Privacy notice

Your account

When you create a free account, we keep:

• Your name and email address. We use your email to sign you in, confirm your account and send password-reset links you ask for. We don’t send newsletters or marketing emails.
• Your password, stored only as a secure hash. We never store it in plain text, so no one at Polaris Chat can read it.
• Your workspace name. Your workspace is set up the first time you open it, and you can rename it at any time.
• Email link records. When we email you a verification or password-reset link, we record when it expires and whether it has been used. Each link works once and expires after 30 minutes.
• Password reset records. If you reset your password, we note when it happened and whether it finished, to help keep your account safe.
• Your Twitch account, if you connect one. We keep its Twitch user ID, username and display name, so we can show which channel is yours. You approve the connection on Twitch’s own site. We never see your Twitch password, and we don’t keep Twitch’s sign-in token: we use it once to confirm your Twitch account, then ask Twitch to cancel it.
• Your YouTube channel, if you connect one. We keep its YouTube channel ID, its name and its handle, so we can show which channel is yours. You approve the connection on Google’s own site. We never see your Google password, and we don’t keep Google’s sign-in token: we use it once to confirm your channel, then ask Google to cancel it. YouTube’s rules let us keep these details for 30 days at a time, so we ask you to reconfirm your channel every 30 days, and we delete a connection that isn’t reconfirmed.
• Your Kick account, if you connect one. We keep its Kick user ID and username, so we can show which account is yours. You approve the connection on Kick’s own site, and we never see your Kick password. Kick sends us a one-time code that we use once to confirm your account; we then ask Kick to cancel the access it gave us. Kick also tells us your email address at that moment, and we don’t keep it.
• Your X account, if you connect one. We keep its X user ID, username and display name, so we can show which account is yours. You approve the connection on X’s own site, and we never see your X password. X sends us a one-time code that we use once to confirm your account; we then ask X to cancel the access it gave us.

When you sign in, we set a session cookie and keep a matching session record. You stay signed in for up to 24 hours, then you’ll need to sign in again.

We don’t store your IP address or device details with your account or sessions. The Demo data in your workspace runs only in your browser and isn’t saved.

Live chat in your workspace works the same way. If you connect Twitch, your browser gets your channel’s chat and activity, such as follows, subs and raids, straight from Twitch while your workspace is open. If you connect YouTube, your browser gets your live stream’s chat, Super Chats and memberships straight from YouTube the same way. None of it is sent to us or saved.

We keep your account information until your account is deleted.

Who helps us run Polaris Chat

• Railway hosts our website and stores the account database. Like any web host, it handles basic request details, such as your IP address, to deliver pages to you.
• Resend sends our verification and password-reset emails. It receives your email address and the message we send you.
• Google Forms runs our Contact us form, so Google receives whatever you submit there.
• Twitch, only if you connect your Twitch account. You approve the connection on Twitch, and Twitch tells us which Twitch account is yours. When you show live chat, your browser connects to Twitch directly, so Twitch receives your IP address and browser details.
• Google (YouTube), only if you connect your YouTube channel. You approve the connection on Google, and Google tells us which YouTube channel is yours. This uses YouTube API Services, so the YouTube Terms of Service and the Google Privacy Policy also apply. When you show YouTube chat, your browser connects to YouTube directly, so Google receives your IP address and browser details.
• Kick, only if you connect your Kick account. You approve the connection on Kick, and Kick tells us which Kick account is yours.
• X, only if you connect your X account. You approve the connection on X, and X tells us which X account is yours.

We don’t sell your data, show ads, or use advertising or analytics trackers. We don’t share your account information with anyone else unless the law requires it.

Cookies and browser storage

Our accounts site, accounts.thepolarischat.com, uses one essential cookie to keep you signed in. It’s only sent over secure connections, and it isn’t used for ads or tracking. While you’re signed in, the accounts site also sets a small cookie that only says you’re signed in, so our homepage can offer “Open your workspace” instead of the preview. It holds no account details, and it ends when you log out or your sign-in expires. The homepage itself doesn’t set cookies.

The homepage can remember your theme and chat layout in your browser’s storage, and your workspace remembers its layout the same way. These settings stay on your device and are never sent to us. Clearing your browser’s site data removes them.

When you show live chat, Twitch gives your browser a read-only pass for your chat and new followers. It stays in that browser tab until you stop live chat, log out or close the tab, and it’s never sent to us.

When you show YouTube chat, Google gives your browser a read-only pass for your YouTube account that lasts an hour. It stays in that browser tab until you stop YouTube chat, log out or close the tab, and it’s never sent to us.

The public chat preview

The live preview on our homepage shows public chat from featured creators’ Twitch, YouTube and Kick channels: public display names, messages and public activity, such as subscriptions, memberships, follows, gifts (without recipient names), raids, Bits and Super Chats. Amounts appear exactly as the platform reports them.

We hold this content only in server memory, for at most three minutes (one minute for Kick). We never save it, sell it or use it for anything else. When a platform reports a ban or a deleted message, we remove it sooner. YouTube and Kick don’t report every deletion, so a removed message can stay visible until it expires. Removing a message from Polaris Chat doesn’t delete it from the original platform.

You don’t need an account to watch the preview. When an emote or a Twitch badge appears, your browser loads its picture straight from Twitch or Kick, so they receive your IP address and browser details.

The YouTube part of the preview uses YouTube API Services, so the YouTube Terms of Service and the Google Privacy Policy also apply. Watching the preview never asks for access to your Google account. You can review which apps have access in your Google security settings.

Want something removed from the preview? Contact us.

Your choices

• See your data or delete your account. Contact us to ask what information we hold about you. You can delete your account yourself on your account page. That permanently deletes your account information and your workspace from our database.
• Remove your Twitch connection on your account page at any time. That deletes your Twitch details from our database. To remove Polaris Chat from your Twitch account too, open Twitch’s Settings, then Connections.
• Remove your YouTube, Kick or X connection on your account page at any time. That deletes those details from our database right away. You can also review which apps have access to your Google account in your Google security settings, and which apps are connected to your X account in X’s settings. Removing your YouTube connection here does not delete anything on YouTube. To delete data on YouTube, use YouTube itself.
• Sign out. Log out ends your session at any time. Sign out everywhere, on your account page, ends all of your sessions.
• Reset your password from the sign-in page. A reset also signs you out everywhere.

Children

Polaris Chat isn’t for children under 13, and you must be 13 or older to create an account. If we learn that we’ve collected information from a child under 13, we’ll delete it. If you think that’s happened, contact us.

Changes to this notice

We’ll update this notice as Polaris Chat changes. When we do, we’ll change the “Last updated” date at the top of this page.

Contact us

Polaris Chat is run by TheBurritoLion. Questions about this notice or your data? Contact us.