Privacy & safety

How Stitch protects your data

Stitch protects your information with standard encryption in transit and at rest. Data moving between your device and Stitch travels over encrypted connections using HTTPS and TLS where applicable, and stored messages and media are protected by encryption at rest provided by our infrastructure and storage providers. Calls use standard real-time transport protections such as TLS and DTLS-SRTP where applicable, and Stitch does not record or store call audio or video.

It is worth being clear about what this means in practice. Stitch uses standard encryption rather than end-to-end encryption, so authorized Stitch systems and personnel may be able to access stored content for limited operational, safety, support, debugging, report-review, and legal-compliance purposes. Stitch does not use the content of your private messages to target advertising or build advertising profiles. For the full legal detail, read the Privacy Policy.

Controlling who can reach you

Stitch is account-based, so people connect with you using your username rather than your phone number. You decide which contact requests to accept, which means strangers cannot simply add themselves to your conversations. This puts a natural gate at the front of who can message and call you.

If someone you are connected with becomes a problem, you can block them. Blocking stops that person from messaging or calling you and removes you from their reach. If you change your mind later, you can unblock. You can also mute a chat or group to stop its notifications while staying a member, which is useful for busy conversations you still want to follow on your own schedule.

Reporting abuse

When someone breaks the rules, report them from inside the app. Submitting a report shares a limited evidence packet with Stitch so the report can be reviewed — typically the report reason, relevant account and conversation identifiers, message IDs and timestamps, media metadata, and a small amount of recent context from the reported chat. Stitch does not routinely read private chats outside of this review.

Reports are checked against the Community Guidelines. Depending on severity and history, the result can be a warning, content removal, a temporary restriction, a suspension, or a permanent ban. Serious matters such as threats of violence or anything involving child safety may be referred to the appropriate authorities. Reporting is the most effective way to keep Stitch respectful, so use it whenever something crosses the line.

Disappearing messages and what they do

Disappearing messages let a conversation clean itself up automatically. Turn the feature on in a chat and pick a 24-hour, 7-day, or 90-day timer, and new messages will delete after that period. The timer applies to messages sent after you change the setting, and everyone in the chat sees a notice when the setting changes.

Disappearing messages are a convenience for privacy and storage, not a guarantee. They cannot prevent screenshots, copies, forwards, downloads, backups, or report evidence, and they do not make rule-breaking content acceptable. Treat them as a way to reduce clutter, not as a way to make anything you send vanish without a trace.

Protecting your account and staying safe

Your Stitch account is tied to a verified email, so keeping that email secure is the most important step you can take. Use a password you do not reuse elsewhere, and treat unexpected sign-in or password-reset emails as a prompt to review your security. You can deactivate or delete your account from settings whenever you want to step away.

• Only accept requests from people you actually know.
• Be cautious with links, attachments, and requests for money or personal information.
• Block and report anyone who harasses you or makes you uncomfortable.
• Review your notification and privacy settings so Stitch works the way you want.
• Read the Community Guidelines so you know what is allowed and what to report.