Privacy Policy

Scanners are anonymous

If you scan a pssst QR code we don't ask for or keep any personal data: no account, no name, no email, no phone. You see some buttons, tap one, optionally write a short message.

The car owner never learns who scanned, and you never learn who the owner is. Communication is anonymous both ways.

IP addresses are only hashed

To prevent abuse (spam, repeated messages) we keep a cryptographic hash (SHA-256, with a secret salt) of the IP address at scan time. We never store the raw IP and cannot reconstruct it.

We may optionally keep a derived country code, with no other location data.

Conversations auto-delete

Every ephemeral conversation lasts 30 minutes. On expiry, its messages are permanently deleted from the database. We keep no conversation history.

Account owner data

For owners we store: email address, password (kept only as a hash), optionally a name and a profile photo (visible only to you), chosen language, the cars and codes you create, notification preferences (which kinds of messages and quiet hours, with your phone's time zone), aggregate stats (scan counts) and, while you are signed in, your sessions (only as a hash) and your devices' notification tokens.

If you ask for a password reset we email you a link valid for one hour; we keep only a hash of the link until it is used or expires.

We use this data to provide the service. The legal basis is performance of the contract and our legitimate interest in preventing abuse.

If you sign in with Apple or Google, they give us only your account id with them, your email address (verified by them) and, optionally, your name. With Apple you can choose “Hide My Email”: we then get a forwarding address from Apple. We never get your Apple or Google password and access nothing else in your account. If you delete your pssst account, we also revoke our access at Apple.

Licence plate

You can optionally add your car's licence plate. With “Can be contacted by plate” on, anyone with the pssst app and an account can message you by typing the plate, even without the sticker in front of them. They learn nothing about you — no name, email or phone; the conversation is as anonymous as a scan.

To prevent abuse, plate lookups happen only in the app, only with an account, and are limited to a few per day. A plate can be on only one car in pssst; if someone took yours, you can contest it and the pssst team can free it after checking (for example, with the car's registration certificate).

You can turn plate contact off or remove the plate any time, from the car's page. The legal basis is your consent.

Push notifications

Notifications are enabled only with your explicit consent. In the pssst apps we deliver them through Apple (APNs) and Google (Firebase Cloud Messaging), which receive only your device token and the notification text. On the web we use your browser's Web Push.

You can turn them off anytime: in the app (Settings → Notifications), in your phone settings or in your browser. That's also where you choose which kinds of messages notify you and your quiet hours.

Safety: filtering, blocking and reporting

Written messages containing insults or threats are not delivered to the owner: they wait for review by the pssst team.

An owner can block the source of a conversation for 24 hours. Blocking only uses the IP hash (see above) or, when you write from the pssst app, a hash of your account: the owner never learns who you are.

Anyone can report a conversation. So we can review it, we keep a copy of its messages with the report for at most 90 days, then it is deleted automatically. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in preventing abuse.

The phone apps

The app keeps on your phone only your session token (in the Keychain / Keystore) and your preferences (theme, language). Face ID / Touch ID / fingerprint unlocking is handled by your phone's system: we never receive or store biometric data.

The stickers you save or share are generated on our server and kept in the phone's temporary cache. The camera and your photos are used only if you choose a profile photo. The app does not use your location or contacts, and contains no ads or tracking tools.

Deleting your account and data

You can delete your account anytime, in the app (Settings → Delete account) or on pssst.ro (Settings). Deletion permanently removes your cars, codes, conversations, sessions, notification tokens and all associated data. This cannot be undone.

Your rights

You have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict and port your data under the GDPR. For any request, email privacy@pssst.ro. You may also contact your competent supervisory authority.