Privacy
Last updated 24 October 2026
Strand is a messenger built so that only the people in a chat can read it. This page explains what the app keeps, what a Strand server holds, and what nobody can see.
Messages are end-to-end encrypted
Messages, photos, voice notes, files, replies, reactions, read receipts, typing indicators and group names are encrypted on your phone and decrypted on the recipients' phones (Messaging Layer Security, RFC 9420). The server passes along encrypted data it can't read. Nobody running a server, and nobody at Strand, can read your chats.
No phone number, email or contacts
You join a server with an invite code and choose a username. Strand doesn't ask for your phone number or email address, doesn't upload your address book, and has no advertising, analytics or tracking.
What a Strand server holds
Each Strand server is run by whoever invited you (Strand is self-hosted). A server holds:
- your username, the name of each of your devices (for example "iPhone"), their public keys, and when they last connected;
- encrypted messages waiting for your devices to collect them. They're deleted once collected, or after 30 days;
- encrypted attachments, deleted after 30 days. Your phone keeps its own encrypted copy;
- which accounts are in which chats, so it can deliver messages, and the people you've blocked;
- a push token sealed so that only the notification relay can open it.
Like any internet service, a server and the network in front of it can see IP addresses and when and how much data is sent. They can't see what it says.
Notifications
To wake your phone, the server asks a small relay to send Apple a push that contains nothing but "new message". Your phone fetches and decrypts the message itself. You choose what the notification shows in Settings → Privacy and security. Apple only ever sees "New message".
On your phone
Your chats are stored on your phone in an encrypted database, and its key is kept in the iPhone's Keychain. The camera is only used to scan a verification code, and the microphone only while you're recording a voice note.
Deleting your account
In the app: Settings → Delete account. Strand leaves every chat, the server deletes your account, devices, waiting messages, push token and attachments, and your phone erases its chats and keys. Your username stays reserved, so nobody else can take it and pretend to be you.
Questions
For questions about a particular server, ask the person who invited you. For the Strand app itself, use the feedback option in TestFlight while Strand is in testing.