Nygma Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 26, 2026
The short version
- Your files, file names, thumbnails, file details and chats are encrypted on your device. We cannot read them.
- We hold what we need to run Nygma: your name and email, the names you give your drives, storage and billing records, the devices that get notifications, and technical data such as IP addresses.
- We do not sell your personal data and we do not show ads in Nygma.
- Our servers are in the United States.
- You can download your files and delete your account yourself, at any time.
1. Who we are
This Privacy Policy explains how Genie9 LTD (“Genie9”, “we”, “us”) handles personal data when you use Nygma on the web (nygma.genie9.com), on Android and on iOS, including Nygma Chat (the “Service”). Genie9 LTD, 3 Shortlands, London W6 8DA, United Kingdom, is the data controller. Our Data Protection Officer can be reached at dpo@genie9.com.
2. What we collect
2.1 What you give us
- Account details: your name and email address. If you use Sign in with Google or Sign in with Apple, we receive your name and email (or Apple’s relay address) from them. For Apple we also keep a token, encrypted, used only to disconnect Apple when you delete your account.
- Drive names: the names you give your drives are stored readable on our servers, so choose names you are comfortable with.
- Messages to us: what you send to our support, privacy, legal or abuse addresses, and in-app chat reports.
- Feedback: when you answer “Do you like Nygma?” or use Send feedback — your rating, your words and, only if you switch it on, the app’s diagnostic log. It is linked to your account when you are signed in.
- Problem reports: when you use Report a problem — what you describe and the app’s diagnostic log (app version, device type, recent errors and timings), with names, email addresses, file names and keys removed on your device before it is sent. Each report gets a reference code.
2.2 What is created when you use Nygma
- Your encrypted files and the encrypted data that describes them (we cannot read either)
- File and folder counts, sizes and dates; how items are arranged in folders (not their names); whether an item is in Trash or a favourite; drive settings such as the encryption type, whether a drive has a PIN or recovery phrase, and which drive is a Duress mode decoy
- Activity records, such as when a drive is unlocked and when files are added, moved or deleted, with IP address and device details
- Share-link records: that a link exists, when it expires and how often it was opened (never its password)
- Your plan, subscription and purchase records from Google Play, the App Store or Stripe, including any offer used
- Security settings such as two-factor authentication, and sign-in and session records
- Device push tokens, registered with your account together with the device’s platform, language, country or region and app version
- Your “Offers & news” choice, and which Nygma messages you have seen, opened, tapped or removed in the app
- Records of actions we take on your account, such as a suspension, with the reason and the date
2.3 What is collected automatically
- IP address, browser or device type, operating system, app version and the time of each request, in our server logs and with your sign-in sessions
- The country of your IP address when you sign up, looked up on our own server (section 7.2)
- In the mobile apps, usage analytics and crash reports through Google Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics. Both are on by default and you can switch them off in the app’s Settings.
- On the website and web app, analytics through Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics, as described in section 14
2.4 What we do not collect
- Your drive passwords, PINs, recovery phrases or encryption keys — they never leave your device
- The contents, names, thumbnails or details of your files
- The content of your chats, the people you chat with, or the locations you share in chats
- Your phone’s address book
- Card or bank details — payments are handled by Google, Apple or Stripe
3. Encryption: what we can and cannot see
Before anything leaves your device, Nygma encrypts it with keys made from your drive password, which is never sent to us. We store only encrypted data and a verifier that cannot reveal your password. Because we never have your keys, we cannot reset a drive password, and we cannot open, recover or decrypt your files or chats — for you or for anyone else. The Security & Zero-Knowledge Statement explains the details and the limits.
4. Nygma Chat
4.1 End-to-end encrypted
Messages, photos, videos, files, voice messages and locations are encrypted on your phone and can be decrypted only on the phone of the person you are chatting with. The same applies to reactions, edits, “Delete for everyone” requests and “Protect this chat” settings. We cannot read your chats, and we do not scan them.
4.2 What stays on your phone
- Your chats, stored encrypted and opened with your Chats PIN (and, if you chose it, your drive password)
- The names you and your contacts choose to show each other — Nygma does not check them and does not read your address book
4.3 What passes through our servers
| What | Readable by us? | How long we keep it |
|---|---|---|
| Encrypted messages and attachments on their way to the other person | No | Deleted when the recipient’s phone confirms it has them, when the sender deletes them for everyone, or after 30 days |
| Encrypted invitations (the QR code or link you share) | No | Until accepted or expired (at most 48 hours); the record is erased 7 days later |
| Delivery mailboxes that carry your messages | A random identifier, arrival times and the fixed message size — not who messages are from or for | While the chat exists; removed when you block or delete it |
| Your device’s push token (issued by Google or Apple) | Yes | Until you stop using chat on that device; removed after 90 days unused |
| A daily count of chats and invitations your account creates | Yes (a number, used to stop spam) | 30 days |
| An encrypted copy of your chat list, so you can move chats to a new phone | No | Until you delete it or your account |
Our database does not link your account to your chat mailboxes, and we keep no list of who you chat with. Chat requests reach our servers with your IP address, like any request. The same push token is also registered with your account for Nygma notifications (section 6), so our servers could in principle connect your account to the chat mailboxes that wake that phone. We do not use it that way and keep no record linking the two.
