In short
- Vikke stores what you need to message: your account, your messages, photos and videos, and the people you talk to.
- Messages are not end-to-end encrypted yet. They travel over encrypted connections, but they're stored on Vikke's server in a form the operator could read. End-to-end encryption is coming.
- No ads, no tracking, no analytics, no cookies, and your data is never sold.
- Your messages never train AI. Not now, not ever.
- You can delete your account and what you've sent at any time, in Settings.
Who is responsible
Vikke is run by Kevin Villert, who is the data controller for the personal data described here. For any privacy question or request, email support@vikke.co.
What Vikke stores, and why
- Your account: username, display name, profile photo, and password (stored only in a form that can't be turned back into the password). Needed to sign you in and show you to the people you talk to.
- What you send: messages, photos, videos, files, reactions, replies and edits, and the conversations you're in. Needed to deliver them to the other people in the conversation.
- Read status: which messages you've read, so the app can show unread counts and read receipts.
- Devices and sign-ins: each device you sign in on, its name, and the IP address and time it was last used. Needed to keep your account secure and let you sign out everywhere.
- Notifications: a registration for each device that gets notifications. Needed to deliver them.
- Reports: if someone reports one of your messages, Vikke's admin sees that message and the reason given, to deal with abuse.
- Account deletion record: when an account is deleted, a short record of when, from which device and IP address, and how much was removed, so the deletion can be confirmed later.
Location: Vikke removes location data from photos and videos before sending them, on the web and on iPhone. On iPhone, photos still say which camera took them and when.
Never used to train AI: your messages, photos, videos and anything else you send are used only as this notice describes. They are never used to train or improve artificial intelligence models, by Vikke, and Vikke never shares or licenses them to anyone for that purpose. This is a commitment, not a setting you have to find.
On your device: the app keeps your sign-in and a copy of your conversations on the device you use, so it opens quickly. Signing out or deleting your account removes them from that device.
About encryption
Everything travels between your device and Vikke's server over encrypted connections. But messages, photos and videos are not yet end-to-end encrypted: they're stored on the server, and in its backups, in a form that whoever runs the server could technically read. Vikke's admin doesn't read your messages except to deal with a report or where the law requires it. End-to-end encryption is planned; this notice will be updated when it arrives.
Notifications
Notifications are delivered through the push service of your device or browser (see below). The notification itself carries only identifiers for the conversation and message: your device fetches the message from Vikke and writes the text you see. That text can appear on your lock screen; you can hide previews in your device's notification settings.
Who else receives data
These companies host or hold Vikke's data on its behalf:
- Hetzner hosts Vikke's server in the EU, where everything above is stored.
- Cloudflare hosts the web app and this site, and sees your IP address when you visit them. It also connects Vikke's admin to the admin tool, so reported messages pass through Cloudflare on their way to the admin.
- Proton handles email sent to support@vikke.co.
These see only limited data, as part of how the apps work:
- Your device's or browser's notification service delivers notifications. It receives only identifiers for the conversation and message, never message text.
- Map and font providers see your IP address when the web app loads its font, or when a map preview is shown.
- Content delivery networks see your IP address when the web app downloads a tool it needs, such as its video compressor.
- Websites you link to: to show a link preview, the website is visited, by Vikke's server on the web and by each reader's phone on iPhone. Preview images may load straight from the website, which then sees the reader's IP address.
Some of these services are based outside the EU, including Cloudflare in the United States; transfers to them rely on the EU's standard safeguards for international transfers. To find out exactly which services received your data, email support@vikke.co. Nobody receives your data for advertising, and it's never sold.
How long data is kept
- Messages, photos and videos: until you delete them or your account.
- Deleted messages: the original text is removed from the server after 1 day.
- IP addresses in the server's sign-in records: 28 days.
- Account deletion record: the IP address is removed after 1 year; the rest is kept, and the username stays retired so nobody can take it over.
- Backups: kept for up to 30 days.
Copies already on other people's devices can't be removed by the server.
Deleting your account
Open Settings and choose Delete account, on the web or in the iPhone app. It removes your messages, photos, videos and reactions for everyone, and your profile, devices and notification registrations. Conversation names or topics you changed stay. See Help & support for details.
Legal basis
Vikke uses your data to provide the messaging service you signed up for (performance of a contract). Device and sign-in records, abuse reports and the account deletion record are kept for Vikke's legitimate interest in keeping the service secure and dealing with abuse.
Your rights
You can ask for a copy of your data, have it corrected, deleted or restricted, take it with you, or object to how it's used. Most of this you can do yourself: change your display name and delete your account in Settings. For anything else, email support@vikke.co; we'll confirm it's you before acting. You can also complain to the data protection authority where you live or work.
Changes
When this notice changes, the date at the top changes too.