Temp Chat

Chat that leaves nothing behind

Scan to join

Leaving ends this chat for both of you. Are you sure you want to leave?

Chats end after 24h by default. Extending asks your friend to keep this one going for another 24h. They can accept or decline.

How chat expiry works

Every chat ends 24 hours after it starts. The countdown runs whether you're actively chatting or away. When it hits zero, the chat ends for both of you.

Extending

Tap the clock in the chat header to ask your friend to extend the chat by another 24 hours. They'll see your request and can accept or decline. If they accept, the new 24-hour window starts from that moment.

You can extend again later. Each extension needs both of you to agree.

Leaving

The leave button ends the chat instantly for both of you, regardless of the timer.

How does this work?

Temp Chat is a quick, browser-only chat between two people. No accounts, no message history on our side, and nothing about your conversation reaches our servers.

Three steps

1. Click "Start a chat" to get a short code.
2. Share the code with one person.
3. Talk directly between your browsers.

How long a chat lasts

Every chat ends 24 hours after it starts. The clock runs whether you're chatting or away. Either of you can tap the clock icon to ask the other to extend by another 24 hours; if they agree, the new 24-hour window begins from that moment. You can renew as many times as you both want.

The leave button ends the chat instantly for both of you, whatever the timer says.

Closing the tab doesn't end the chat

You can close the tab, lock your phone, or quit the browser, and come back to the same chat within the 24-hour window. Open Temp Chat again and either let it resume automatically, or type the same code in to pick up where you left off. After 24 hours of silence on both sides (or after either of you taps Leave), the chat is gone for good.

What stays on this device

So you can pick up where you left off, this device keeps an encrypted copy of the messages, images, and files in your current chats. They're encrypted with a key tied to that chat - a key that lives only inside this browser, never on our servers. Tap Leave and we wipe the lot. Twenty-four hours of silence on both sides does the same automatically.

Local storage is only as safe as your device. Anyone who can unlock your browser can read what's stored. If that matters to you, hit Leave instead of just closing the tab.

What we don't see

Your messages, images, and files. They go straight from your browser to your friend's. We don't have a copy and never see them.

Who you are. There's no account, no email, no name.

The contents of your chat or how long it lasted. We can tell that a room exists and when it ends, but nothing about what's said inside.

What we do see

Your browser's IP address briefly, when you load the page. Our hosting provider (Cloudflare) logs this the same way any website would. We don't tie it to a name because we don't have one for you.

For each active chat we keep some bookkeeping on the server: a room status, the fingerprints of the keys each of you holds (so we can let you back in), and a timestamp for when the chat is due to expire. None of this contains your messages.

Peer-to-peer chats also mean both you and the other person see each other's IP address as part of connecting. We didn't invent that. It's how the internet works when two computers talk directly.

Hard to believe?

"We don't see your chats" sounds like something every app says. Here's how to confirm it yourself. Open your browser's developer tools, watch the Network tab while a chat is going. You'll see nothing flowing to our server while you type. You never signed in, so there's nothing connecting a conversation to "you" anyway.

Terms & disclaimer

Read this. Using Temp Chat means you agree to it.

By using Temp Chat, you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, don't use it. You must be of legal age and able to enter a binding agreement.

How a chat ends

Each chat is bound by a 24-hour lifetime that begins when you and your friend pair. The two of you can mutually extend that window by another 24 hours at a time. Tapping Leave ends the chat instantly for both sides. We have no way to recover or revive a chat that has ended.

What's stored on your device

To let you close the tab and come back to the same chat within its lifetime, your browser stores two things locally:

A small reconnect key per active chat. The key never leaves your device. Only its cryptographic fingerprint reaches our server, so the server can confirm it's the original participant returning.

An encrypted copy of the messages, images, and files in each active chat. They're sealed with a key derived from the same per-chat secret, held in the browser as a non-extractable cryptographic key. Tap Leave to wipe both the reconnect key and the encrypted thread. Twenty-four hours of silence on both sides does the same automatically.

Local storage is only as safe as the device that holds it. If you clear your browser data, switch devices, or pass your unlocked device to someone else, what's stored goes with it. Anyone with access to your unlocked browser profile could resume an active chat as you and read its contents. Tap Leave instead of just closing the tab when you want it gone.

Your messages, images and files, your responsibility

You are solely responsible for what you send, what you receive, and who you share a code or link with. You represent and warrant that everything you send is lawful, yours to send, and consented to by anyone depicted. Because we can't see anything that flows between two browsers, treat what you receive as unverified, including files. Verify the sender before opening or saving anything, and scan downloaded files with your own antivirus.

No illegal or harmful use

You agree not to use Temp Chat to send anything illegal, infringing, threatening, harassing, or otherwise harmful. Specifically forbidden: non-consensual intimate imagery, child sexual abuse material, content depicting real violence, malware, and content sent to harass or intimidate. Some executable file types are blocked at upload, but the prohibition applies broadly to all content you transmit, and breach is grounds for legal consequence under the laws of your jurisdiction and ours.

What the server stores while a chat is alive

For each active chat, our signaling server keeps a small amount of bookkeeping: the room's status, fingerprints (SHA-256 hashes) of the reconnect keys each side committed, and a timestamp for when the chat's lifetime ends. It never sees, stores, or relays the contents of your chat. Once the chat ends (by Leave, by expiry, or by the participants going silent past the lifetime), this bookkeeping is discarded.

Reporting abuse

If you receive content that violates these terms, save evidence on your own device (screenshot, screen recording) and report it to the appropriate authorities. We have no way to recover anything from a chat that has ended. For service-level concerns, contact abuse@temp-chat.pages.dev.

As is

The service is provided "as is" and "as available," with no warranties of any kind, including delivery, availability, or fitness for any purpose. Connections can fail. Peer-to-peer relies on each side's network reaching the other, and some networks (corporate firewalls, symmetric NAT) will block this. Reconnects can fail for the same reason.

No liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Temp Chat and its creator have no responsibility or liability for any messages sent or received, or for any damages arising from use of, or inability to use, the service.

You cover us

You agree to indemnify and hold Temp Chat and its creator harmless from any claims, losses, or expenses arising from your messages or your use of the service.

Changes

We may update these terms at any time; continued use means you accept the changes.