a report about that key can lead to the right install. We store the install ID, a hash of the session key and the day. We never learn where the session happened or who you talked to. | Deleted after 30 days. |
| Daily totals | Once a day the app sends counts for the day before, such as sessions, minutes on, chats opened, messages sent, blocks and reports, plus how many people were nearby in broad ranges. They carry no install ID and are added to overall totals as they arrive; the individual message is not kept. | The totals are kept to understand how Bitnod is used. |
| Reports you send | To review abuse. A report sends us the reason, the other person's session name and session key, the day, and the reported message. We store your install only as a salted hash, to count reports from different people. If our server cannot be reached, the report opens your email app instead, addressed to safety@bitnod.app, and we also receive your email address. | Deleted 30 days after a decision. Reports we must pass to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children are kept for one year, as US law requires. |
| Emails you send us | To answer support, privacy and safety questions. | Until the question is resolved, then up to one year. |
| Waitlist email (this website) | To tell you when Bitnod is available. We store the address and the date you joined, nothing else. | Until you ask us to remove it, or we close the waitlist. |
What we do not collect
- Your location. The app asks for no location permission, and on Android the Bluetooth scan is declared as not used for location.
- Where you used the app, who was near you, or whom you talked to. No IP addresses are stored.
- Your messages, photos or voice notes, except a message you choose to report.
- Your name, email, phone number, date of birth, contacts or any device identifier. There is no account to create.
- Advertising identifiers, analytics or tracking data. The apps and this website contain no third-party trackers and set no cookies.
- Payment details. Bitnod is free and has no purchases.
Camera, microphone and photos
The app asks for the camera only when you take a photo or video to send, or scan the code on someone's screen to check you are connected to them, and for the microphone only while you record a voice note. Nothing is recorded otherwise, and nothing is sent to us.
Notifications and screenshots
Bitnod works only while it is open on your screen, and does not send notifications. On Android, Discreet mode also blocks screenshots and the app-switcher preview.
This website
bitnod.app is hosted on Google Cloud. It keeps no access log of visitors (no IP addresses or browser details), sets no cookies, and loads nothing from other sites. Our email is hosted by MXroute.
Sharing
We do not sell or rent personal data and do not share it for advertising. We may disclose a report or an email if the law requires it, and we report child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Because of how Bitnod is built, we do not have locations, conversations or lists of who met whom to disclose.
Your choices and rights
- Turn on Discreet mode in Settings so nobody nearby sees you until you message them.
- Erase everything on your phone by triple-tapping your name, or uninstall the app. Erasing also drops any daily totals not yet sent.
- Ask for a copy of, or deletion of, any email or report we hold from you, or leave the waitlist, by writing to privacy@bitnod.app. See deleting your data.
Age
Bitnod is for adults 18 and over only. Everyone confirms they are 18 or older before using it. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If you believe someone under 18 is using Bitnod, report it in the app or write to safety@bitnod.app.
Changes
If we change this policy, we will update the date above and, for significant changes such as adding accounts, ask you to accept again in the app before they take effect.
Contact
IrietekCorp. Privacy: privacy@bitnod.app. Safety: safety@bitnod.app. Everything else: support@bitnod.app. Postal address: to be added.