4.4 Notifications, location, microphone and camera
- When a message arrives, our server asks Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (and Apple’s push service for iPhone) to wake the app. The notification carries no content, sender or chat name.
- Location is read only when you tap Share location — one reading, while the app is open. Nygma never tracks your location in the background.
- Voice messages are recorded only while you record. Only the photos, videos and files you choose are sent.
4.5 Reports
Report a problem in a chat sends us a reason, an optional note and a reference to the chat (an identifier our servers already hold); recent messages are included only if you switch that on. A report is the only way we see any chat content, and only what you send. Reports go to abuse@genie9.com and are kept for up to 2 years, or longer where the law requires.
5. How we use your data, and why
| What we do | Legal basis (UK and EU GDPR) |
|---|---|
| Create your account, sign you in, store and deliver your encrypted data and chats, send notifications your account needs | Contract |
| Billing, and keeping your plan in step with Google Play, the App Store or Stripe | Contract; legal obligation (tax records) |
| Keep the Service secure: prevent fraud, spam and abuse, rate limits, restrict sign-ups from some countries, investigate reports, suspend accounts | Legitimate interests; legal obligation |
| Service emails: sign-in codes, security, billing, changes to the Service or these policies | Contract; legitimate interests |
| News and offers by email about Nygma and similar Genie9 products (section 6) | Legitimate interests for our customers (soft opt-in), with an unsubscribe link in every email; consent where the law requires it |
| Offers and news as notifications, only if you said yes to “Offers & news” | Consent |
| Show discounts to groups of accounts (for example people who never subscribed, or new sign-ups), decided from plan history, sign-up date and country | Legitimate interests |
| Read feedback and problem reports to fix and improve Nygma | Legitimate interests; consent for the optional log in feedback |
| Analytics and crash reports | Consent where the law requires it (website analytics in the UK and Europe); otherwise legitimate interests — you can switch them off in the apps |
| Respond to lawful requests, enforce our Terms, defend legal claims | Legal obligation; legitimate interests |
A small number of Genie9 staff can see account records (never your encrypted content) to provide support and enforce our Terms; their actions are logged. We do not make decisions with legal or similarly significant effects about you by automated means alone.
6. Emails and notifications
- Service emails (such as sign-in codes and billing notices) are sent through Amazon Web Services. You cannot opt out of them while you have an account.
- News and offers by email are sent from our own email system, run by Genie9 and sending through Amazon Web Services. It holds your email address, name and a few facts about your Nygma account so we email the right people: your plan and whether it is paid, where you subscribed, how and when you signed up, your language, whether you have set up a drive and how many drives you have, the date you last signed in, whether you joined through an invitation, and your “Offers & news” choice. The same email system serves Genie9’s other products, so if you also use one of them, it knows your address is used for both.
- Every news or offer email has an unsubscribe link. Unsubscribing stops those emails; it does not affect your account or service emails.
- Notifications about offers and news reach your phone only if you said yes to “Offers & news” (asked once in the app; change it any time in Settings → Notifications). Service notices may reach everyone with Nygma on their phone. Nygma messages also appear in the app’s inbox, and we record whether you saw, opened or tapped them.
7. Who we share data with
7.1 We do not sell your data
We do not sell, rent or trade your personal data.
7.2 Service providers
These companies process data for us under contract. None of them receive your files, file names, thumbnails, passwords, PINs, recovery phrases or chat messages in readable form.
| Provider | What for | What it receives | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Web Services (S3, RDS, SES) | Our servers, database, encrypted file storage and email delivery | Encrypted files and chat data, the account and service data in this policy, your email address for the emails we send | USA (us-east-1) |
| Google — Firebase Cloud Messaging | Waking the app and delivering notifications | A device push token and the notification | USA / global |
| Google — Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics (apps) | App usage statistics and crash reports (can be switched off in the app) | Usage events, crash reports, device and app details | USA / global |
| Google — Play Billing and Sign in with Google | Android purchases; signing in with Google | Google handles the purchase and confirms who you are; we receive purchase records, your name and email | USA / global |
| Google — Tag Manager and Analytics (website and web app) | Website analytics (section 14) | Pages visited, browser and device details, cookies where allowed | USA / global |
| Apple — App Store, push service and Sign in with Apple | iOS purchases, notifications and signing in with Apple | Apple handles the purchase and confirms who you are; we receive purchase records and the email and name you share | USA / global |
| Stripe | Website payments | The payment details you enter go to Stripe, not to us; we receive payment records | USA / global |
| MaxMind GeoLite database | Sign-up country check | Nothing — the database runs on our own server | Our servers |
Google, Apple and Stripe also act as independent controllers for their own services (for example store purchases and sign-in), and their privacy policies apply to that. When you upload a video in the web app, your browser may download the open-source FFmpeg library from a public code network (unpkg or jsDelivr), which sees your IP address but not your files. We may add or replace providers; we will update this list when we do.
