Privacy Policy

Everything you create in Vocative — messages, letters, photos, labels, and hearts — is encrypted on your device before it ever leaves it.

We operate servers that transmit and store encrypted content so it can reach your partner and sync across your devices. But the keys that unlock that content live only on your phones. We do not possess those keys, which means we cannot access the contents of your messages, letters, photos, or conversations.

When you create a space, your device generates the key. When you invite your partner, you share a short, time-limited join code through a channel of your choosing. That code allows their device — and only their device — to join the space and access the shared key.

The join code expires quickly and cannot be used later to access your space.

Vocative includes optional intelligence features:

• Mirror, which reflects patterns in how the two of you connect.
• Smart Search, which helps you find meaningful moments in your own archive.

Smart Search runs entirely on your device. Your content never leaves your phone to perform a search.

Mirror works differently. When you ask Mirror a question, the relevant content is decrypted on your device and sent to a trusted AI provider under a strict data-processing agreement. That provider processes the content only to answer your request, does not store it afterwards, and does not use it to train AI models - ours or theirs.

If you never use Mirror, your content is never decrypted off your device.

Off the Record is a separate, ephemeral mode. Messages sent in Off the Record are not stored on our servers beyond the time needed to deliver them, and are removed from both devices when the session ends. Nothing about an Off the Record session is kept.

Push notifications for private content never contain the message itself. We send only enough information to wake up the app - the content is revealed only after your device unlocks it, and, for Vaulted content, after you pass the Vault gate.

The Vault is a second layer of privacy that you control. Vaulted messages, letters, and photos are protected behind a PIN or Face ID in addition to the app's own encryption. We never see Vault content and we never bypass the gate.

You can leave your space at any time. When you do:

• Your content is removed from your device.
• Your partner keeps access to the shared history on their device.
• If both people leave the space, the encrypted data can no longer be unlocked because the keys remain only on the devices that created them.

Vocative is designed so that only the people inside a space can access it. We do not maintain a master key, recovery access, or the ability to unlock a space on your behalf.

We do not sell your data. We do not share your data with advertisers. We do not use your content to train AI models.

To run the app, we rely on a small set of service providers for things like cloud hosting, encrypted message delivery, push notifications, and the AI features described above. These providers operate under agreements that limit them to what they need to perform those services.

We do not provide these providers with the encryption keys necessary to access the contents of your messages, letters, photos, or conversations.

You must be 18 or older to use Vocative.

Because we don't collect identifying information, we can't look up an account by name or email. But if you have a question about this policy, want to understand what we hold, or want to raise a concern, you can reach us at info@vocative.me.

If we make material changes, we will update the date above and notify you through the app, where you will have a chance to review them before you continue using the app.