Device & location history
A chat can turn on device and location history. Before you enter, it shows what it records and who can see it. Say no, and the chat stays closed. Your other chats aren't affected.
What's recorded
The chat records a sample when you enter, every 5 minutes while it's open, and each time you come back to it. Each record holds:
- your precise location, and how accurate your device says it is
- the date and time
- a device ID used only in that chat
- your browser and operating system, and your language and time zone
The history never shows your IP address or an ID that links you across chats. Your device reports the location, so the real position can be further off.
Who can see it
| Chat | Who sees the records |
|---|---|
| Public chat | Anyone who can open the chat, now or later. They can copy what they see |
| Personal chat or private group | Only members who enter the chat's audit password. The records are encrypted end to end; AChat's administrators can't open them |
| Room with a password | Only members who enter the room password, encrypted end to end in the same way |
If everyone in a chat forgets its audit password, that chat's private location history is lost for good.
How long it's kept
For as long as the chat exists. Records end only when the chat is permanently deleted from Trash or expires. Turning history off stops new records; it doesn't delete earlier ones.
Age
These chats are for people who declare they're at least a minimum age, which the chat shows before you enter. AChat doesn't check the declaration.
Limits
- A chat with location history on needs a connection to open.
- It can't open inside another website's widget; open it in AChat.
- If your browser pauses the tab, recording pauses too, and the chat asks for a new record when you're back.
- Leaving the chat stops new records. Your earlier ones stay.
- Turning history on closes the chat for everyone, you included, until each person agrees and shares their location.