7.3 Other disclosures
- When you ask us to — for example, a share link gives its recipients what you shared
- When the law requires it, or to protect the rights, safety or property of Genie9, our users or others — see “Requests from authorities” in the Security & Zero-Knowledge Statement
- To a buyer or successor if Genie9 or Nygma is reorganised, merged or sold
8. International transfers
Our servers are in the United States (Amazon Web Services, us-east-1), and our providers may process data in other countries. Transfers from the UK and the EEA rely on the UK International Data Transfer Addendum and the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or on the UK–US data bridge and the EU–US Data Privacy Framework where a provider is certified. Your files and chats are encrypted on your device before they are transferred.
9. How long we keep data
- Account data, drive names and encrypted files: while your account exists
- Files in Trash: deleted automatically after 30 days
- Chat data on our servers: as in section 4.3
- Server logs (IP address, device type, time): up to 90 days. IP and device details stored with sign-in sessions, security events and drive activity: while your account (or that drive) exists
- Billing records: as long as tax law requires (in the UK, 6 years)
- Abuse reports: up to 2 years, or longer where the law requires
- Problem reports: 90 days. Feedback: up to 1 year
- Push tokens: until you sign out on that device, or Google or Apple retire the token. Nygma messages sent to you and what you did with them: while your account exists
- Our email system: while you have an account; when you delete it, your address is removed from Nygma’s lists
- Analytics: according to the retention settings of Google Analytics and Firebase
When you delete your account (in the app under Settings → Delete account, or at nygma.genie9.com/delete-account), we delete your account data and encrypted files from our live systems. Copies in backups are overwritten as the backups roll over, and we keep only what the law requires us to keep, such as billing records.
10. Security
Besides end-to-end encryption, we use TLS in transit, encryption at rest for stored data, access controls and logging, and rate limits on sign-in and other sensitive actions. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee that unauthorised access will never happen. If a personal data breach is likely to result in a high risk to you, we will tell you without undue delay, and we will notify the regulator where the law requires.
11. Your rights
11.1 UK and EU
You can ask for access to, correction, deletion, restriction or portability of your personal data, object to processing based on legitimate interests (including emails about news and offers), and withdraw consent at any time. Most of this you can do yourself — download your files, change your settings, unsubscribe, or delete your account. Because of end-to-end encryption, we cannot access or export the content of your files or chats for you.
11.2 United States
If you live in a US state with a consumer privacy law (such as California), you can ask to know, correct or delete the personal data we hold about you, and you will not be treated differently for asking. In the last 12 months we collected identifiers (name, email, IP address, device and push identifiers), commercial information (plan and purchases), internet activity (server logs, app and website analytics) and approximate location (country). We do not sell personal data for money and we do not use sensitive personal data to infer things about you. Some public pages of our website use Google advertising and analytics cookies, which California law may treat as “sharing”; section 14 explains how to opt out. The signed-in web app and share-link pages send no advertising signals.
11.3 Everywhere
Wherever you live, you can ask us what we hold about you and ask us to correct or delete it, and we will apply the rights your local law gives you.
11.4 How to ask
Email privacy@genie9.com from the address on your account. We may need to verify your identity. We answer within one month, or longer where the law allows for complex requests. You can complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk) or your local data protection authority.
12. Using Nygma for work
If you store or send other people’s personal data in Nygma for business purposes, you are responsible for it as its controller. We process it only in encrypted form, only to provide the Service, under these terms and our Terms of Service; we cannot read it. Ask dpo@genie9.com if you need more.
13. Children
Nygma, including Nygma Chat, is only for people aged 16 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 16; if we learn that we have, we will close the account and delete it. See our Child Safety Standards.
15. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy by publishing a new version here. If a change materially affects how we use your personal data, we will also tell you by email or in the app before it applies.
Contact us
Support: support@genie9.com
Privacy: privacy@genie9.com
Data Protection Officer: dpo@genie9.com
Legal and copyright: legal@genie9.com
Abuse and child safety: abuse@genie9.com
Genie9 LTD · company number 08669198 · 3 Shortlands, London W6 8DA, United Kingdom