Echo
Privacy Policy
Effective: 12 October 2026
Echo is a push-to-talk (walkie-talkie) app for Android. This policy explains what data the app and the Echo servers handle, why, and for how long. Echo has no accounts, does not ask for your name, phone number or email, and does not sell or share personal data.
What the app handles
- Voice. While you hold the talk button, the app records your voice and sends it to the other people in the channel — through an Echo server or, when two of you are alone in a channel, directly from phone to phone. Voice is relayed in real time and is never recorded or stored, on the server or on the phone.
- Nickname. The name you choose is shown to the people in your channel. It does not have to be your real name.
- Channel names. Needed to put you into a channel; the server keeps them only in memory while the channel is in use.
- Device identifier. A random identifier created by the app on first launch (not linked to your phone's hardware IDs or your Google account). It lets you reconnect without appearing twice and lets the server limit abuse.
- IP address. Your phone's IP address is necessarily seen by the server it connects to; in direct mode the other person's phone sees it too, because the voice goes straight between the two phones.
Private channels and encryption
Private and password-protected channels are end-to-end encrypted (AES-256-GCM). The key is contained in the invite link or derived from the channel password on your phone; it never reaches Echo servers, so the servers cannot listen to such channels. Keys are stored on your phone, protected by the system keystore.
What the servers keep
- Usage statistics — counts only: how many people are online, how many channels exist, how long people talk, how long the app is on screen. They contain no nicknames, channel names, voice or IP addresses. To count unique devices, the server keeps one-way hashes of device identifiers together with an approximate country and city derived from the IP address (the IP address itself is not stored). Kept up to 90 days for daily figures; the hashes are kept to count unique users over time.
- Abuse protection — if a device floods the server, a hash of its identifier may be blocked for a limited time.
- Crash reports — only if you tap Send after the app crashed: the app version, Android version, phone model and the technical error. No nickname, channels or messages. Kept up to 90 days.
- Technical logs — connection events (which may include a nickname and a shortened device identifier) and web server logs with IP addresses, kept for a few days for troubleshooting and security, then overwritten.
Permissions
- Microphone — to transmit your voice, only while you hold the talk button (or have locked it on).
- Foreground service and notifications — so you can hear incoming calls with the screen off; a permanent notification shows that Echo is connected.
- Start at boot and battery optimization — so Echo reconnects after the phone restarts and keeps the connection while the screen is off; both can be turned off in the settings.
- Network — to connect to the servers and to the other phone in direct mode.
Third parties
Echo servers are rented from a hosting provider (HOSTKEY) in the USA and Russia; the provider does not access the app's data. The app contains no advertising and no third-party analytics. If advertising is added in a future version, this policy will be updated before that version is released.
Children
Echo is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect their data.
Your choices
You can change your nickname at any time in the settings. Uninstalling the app deletes everything it stored on your phone, including channel keys. Server statistics contain no data that identifies you; for any request about your data, write to us.
Contact
Email: echoptt.dev@gmail.com · Website: echoptt.com