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Privacy policy

Last updated: 24 September 2026

Overview

Protecting your personal data matters to us. AES256CHAT follows privacy by design: the app talks to no server, and this website works without cookies, tracking or analytics. This policy is based on the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) and, where applicable, the EU GDPR for visitors from the EEA.

Controller

Urs Zimmermann, Klybeckstr. 141, 4057 Basel, Switzerland. Contact: info@aes256chat.org.

Visiting this website

  • Technical server logs (IP address, time, page requested, browser type) to provide and secure the website. Logs are deleted after 14 days at the latest.
  • Your display preference (light/dark) is stored locally in your browser only and never transmitted.
  • No cookies, no analytics, no profiling, no embedded third-party content.

Contact form

  • Name, e-mail address, subject and message – to answer your request.
  • IP address – for abuse prevention (rate limiting). It is included in the e-mail sent to us and deleted once handled.
  • Legal basis: Art. 31 para. 1 FADP (legitimate interest in communication and abuse prevention). Providing the data is voluntary.
  • Delivered via the SMTP service of Strato AG (Germany) as processor.
  • Retention: until the matter is resolved, at most 12 months.

The AES256CHAT app

The app processes no personal data on our side: there is no server, no account and no telemetry. Keys, contacts and messages live only on your device, encrypted with a master passphrase you choose. We never have access to them. Downloading the app (APK) from this website merely creates a server log entry like any other page view.

Processors and third parties

  • Hetzner Online GmbH (Germany) – website hosting in Falkenstein: https://www.hetzner.com/legal/privacy-policy
  • Strato AG (Germany) – SMTP delivery for the contact form: https://www.strato.de/datenschutz/
  • GitHub (Microsoft Corp., USA) – hosting of the open-source code; only contacted if you follow a link there: https://docs.github.com/en/site-policy/privacy-policies

International transfers

Website and contact form are operated in Germany (EU). Data reaches the USA only if you follow links to GitHub yourself, based on the recognised safeguards under Art. 16 f. FADP.

Your rights

  • Access (Art. 25 FADP)
  • Rectification of inaccurate data (Art. 32 para. 1 FADP)
  • Erasure / destruction (Art. 32 para. 2 FADP)
  • Restriction of processing (Art. 32 para. 2 lit. c FADP)
  • Data release or transfer (Art. 28 FADP)
  • Objection to processing

Right to complain

You may complain to the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC), Feldeggweg 1, 3003 Bern (https://www.edoeb.admin.ch). EEA visitors: the supervisory authority of your country of residence.

Privacy contact

info@aes256chat.org or the postal address in the legal notice.