Privacy Policy

Sera is built to be anonymous by design. This policy explains what we collect, why, and the steps we take to make sure nothing you share is tied to your real identity. In plain terms: other users never see who you are, and we keep the absolute minimum needed to keep the platform safe.

The short version

• You are identified only by a random handle like sera-1234. You never have to give a real name.
• We never store your raw IP address. We store a one-way cryptographic hash of it, used only to prevent abuse.
• Email is optional, used only for account recovery, and never shown to anyone.
• We don't sell your data and we don't run ads.

What we collect

Your handle

When you sign up, you're assigned a random anonymous handle. This is the only identity other people on Sera ever see. You can't choose it, which keeps handles uniform and hard to link to a real person.

Email (optional)

If you choose a recoverable account, you provide an email address used solely to verify your account and let you recover access if you lose your password. Your email is private and is never displayed to other users. If you choose a pure anonymous account, no email is collected at all — you receive a one-time recovery code instead.

Content you create

Confessions, messages, questions, answers, comments, communities and chats are stored so the product works. Anonymous messages sent to you are stored without revealing who sent them.

Minimal safety logs

To keep Sera safe from spam and abuse, we keep a minimal security log tied to certain actions (such as sign-up and posting). This log includes:

• A SHA-256 hash of your IP address combined with a secret salt — never the raw IP itself.
• A coarse user-agent string and, at most, a country (never your city or precise location).
• The type of action and a timestamp.

Because the IP is hashed with a secret, we cannot read it back as a plain address. The hash lets us detect patterns (for example, a single source spamming accounts) without keeping data that directly identifies you.

How we use what we collect

• To run core features — posting, messaging, communities and chat.
• To moderate content with AI and human review, keeping the space safe.
• To prevent and respond to abuse, spam and rate-limit violations.
• To let you recover a recoverable account via email.

AI moderation

Content you post is scanned in real time by an automated moderation system. It is designed to block content that harms others — harassment, hate, threats — while deliberately allowing honest expressions of personal struggle, which are core to what Sera is for. Moderation happens on the text of your content only.

What we do not do

• We do not sell or rent your data.
• We do not show ads or let advertisers target you.
• We do not store raw IP addresses.
• We do not reveal the sender of an anonymous message to its recipient.

Sharing

We share data only with the service providers needed to operate Sera (such as our database host, real-time messaging provider, and email provider), and only as needed to deliver the service. We may disclose information if required by a valid legal process — but because we minimize and hash what we hold, there is little that directly identifies you.

Your choices

• You can delete content you've posted or received at any time.
• You can block other users from contacting you.
• You can stop using Sera at any time.

Data retention

We keep content for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the service. Safety logs are kept only as long as useful for abuse prevention and are intended to be pruned over time.

Children

Sera is not intended for anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect information from minors. If you believe a minor is using Sera, please contact us.

Changes

We may update this policy as Sera evolves. We'll update the date at the top when we do.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Reach us at hello@sera.app.