Privacy Policy
desperate15 ("desperate15", "we", "us") runs desperate15.com, a daily 15-minute live chat. We built it to collect as little about you as possible. This policy explains what we collect, why, and the choices you have.
1. The short version
- No email, real name or photos required — just a nickname (@name) you choose.
- Chat messages are deleted automatically 15 minutes after the room closes — unless a chat is reported, in which case it is kept only for safety review.
- We show ads through Google AdSense, which uses cookies. You can opt out of personalized ads (see Section 6).
- We never sell your personal information.
- desperate15 is for adults 18 and over only.
2. Information we collect
Information you give us
- Your nickname (@name). It is public: your matches see it, and any member can use it to send you a Post Office letter.
- Chat messages you send during the live window and in a private room.
- Post Office letters you send or receive, including who they're from and to.
- Blocks you make, so you're never matched with or written to by that person again.
- Reports you submit, including the reason, any details you add, and the transcript of the reported chat.
- Your age confirmation and agreement to our Terms, stored on your device.
- Payment information, if paid features are enabled. Payments are processed by Stripe; we never see or store your full card number. We receive only a confirmation, the amount and a transaction ID.
- Emails you send us.
Information collected automatically
- Technical data: IP address, browser type, device type, approximate location derived from IP, and the pages you visit, as recorded in standard server logs by our hosting provider.
- A random member ID and secret key, created when you pick a nickname and stored on your device, which keep you signed in without a password. If you clear your browser data, you lose access to that nickname.
- Local storage on your device for that key, your reminder choice and the nicknames of people you recently chatted with.
- A one-way hash of your IP address, kept with your nickname to limit spam sign-ups.
- Cookies and similar technologies used by Google AdSense and, if enabled, analytics (see Section 6).
3. How we use information
- To run the service: open the room on time, match you, deliver chat messages and letters, and open a private room when both people agree.
- To keep people safe: review reports, block abusive users, and prevent spam, fraud and minors from using the service.
- To process payments when paid features are on.
- To show advertising that keeps the service free.
- To understand overall usage and fix bugs.
- To comply with the law and respond to valid legal requests.
4. How long we keep it
- Live chat and private room messages: deleted automatically 15 minutes after the room closes.
- Reported chats: kept up to 90 days for review, or longer if needed for a legal obligation or an ongoing safety investigation.
- Post Office letters: deleted after 30 days, or sooner if the recipient deletes them.
- Nicknames and block lists: kept while your nickname is in use, so blocks keep working. Email us to delete your nickname.
- Server logs: generally up to 30 days.
- Payment records: as long as tax and accounting laws require.
5. Private rooms
If you and your match both choose to keep going, your conversation continues in a private room on desperate15 for up to two hours. Only the two of you can see it. It follows the same rules as the live chat, including automatic deletion after it closes.
6. Cookies and advertising
We use Google AdSense to show ads. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website and other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to desperate15.com and/or other sites on the internet.
You can opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. You can also opt out of some third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalized advertising at www.aboutads.info. Learn more about how Google uses information from sites that use its services.
Visitors in the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland will be asked for consent through a Google-certified consent banner before personalized ads or non-essential cookies are used.
You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. The chat will still work, but some ads may become less relevant.
7. Who we share information with
We share information only with service providers that help us run desperate15, and only as needed:
- Hosting (Hostinger), where our servers and database run.
- Stripe, for payments.
- Google, for advertising.
- Law enforcement or other authorities, when required by law or when we believe in good faith it is necessary to protect someone's safety.
- A successor company, if desperate15 is ever merged or sold, under the same protections described here.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not "share" it for cross-context behavioral advertising except through Google AdSense as described above, which you can opt out of.
8. Your rights and choices
Depending on where you live (for example California, other U.S. states with privacy laws, the EU or the UK), you may have the right to access, correct, delete or get a copy of your personal information, to object to or restrict certain processing, to opt out of targeted advertising, and to withdraw consent. Because we don't require accounts, we may need a session ID or other details to find your data. Email us at privacy@desperate15.com and we will respond within the time the law requires. We won't treat you differently for exercising your rights.
You can clear the information stored on your device at any time by clearing your browser's site data for desperate15.com.
9. Adults only
desperate15 is only for people 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor is using the service, report the chat or email us and we will delete their information.
10. Security
We use HTTPS encryption, short retention periods and limited access to protect your information. No online service is perfectly secure, so please don't share sensitive personal or financial details in chat.
11. International users
desperate15 is operated from the United States. If you use it from elsewhere, your information will be processed in the United States.
12. Changes
We may update this policy. When we do, we'll change the "Last updated" date above, and for significant changes we'll post a notice on the site.
13. Contact
Questions? Email privacy@desperate15.com.
desperate15 · South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida, USA