“Anonymous chat” gets thrown around a lot online, often without anyone explaining what it actually means. On Gibbur, anonymous chat means the person you talk to has no idea who you are — and we try hard to know and keep as little about you as we can while still running a safe, moderated service. This page lays out exactly where that line sits, with no marketing fog.
- Your chat partner sees you as “Stranger” — never your name, email, IP address or account. If you share interests, they see the shared ones.
- No sign-up required. A free account is optional and can be deleted anytime from Account settings.
- Chat message text is never written to our database or disk. A copy stays in server memory for up to 2 hours for moderation and spam fighting, then it’s gone.
- We do process IP addresses for rate limiting and abuse prevention, and chats are not end-to-end encrypted. Anonymous to strangers, accountable to the rules.
What “anonymous” means on Gibbur
There are two kinds of anonymity worth separating:
- Anonymous to the other person. This is the big one, and it’s complete by design. Your partner sees the label “Stranger” and whatever you choose to type. That’s it.
- Anonymous to us, the service. This is partial — and any chat site that claims otherwise while also promising moderation is stretching the truth. To stop spam, enforce bans and keep minors and abusers out, we have to process some technical data, like IP addresses. What we don’t do is tie your conversations to an identity or keep the text of your chats.
So the honest summary is: strangers can’t identify you, and we keep the minimum we need to keep Gibbur safe.
What your partner sees, what we process, what we never store
Here’s the full picture in one table.
| What your chat partner sees | What Gibbur processes | What we never store |
|---|---|---|
| The label “Stranger” | Your IP address, for rate limiting, abuse prevention and ban enforcement | Chat message text — never written to our database or disk |
| The messages you type | A copy of recent messages in chat server memory for up to 2 hours (for moderation and spam fighting), then discarded | Your password — accounts store only an Argon2id hash |
| That you’re typing (typing indicator) | A strictly necessary session cookie with a random browser ID, which ends when you close your browser | Advertising, analytics or third-party tracking cookies |
| Interests you both share, if you added any | A short-lived (60-second), single-use signed ticket to join the chat service | Message text attached to reports — reports store metadata only |
| Nothing else — not your name, email, IP or account | Report metadata if someone reports a chat: reason, time, chat ID, IP addresses and account IDs if any | Personal data in our daily stats — those are anonymous aggregate counts |
The full legal detail lives in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. This table is the plain-English version.
No sign-up required (and what an account adds)
You can go to /chat, confirm you’re 18 or older, agree to the Terms of Service and Community Guidelines, and start talking. No email, no phone number, no profile.
If you want, you can create a free account with an email and password (we’ll send a verification email). An account lets you save a display name, birthday, gender and interests so you don’t have to re-enter them. Here’s what that means for anonymity:
- Your partner still sees you as “Stranger.” Your account details are never shown to them.
- We store your email, password hash, display name, birthday, gender, interests and a few timestamps (account created, last login, terms accepted).
- Your chats are not saved to your account. There’s no chat history to look back on — for you or anyone else.
- You can delete your account yourself from Account settings, and that data is deleted with it.
What happens to your messages
This is the question people care about most, so let’s be precise.
- In transit: Everything travels over encrypted connections (HTTPS and secure WebSockets with TLS), so people on your network can’t read your chats.
- Delivery: The server decides who you’re paired with, and messages can only be delivered to your current partner. Each message carries a per-chat ID, so a message can’t leak into a different or later conversation.
- Storage: Message text is never written to our database or to disk. A copy is held only in the chat server’s memory for up to 2 hours, then discarded. If the server restarts, it’s gone sooner.
- Moderation: Moderators can view live conversations and recent messages to enforce the rules.
Anonymous, not unaccountable
Anonymity is great for honest, low-pressure conversation. It’s also what bad actors hope to hide behind. Gibbur keeps you anonymous to other users while still holding rule-breakers accountable:
- Anyone can hit Report. Repeatedly reported users can be automatically banned for a while.
- Moderators can ban by IP address, browser or account. Bans are stored with the IP or browser ID until they expire.
- Rate limits, a 1,000-character message cap, flood detection and blocking links in the first few seconds of a chat all make spamming hard.
- Gibbur is 18+ only, and every visitor must confirm that before chatting.
More on all of this in the Safety Center.
Who else touches your data
Short list: Northflank hosts our servers, and Resend sends transactional emails like account verification. We don’t sell data, and there are currently no ads. Fonts are self-hosted, so loading the page doesn’t ping Google Fonts either.
Tips for staying anonymous
We can keep your identity hidden from strangers, but we can’t stop you from typing it. The weakest link in online anonymity is almost always what we share ourselves.
- Don’t share identifying details. Full name, address, school, workplace, phone number and social handles can all be used to find you.
- Watch the small clues. A unique username, a photo of your street or a very specific local event can say more than you think.
- Be wary of links. Don’t click links from strangers, and never enter passwords or payment info because someone in a chat asked.
- Move platforms carefully. If someone pushes hard to move to another app quickly, that’s a red flag.
- Assume screenshots exist. Your partner can always copy what you send. Don’t write anything you’d hate to see shared.
- Skip and report freely. If something feels off, end the chat and report it. You don’t need a reason to leave.
Need something to talk about that isn’t personal? Our conversation starters are full of fun questions that reveal personality, not identity.
Anonymous chat FAQ
Is Gibbur really anonymous?
To other users, yes — you appear as “Stranger” and your partner never sees your name, email, IP address or account. To us, partially: we process IP addresses for rate limiting, abuse prevention and bans, but we never store chat message text in our database or on disk.
Do I need an account to chat?
No. You can chat without signing up. A free account is optional and lets you save a display name, birthday, gender and interests. You can delete it anytime from Account settings.
Are my chats saved?
Chat message text is never written to our database or to disk. A copy is kept only in the chat server’s memory for up to 2 hours for moderation and spam fighting, then discarded.
Are Gibbur chats end-to-end encrypted?
No. Chats are encrypted in transit with TLS, but not end-to-end encrypted, because moderation requires the server to relay the text. Moderators can view live conversations and recent messages to enforce the rules.
Can the other person see my IP address?
No. Messages go through our server, and your partner only sees “Stranger,” the text you send, and any interests you both share.
Does Gibbur use tracking cookies?
No. Gibbur only uses strictly necessary cookies: login, security, remembering that you accepted the terms, and a random browser ID. No advertising, analytics or third-party tracking cookies. See the Cookie Policy.
How do I request or delete my data?
You can delete your account from Account settings. For other data requests, email privacy@gibbur.com.