Safety & Privacy FAQ

These are the questions people actually ask us about privacy, consent, and safety on Violette. We've tried to answer them the way we'd want them answered if we were in your shoes.

Last updated: April 21, 2026

The basics

What does Violette collect about me, and why?

Only what's needed to run the product you signed up for: your account details, the profile you choose to share, the posts and messages you send inside communities, and basic technical logs that keep the service working and safe. We aim for the minimum that lets Violette be a real home for intentional community — not a data exhaust pipeline.

One specific case worth calling out: our AI assistant Vi remembers relevant things from your interactions with it so it can help you find your people— other members and communities that match what you're looking for. That memory exists for matchmaking and personalization inside Violette, not for resale or repurposing. See the Vi section below for what Vi remembers, how long, and the controls you have.

What principles guide how Violette handles my data?

The short version:

  • Your data is yours. We support clear visibility, consent, export, and deletion.
  • We favor calm pacing and consent for sensitive asks over engagement-maximized design.
  • We refuse dark patterns and opaque systems that trade your wellbeing for time-on-app.
  • We treat safety-related flows, account control, and access to your data as mission-critical.

Do you sell my personal data or use it for marketing?

No. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their advertising, marketing, or data-broker use. Violette is not built on monetizing member data.

Where your data lives

Where is my data stored?

Violette's production data — profiles, posts, community content, direct messages — is hosted with UpCloud in the Netherlands. UpCloud is a European cloud infrastructure provider. Storing your data in the EU keeps it under GDPR protections by default.

Is any production data stored anywhere else?

No. All production data is on UpCloud.

Do you back up my data?

Yes. We run daily backups, also stored on UpCloud. Backups follow the same security controls as production data.

Does Violette use any third-party services?

Yes — notably Anthropic, which powers our AI assistant Vi (see the Vi section below).

Encryption

Is my data encrypted?

In our messaging and group surfaces — direct messages, group messages, and Circle surfaces (chatroom, feed, and forum) — yes. Content in those spaces is encrypted in transit (between your device and our servers) and at rest (on disk with UpCloud).

This is server-side encryption, which means Violette's systems control the keys. Our servers can decrypt content when the product needs to — for example, to deliver a message to the right people and render it in the app. Plaintext exists inside our systems when the product needs it, under our security and access policies; it does not live only on your device.

Server-side encryption still protects against many outside threats, including network interception and theft of raw disks without our keys. It does not make Violette blind to your content the way end-to-end encryption would.

This section describes encryption for the features named above. It is not a claim that every part of the product is encrypted the same way.

So can Violette read my messages?

In the messaging and group surfaces described above — direct messages, group messages, and Circle surfaces (chatroom, feed, and forum) — under defined, limited conditions, yes. The most common is an abuse report: if a message is reported for harassment, exploitation, or another safety violation, our trust and safety team may need to read the reported content to investigate and act on it. We do not browse or mine messages outside of these defined circumstances.

This is a deliberate trade-off, and we want to be honest about it. Keeping keys server-side is what lets us take meaningful action when members report harm — and that ability is central to how we keep communities safe. If you need a conversation that no platform operator can ever read, Violette isn't the right channel for it, and we'd rather say so plainly than imply otherwise.

Consent & transparency

What am I agreeing to when I sign up?

You're agreeing to our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Acceptable Use / Community Guidelines — the binding documents that govern your use of Violette and how we handle your data.

How much of my profile is public?

You're in control. Most profile fields are optional, and you have full control over what is shown publiclyversus kept private. Share only what feels right for the communities you're in.

How will I hear about changes to these policies?

Material changes to how we govern the platform are communicated clearly, and, where appropriate, with advance notice — consistent with our Terms.

Terms of use & what you can discuss

What can I discuss on Violette — and what is off limits?

Your Terms of Service and Acceptable Use / Community Guidelines spell out, in binding language, what you may post and how you must treat other people. This FAQ only summarizes.

Broadly: Violette is for lawful, good-faith participation in the communities you join. Content and conduct that violate the law, put people at serious risk, or cross the lines in those documents — for example illegal activity, harassment, hate, exploitation, or coordinated harm — are not allowed anywhere on the platform. Hub leaders can set stricternorms for their own spaces, but not weaker ones than Violette's platform floor. If you're unsure whether something belongs in a given community, check that hub's rules and the Terms.

Do you shadowban people?

No.We don't shadowban — meaning we don't quietly hide your posts or messages from others while your own experience looks unchanged. If your account or content is restricted in a way that affects visibility, we aim for that to be understandable to you where our policies require notice, not invisible sabotage.

Censorship, NSFW content, and illegal activity

We do not operate a broad editorial censorship model where lawful topics or opinions are suppressed because we dislike them. We do apply NSFW / mature-content gatingso members can control what they see — that's preference and safety-by-design, not a general policy of silencing discussion.

