Privacy policy

What the forum learns, why, and for how long · Effective September 25, 2026

01
What this is
darkpool is a forum. This page lists everything it learns about you, and nothing beyond that.
- Ask the team about your data through Appeals — a private channel with moderators and administrators.
- How to behave is in the Rules; the terms of use are in the Terms of use.
02
What we keep
Only what the forum can’t work without, and what you add yourself.
- Your account: username, a hash of your password (we never store or see the password itself), role, trust level, interface language, sign-up date.
- What you choose to add: avatar, cover, personal background, bio, signature, status, links, PGP key, passkey (its public part only), two-factor settings.
- What you publish: threads, replies, reactions, likes, labels, poll votes, reports, appeals, service reviews, uploaded files, and drafts of threads and replies.
- Direct messages. PGP-encrypted ones are stored as ciphertext — we can’t read them. Messages with a timer are wiped when it runs out.
- Email — only if you add it yourself in the settings: to get the account back if you forget the password, and for the weekly digest of the best threads until you turn it off. The address isn’t shown in your profile or in search.
03
Technical data
There’s little of it, and each piece has a job.
- IP address and browser name — in your list of sessions (you see it) and to protect against guessing and spam.
- The “on the forum now” mark lasts three minutes; thread views are stored only as a number.
- For a thread’s stats its author sees only the domain of the site people came from.
- Page speed: the metric, its value, the device type and a route template — no account and no IP, kept for 30 days.
04
What we don’t do
The forum earns from labelled ads, not from your data.
- No ad trackers, pixels or third-party analytics.
- We don’t sell data or share it for advertising.
- We don’t ask for an email or phone number to sign up.
05
Cookies and browser storage
Only the necessary ones — which is why there’s no cookie banner.
- Cookies: your sign-in token (hidden from page scripts), an anti-forgery token and your chosen language.
- In browser storage, on your device only: drafts, read marks, recent threads, where you stopped reading, your age confirmation for 18+ sections, and that you dismissed the offer to install the app.
06
Who gets data
Nobody — except in the cases below, each needed for a feature to work.
- DeepSeek (an AI model): when someone asks for a thread summary, a section digest, an assistant answer or a translation, the text of forum threads and replies is sent to the model. Direct messages never are.
- Browser push services (Google, Apple, Mozilla) deliver your notifications; they receive the content encrypted.
- The server fetches exchange rates from CoinGecko and the Bank of Russia — none of your data goes anywhere.
- YouTube and Vimeo videos load only after you click. Link previews are fetched by our server, so the linked site sees it, not you.
- Letters (address confirmation, password recovery, the digest) are sent by the forum’s mail server. They carry no pixels and no open or click tracking.
07
How long we keep it
As long as needed, and no longer.
- Your account — until you delete it.
- Deleting replaces your username with an anonymous one, wipes your profile, email, follows, block list, push subscriptions and drafts, and makes signing in impossible. Published threads and replies stay without your name — they’re part of other people’s discussions.
- Sessions — until you sign out or they expire; speed measurements — 30 days.
08
What you can do
All of it yourself, in Settings, without writing to support.
- Download your data as one file: profile, threads and replies, messages, follows.
- Fix your profile, change your username (once every 30 days) and password, end other sessions.
- Turn off notifications and push, delete your account.
- If something doesn’t work, write to the team in Appeals.
- Remove your email or turn the digest off in the settings; any digest letter also has an unsubscribe link.
09
Age
The forum isn’t meant for anyone under 16.
- Sections marked 18+ are for adults only; the forum asks you to confirm your age before entering.
10
Changes
If this policy changes, the date at the top of the page changes too.
- The team announces significant changes on the forum in advance.

What we keep

Only what the forum can’t work without, and what you add yourself.

Your account: username, a hash of your password (we never store or see the password itself), role, trust level, interface language, sign-up date.

What you choose to add: avatar, cover, personal background, bio, signature, status, links, PGP key, passkey (its public part only), two-factor settings.

What you publish: threads, replies, reactions, likes, labels, poll votes, reports, appeals, service reviews, uploaded files, and drafts of threads and replies.

Direct messages. PGP-encrypted ones are stored as ciphertext — we can’t read them. Messages with a timer are wiped when it runs out.

Email — only if you add it yourself in the settings: to get the account back if you forget the password, and for the weekly digest of the best threads until you turn it off. The address isn’t shown in your profile or in search.

Technical data

There’s little of it, and each piece has a job.

IP address and browser name — in your list of sessions (you see it) and to protect against guessing and spam.

The “on the forum now” mark lasts three minutes; thread views are stored only as a number.

For a thread’s stats its author sees only the domain of the site people came from.

Page speed: the metric, its value, the device type and a route template — no account and no IP, kept for 30 days.

Cookies and browser storage

Only the necessary ones — which is why there’s no cookie banner.

Cookies: your sign-in token (hidden from page scripts), an anti-forgery token and your chosen language.

In browser storage, on your device only: drafts, read marks, recent threads, where you stopped reading, your age confirmation for 18+ sections, and that you dismissed the offer to install the app.

Who gets data

Nobody — except in the cases below, each needed for a feature to work.

DeepSeek (an AI model): when someone asks for a thread summary, a section digest, an assistant answer or a translation, the text of forum threads and replies is sent to the model. Direct messages never are.

Browser push services (Google, Apple, Mozilla) deliver your notifications; they receive the content encrypted.

The server fetches exchange rates from CoinGecko and the Bank of Russia — none of your data goes anywhere.

YouTube and Vimeo videos load only after you click. Link previews are fetched by our server, so the linked site sees it, not you.

Letters (address confirmation, password recovery, the digest) are sent by the forum’s mail server. They carry no pixels and no open or click tracking.

How long we keep it

As long as needed, and no longer.

Your account — until you delete it.

Deleting replaces your username with an anonymous one, wipes your profile, email, follows, block list, push subscriptions and drafts, and makes signing in impossible. Published threads and replies stay without your name — they’re part of other people’s discussions.

Sessions — until you sign out or they expire; speed measurements — 30 days.

What you can do

All of it yourself, in Settings, without writing to support.

Download your data as one file: profile, threads and replies, messages, follows.

Fix your profile, change your username (once every 30 days) and password, end other sessions.

Turn off notifications and push, delete your account.

If something doesn’t work, write to the team in Appeals.

Remove your email or turn the digest off in the settings; any digest letter also has an unsubscribe link.

Privacy policy

What this is

What we keep

Technical data

What we don’t do

Cookies and browser storage

Who gets data

How long we keep it

What you can do

Age

Changes

New here?

Create

Privacy policy

What this is

What we keep

Technical data

What we don’t do

Cookies and browser storage

Who gets data

How long we keep it

What you can do

Age

Changes

New here?

Rates