The short version
- We collect what we need to run Pulse: your account details, the messages and photos you send, and basic information about your device.
- We do not sell your personal information.
- We use your information to deliver messages, keep Pulse safe and fix problems — not to build advertising profiles.
- You can delete your account and data at any time from inside the app.
Who we are
Pulse is provided by Plinth Technology & Consult (“we”, “us”). We are responsible for the personal information described in this policy. This policy applies to the Pulse app and this website.
What we collect
Information you give us
- Account details: the phone number you sign in with, your display name and, if you add one, your profile photo.
- Messages and media: the text, photos, videos, voice notes and captions you send, and the chats and groups you belong to. We store these so we can deliver them to the people you're talking to. Messages you choose to send as encrypted are encrypted on your device before they are sent, so we cannot read them.
- Contacts: if you allow it, we use phone numbers from your address book to show which of your contacts use Pulse. Numbers are converted to a one-way hash before they are matched.
- Reports and support requests: what you tell us when you report a message or user, or contact support.
Information collected automatically
- Device and app information: device model, operating system version, app version and language.
- Notification token: an identifier that lets us send push notifications to your device.
- Activity status: whether you're online and when you were last seen, unless you turn this off in the app.
- Diagnostics: error and performance information that helps us find and fix bugs.
- Connection information: your IP address and the times you use the service, kept in our server logs.
We do not collect your precise location.
How we use it
- To create and run your account and deliver your messages and photos.
- To send notifications about new messages and calls.
- To keep Pulse safe: reviewing reports, enforcing our Community Guidelines and Terms of Service, and preventing spam and abuse.
- To answer your support requests.
- To fix bugs and improve how the app works.
- To meet our legal obligations.
We rely on these legal grounds: providing the service you asked for (our contract with you), our legitimate interest in keeping Pulse safe and working, your consent (for example, contacts access, which you can withdraw in your device settings), and legal obligations.
Encrypted messages
When you choose to send a message, photo or voice note as encrypted, it is locked on your phone using a key that is protected by your passcode, and it can only be unlocked on the phone of the person it is for. We store the locked message so we can deliver it, along with your public key, but we never have your private key or your passcode, so we cannot read it.
If you forget your passcode we cannot recover your key, and you will lose access to your old encrypted messages. In group chats, members who haven't set up a key of their own are covered by a simpler default key, so ask them to set one up for the strongest protection. Encryption protects what you say, not the fact that you said it: we can still see who you message and when, as described above.
View-once photos
When you send a photo marked “view once”, each person it was sent to can open it a single time, after which it is removed from the chat. We delete it from our servers once everyone it was sent to has opened it, or after 24 hours if they haven't.
Please remember that view once can't stop someone from photographing their screen with another device. Only send what you're comfortable sharing.
Who we share it with
We don't sell your personal information and we don't share it for advertising. We share it only in these cases:
- The people you chat with see your name, profile photo and the messages you send them.
- Service providers that help us run Pulse, under contracts that limit how they use your data: cloud hosting and file storage, our database, push notifications, voice and video call infrastructure, SMS delivery of sign-in codes, sticker search and analytics.
- Legal reasons: when the law requires it, or to protect someone's safety, including reporting child sexual exploitation material to the relevant authorities.
- Business changes: if Pulse is merged or sold, your information may transfer to the new owner, who must respect this policy.
How long we keep it
- Account details: while your account is active.
- Messages and photos: until you delete them or delete your account. Stories are removed after 24 hours.
- After you delete your account: removed from our live systems within 30 days and from backups within 90 days. See Delete your account for details.
- Safety records: reports and enforcement records are kept for up to 12 months to prevent repeat abuse, or longer if the law requires.
Your choices and rights
- Update your name and profile photo in the app at any time.
- Turn off contacts access or notifications in your device settings.
- Choose who can see your last seen and online status, and turn read receipts on or off.
- Delete your account and data from Settings → Account → Delete account.
- Ask us for a copy of your data, to correct it, or to restrict or object to how we use it, by emailing plinthtechnologiesconsult@gmail.com.
Depending on where you live, data protection law may give you further rights, including the right to complain to your local data protection authority. We will respond to requests within 30 days.
Security
We protect your information with encryption in transit (TLS), access controls that limit which staff can see personal data, and regular security updates. No system is perfectly secure, so if we learn of a breach that affects you, we will tell you and the relevant authorities as the law requires.
Children
Pulse is not for children under 16. We don't knowingly collect information from them. If you believe a child is using Pulse, contact us and we will delete the account.
International transfers
Our servers and service providers are located in the European Union and the United States, so your information may be processed outside Ghana. When it is, we use appropriate safeguards to protect it.
Changes to this policy
If we make significant changes, we'll tell you in the app before they take effect. The date at the top shows when this policy was last updated.
Contact us
Questions about your privacy? Email plinthtechnologiesconsult@gmail.com.