Illegal activity is still illegal, regardless of anyone's view of whether a given law ought to exist. Where the law or a competent authority requiresus to act — for example, to remove certain material, restrict accounts, or preserve and disclose information as part of an investigation — we must comply. That's legal obligation, not discretionary censorship of lawful speech.

We protect your data with the safeguards described in this FAQ — encryption where we describe it, EU hosting, backups, and access controls. No system is perfect, but we work to reduce risk and to be straight about what we can and cannot promise.

Your controls

Can I export my data?

Yes, with one important limit. Data export is request-based (not self-serve today) and covers only the unencrypted portions of your account — for example, your profile and other account data we hold in the clear. After you request an export, we return that data in readable form within 30 days.

If you're a community builder (hub leader), the same request-based path also lets you export the unencrypted portions of your community's data — for example, your hub's configuration and member email list. See For community leaders below for more on what's available to leaders specifically.

The encrypted surfaces described in the Encryption section — direct messages, group messages, and Circle chatroom, feed, and forum content — are not included in data exports today, for either members or community builders.

How do I delete my account?

You can request account deletion at any time, for any reason. We complete a hard delete within 90 days of your request.

Can I block or report other members?

Yes. Reporting and blocking are built in so you can flag harm and limit who can contact you. We take reports seriously and read them. See "What happens when I file a report?" below for how reports move through the system and what outcomes are possible.

What boundaries can I set in the product?

Violette is designed to respect what you say you want to avoid. Matching and recommendations (where those features exist) honor your stated boundaries, and you can always skip what doesn't fit or control who reaches you.

Vi (our AI assistant)

Who powers Vi?

Vi is powered by Anthropic, which we consider the most sovereign and privacy-respecting LLM provider available to us today. Anthropic acts as a sub-processor for Vi interactions.

What does Vi do with what I share?

Vi remembers relevant information from your interactions for one purpose: to help connect you with other users and communitiesthat match what you're looking for. In other words, Vi's memory is used for matchmaking and personalization inside Violette — not sold, and not repurposed beyond helping you find your people.

Can I opt out for using Vi?

Vi is integral to the Violette experience. It underpins the authenticity, magic, and intuition of the platform, as its memory is what enables us to connect you with your people in a truly meaningful way. Therefore, opting out is not currently an option.

For community leaders (hub builders)

What member data can I see as a hub leader?

Hub leaders can see the email addresses of members in their community, along with the public profileeach member has chosen to share on Violette — the same profile any other member could see. Leaders don't get access to fields members have kept private. [TBD: confirm any additional leader-only signals — e.g., join date, activity signals.]

Can I export my community's member list?

Yes — leaders can export the member list, which includes email addresses, of their hub. Treat this data the way you'd treat any member contact data: use it only for legitimate community purposes, don't share it outside the community, and honor members' requests to stop being contacted.

What are my responsibilities under GDPR when I hold member emails?

Under GDPR, when you hold and use member personal data (including email addresses), you take on real responsibilities:

  • Use the data only for the purpose members reasonably expect (running the community they joined).
  • Don't share it with third parties without a lawful basis.
  • Honor members' requests to be removed from your list.
  • Keep it reasonably secure.

If my hub is removed, what happens to our data?

Hub removal is a last resort, not a first response. Where our policies allow, partners have access to appeal and data export paths — following the same 30-day, request-based export process described above.

Does Violette's platform floor change what I can moderate locally?

No. You still set your hub's guidelines, moderation, and tone. Violette's platform floor sits underneath that — certain conduct (illegal activity, hate, exploitation, sustained failure to steward safety, platform abuse) is not acceptable anywhere on Violette, regardless of hub norms.

Reporting, moderation & safety data

What happens when I file a report?

Reports go to Violette's trust and safety team, who will engage relevant hub's leaders if needed. As noted in the Encryption section, reviewing a report may involve our team reading the reported content. Outcomes can range from warnings and required remediation to content removal, account restrictions, and, for the most serious or systemic cases, hub removal.

Breach & incident response

What happens if there's a data breach?

We hope we never have to use this process — but we've committed to it in advance so you know what to expect. Under GDPR, Violette will notify affected users and the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours of becoming aware of a breach that is likely to put your rights and freedoms at risk. Notifications will include what we know, what we're doing about it, and what (if anything) you should do.

Jurisdiction & your rights

Whose laws apply?

Violette operates under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Under GDPR you have rights including:

  • Access — ask what we hold about you.
  • Rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate data.
  • Erasure— ask us to delete your data ("right to be forgotten").
  • Portability — receive your data in a readable format.
  • Objection — object to certain processing.

How do I exercise these rights?

You can reach us through the contact page on violette.com.

Contact & escalation

  • Privacy / data questions: privacy@violette.com
  • Trust & safety / reports:use in-product report flows, or the Help Center "Trust & Safety" hub.
  • Emergencies: Violette is not emergency care. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.