Last updated: October 8, 2026

Privacy policy

This policy explains how Axonic handles information in its messaging app and website. For privacy questions, contact the Axonic developer at ivanguachbeltran@gmail.com.

The current Axonic app uses a cryptographic identity stored on your device and communicates through the Axonic network. Participating devices are called neurons; their connections are called axons. Your device stores your own conversations. Other neurons can help find peers and temporarily hold encrypted deliveries. Hosted neurons and service providers still support connectivity, notifications, and diagnostics.

This describes the current neuron-based app. It does not mean that information previously collected by older versions has been erased. See Older accounts and the website below.

1. Your identity and information on your device

2. Information shared through the network

Your public identity address, shown as an axon: address or QR code, identifies you to others. Signed public identity records contain public keys, device identifiers, revisions, signatures, and validity times. These records can be replicated or cached by other neurons to verify identities and find peers. They do not contain your recovery words, local password, or private keys. A cryptographic address is a persistent identifier, not a guarantee of anonymity.

An active app can connect to neurons that are not your contacts and help the network operate. Discovery and connection traffic can reveal IP addresses, local-network endpoints, public identity and device identifiers, availability, and connection timing to participating peers and infrastructure providers. Direct peers can learn each other's network addresses. The app seeks reachable local and internet paths; Profile → Network lets you adjust the allowed number of axons.

Recipients receive the messages, photos, videos, files, voice messages, stickers, and group information you send. Participants also exchange identifiers, timestamps, delivery/read acknowledgements, and information needed to coordinate calls. Recipients may save, forward, or capture received content.

When direct delivery is unavailable, a neuron may temporarily store an encrypted message envelope or encrypted attachment chunks for the recipient. It also handles routing metadata, such as sender and recipient identities, device identifiers, packet identifiers, sizes, expiry times, and receipts. The relay does not receive the keys needed to decrypt that stored third-party content.

Calls use microphone audio and, for video calls, camera video. Peers and supporting services exchange call signaling and network information to establish the connection. STUN services help discover network addresses; TURN services may relay encrypted call traffic when a direct path is unavailable. Local call history is separate from live audio and video.

3. Hosted neurons, notifications, and diagnostics

FirstNeuron is an Axonic-operated neuron hosted on DigitalOcean. Like other neurons, it helps peers connect, distributes signed public records, and can hold temporary encrypted deliveries. It also currently provides transitional services, including the Android notification gateway. Removing Django from the current app's account and messaging flow does not remove these hosted services.

Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) helps wake Android devices for messages and calls. The notification gateway stores a push token and its association with a verified public identity/device, along with registration and expiry information. Ordinary peers do not receive that push token through the gateway. Message wake requests contain signed routing metadata rather than message text; the receiving app retrieves the message and creates its preview locally. Call wake requests carry call-control information. Google receives the token, push payload, and network information required to deliver the request. Notification previews may be visible on your lock screen according to your device settings.

Sentry receives configured crash reports, including errors, stack traces, app/build version, device and operating-system information, and limited technical state. Reports may be queued locally. We filter JavaScript reports and do not intentionally include conversation content, contact names, passwords, recovery words, or tokens. Native reports may contain additional technical diagnostics. Screenshots and session replay are disabled in this integration.

Expo Observe processes configured app startup and performance measurements. Both diagnostic providers receive network requests and the connection information needed to process them. Their retention depends on the provider and project configuration. See the Sentry, Expo, and Google privacy policies.

Axonic processes information you send when contacting support, including your email address and the contents of your request. Hosting, connectivity, notification, diagnostics, and email providers may process information outside your country. Information may also be disclosed where required by law or to investigate abuse and protect users or the service.

4. Storage, retention, and security

Your own data: local conversations, keys, settings, and downloaded media remain on your device until removed. Files exported to Gallery or other folders, backups you create, and copies on other devices can remain after clearing or uninstalling the app.

Temporary deliveries: the current custody protocols limit a message or attachment envelope to a maximum 24-hour validity period. Participating relays delete the encrypted payload after processing a valid recipient receipt, or clean up expired data. A small receipt or digest/routing record may remain until expiry to prevent duplicate delivery or replay. Cleanup depends on the relay running and successfully processing receipts or expiry; it is not instantaneous or a guarantee of deletion from every independently operated device. Undelivered content may expire before a recipient returns.

Other operational records: public identity records and peer caches have their own validity and renewal rules; the delivery expiry does not apply to all network records. Contacts may retain your public address. Push registrations have separate refresh and expiry rules; wake registrations can last up to 30 days, capped by the signed identity record's validity, and can be renewed while the app is used. Logs, diagnostic reports, support correspondence, and provider backups have separate retention and may remain after removal from active delivery storage.

Axonic uses signed identities, authenticated connections, and encryption for custody payloads and attachment chunks. These protections do not conceal all routing metadata or protect against an unlocked or compromised endpoint. We do not claim that the network is anonymous, that every local file is encrypted, or that deletion can retract information already copied by others.

5. Your choices and permissions

You can manage local login protection, notification preferences, blocked users, chat storage, and network connection limits in the app. Incoming conversations from unfamiliar identities can be accepted or rejected. Camera, microphone, notification, nearby-network, and media/file permissions support the corresponding features. You can change permissions in Android settings; denying access may limit those features. The app may briefly run in the background to recover messages or handle calls.

6. Remove your local identity or request data deletion

To remove Axonic's local app data on Android, open Settings → Apps → Axonic → Storage and choose Clear data (the wording varies by device), or uninstall the app. This removes the installation's local account and chat storage; do not do this if you still need data that has not been saved elsewhere. Manage exported media and any separate backups independently. Removing the app does not revoke recovery words or remotely erase the identity from other devices.

For access, correction, or deletion of information held by Axonic-operated services, email ivanguachbeltran@gmail.com with an Axonic account deletion request. You do not need to reinstall the app. Include your public axon: identity address and describe the data or service involved. For an older Django account, include its username or registered email instead. Never send your password, recovery words, private keys, or push token.

We may request appropriate proof of ownership. We can address data held by services we operate, but cannot remotely erase recipients' conversations, independent neurons' copies, exported files, or a recovery phrase you hold. Signed public records and temporary relay records may remain until their validity or cleanup periods end. Records required for security or legal obligations and residual provider backups may be retained separately. Requests will be handled under applicable requirements; available rights depend on your location.

7. Older accounts and the website

Older Axonic versions used Django accounts with usernames, email addresses, password hashes or Google sign-in identifiers, profiles, device/push registrations, and server-side delivery metadata. They could also use Railway, DigitalOcean Spaces, email providers, and earlier notification or call-relay services. Moving to the neuron-based app does not itself delete those historical records, uploaded files, logs, or backups. Use the deletion contact above for requests concerning them.

The Django-hosted website continues to publish this policy. Web hosting can process IP addresses and request logs. If you use an older web login, it uses session information and browser storage for its functionality; it is separate from the current app's local identity login.

8. Children and policy changes

If you believe a child has provided information without appropriate authorization, contact us so we can investigate and address it. We may update this policy as Axonic changes. The date above identifies the current version; material changes will be communicated as required.

9. Contact Axonic

Privacy and support: ivanguachbeltran@gmail.com.