Privacy Policy

Last Updated: November 6, 2026

At sling.chat ("we", "our", or "us"), accessible from https://sling.chat, privacy is built directly into our software architecture. This Privacy Policy explains what information is processed when you use our website, how our volatile in-memory chat system operates, and how third-party services such as Google AdSense may use cookies.

1. Zero-Database Message Architecture (RAM Only)

Unlike traditional messaging services, sling.chat does not use a database to store chat messages:

• All messages sent in any channel on sling.chat are held strictly in volatile Random Access Memory (RAM) inside a fixed-capacity circular buffer (Ring Buffer) of 100 messages per channel.
• When a channel reaches its 100-message capacity, each new message automatically overwrites the oldest message in memory.
• We do not write chat messages to hard drives, solid-state drives, cloud object storage, or permanent log files.
• We do not require account registration, email addresses, phone numbers, or real names to participate in chat channels.

2. Local Browser Storage (localStorage)

To improve your user experience, your web browser stores two non-sensitive preferences locally on your device using HTML5 localStorage:

• sling_author: The ephemeral display nickname you choose in the sidebar.
• sling_theme: Your visual theme preference (dark or light mode).

You can clear these values at any time by clearing your browser's site data.

3. Standard Network & Reverse Proxy Logs

Like almost all web servers, our reverse proxy (Nginx) and security infrastructure (Cloudflare) process standard HTTP/WebSocket connection metadata—such as IP addresses, browser user-agent strings, and request timestamps—solely to route traffic, mitigate Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, and maintain service stability. These transient operational logs are rotated automatically and are never combined with chat message content.

4. Cookies and Google AdSense Advertising

We may use third-party advertising companies, including Google AdSense, to serve advertisements when you visit our website:

• Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this website or other websites on the internet.
• Google's use of advertising cookies (such as the DoubleClick DART cookie) enables it and its partners to serve ads to our users based on their visit to sling.chat and/or other sites on the Internet.
• Users may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. Alternatively, you can opt out of a third-party vendor's use of cookies for personalized advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info.

5. GDPR and CCPA Privacy Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction (including the European Economic Area under GDPR and California under CCPA), you have rights regarding personal data, including the right to access, delete, or restrict processing of personal data, and to manage cookie consent preferences. Because sling.chat does not maintain user accounts or permanent message databases, we do not hold personal user profiles on our servers.

6. Children's Privacy

sling.chat does not knowingly collect any personally identifiable information from children under the age of 13. If you believe that a child has shared personal information in an active channel, please note that the Ring Buffer overwrites messages automatically, or contact us so we can flush the volatile channel buffer immediately.

7. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our technical practices, you may contact the administrator at: admin@sling.chat.