Privacy Policy

1.Defined Terms

“APNs” means the Apple Push Notification service operated by Apple.

“Apple” means Apple Inc.

“Application” means the Barium communications application published by Barium for iPhone, iPad and Mac, including its extensions, Apple Watch companion application, CarPlay interface and the actions it makes available to Siri and the Shortcuts application.

“Barium,” “we” or “us” shall mean Barium Labs, LLC, a Texas limited liability company.

“Homeserver” means a server implementing the Matrix Protocol that hosts or administers a Matrix user account and which may process, store, synchronize or transmit account information, room information, messages, files, encryption-related information and other data associated with the Matrix Protocol.

“Independent Services” means, collectively: (i) a User’s own Third-Party Homeserver or a Third-Party Homeserver being provided to a User by another provider; (ii) other Third-Party Homeservers reached through federation via the Matrix Protocol; (iii) Third-Party Telecommunications Services; (iv) APNs, if applicable; (v) bots, bridges and integrations that a User elects to use and (vi) any and all websites or other services linked from Matrix messages or otherwise implemented by a User within the Application.

“Matrix Protocol” or “Matrix” means the decentralized communications ecosystem based on the Matrix open standard and protocol, including homeservers, federated servers, clients, bridges, identity services, calling infrastructure and other interoperable services used to transmit, store, route, synchronize or otherwise facilitate communications through the ecosystem.

“Privacy Policy” means this Privacy Policy.

“Push Gateway” means the notification relay operated by Barium, which receives notification requests from Homeservers and forwards them to APNs so that the Application can be notified of new activity.

“Terms of Service” means Barium’s Terms of Service, dated as of October 1, 2026, as made available within the Application and as may be updated and/or amended from time to time after the date hereof.

“Third-Party Homeserver” means any Homeserver that is not owned, operated or controlled by Barium. Barium does not own, operate or control any Homeservers; all references to a “Homeserver” in these terms are a reference to a Third-Party Homeserver.

“Third-Party Telecommunications Services” means any voice, video, TURN, LiveKit or other calling or telecommunications services.

“User,” “you” or “your” means a user of the Application.

2.Scope of Application

Barium does not operate any Homeserver, messaging server, calling server or any other back-end service related to the Matrix Protocol, other than the Push Gateway described in Section 14. When you use the Application, it connects only to the Third-Party Homeserver, Third-Party Telecommunications Services and other Independent Services that you choose to use and configure within the Application. Barium does not control the privacy, security, retention, moderation or other policies or practices of such third-party services.

3.Matrix Communications

Barium does not receive or store any communications sent via the Matrix Protocol through the Application. This includes, as applicable: (i) messages; (ii) files and media; (iii) room contents; (iv) room membership information; (v) call contents; (vi) Matrix account information; (vii) conversation history and (viii) encryption keys.

The Application may process this information locally on your device as necessary to provide the functionality you request. Local processing of this information by the Application does not mean that Barium or any of its affiliates receive or collect this information.

The Third-Party Homeserver and any other Independent Services you elect to use with the Application may receive, process and store your communications and related information. This includes information you choose to make visible to others, such as your display name, profile picture and status, which your Third-Party Homeserver may make available to other users and servers. If you participate in federated Matrix rooms, information may also be transmitted to other Third-Party Homeservers participating in those rooms. The handling of that information is governed by the policies and practices of the applicable operators and service providers, not by this Privacy Policy.

4.Independent Services

The Application is designed to interoperate with other Independent Services related to the Matrix Protocol. Independent Services are not operated or controlled by Barium. Barium is not responsible for their privacy practices or other policies. You should carefully review the privacy practices, policies and terms of the Independent Services you choose to use.

5.End-to-End Encryption

The Application supports Matrix end-to-end encryption where available. Encryption and decryption operations may occur locally on your device, if enabled. Encryption keys and/or related security information may be stored locally on your device as necessary to provide encrypted communications.

Barium does not transmit your encryption keys and does not have any access to such information that is stored locally on your device. You are responsible for safeguarding your device, account credentials, recovery information and encryption keys. The Application allows you to elect to store your recovery key in the iCloud Keychain if you desire. The best practice is to keep your recovery key only in a safe, offline location.

In addition, you may elect to have the Application store an encrypted device record on your Third-Party Homeserver so that messages sent to you while none of your devices are signed in can be decrypted later. This record can also only be decrypted with your recovery key.

IF YOU LOSE YOUR RECOVERY KEY AND YOUR OTHER SIGNED-IN DEVICES, YOUR ENCRYPTED MESSAGE HISTORY CANNOT BE RECOVERED BY ANYBODY, INCLUDING BARIUM AND YOUR THIRD-PARTY HOMESERVER OPERATOR. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SAFEGUARDING YOUR RECOVERY KEY. THIS IS A PROPERTY OF END-TO-END ENCRYPTION, NOT A DEFECT IN THE MATRIX PROTOCOL, THE APPLICATION OR YOUR THIRD-PARTY HOMESERVER.

6.Voice and Video Communications

The Application supports voice and video communication functionality through the use of Third-Party Telecommunications Services. Information necessary to establish or carry a call may therefore be processed by such Third-Party Telecommunications Services. Barium does not receive or record the audio or video content of your calls. The privacy and data-handling practices of the applicable Third-Party Telecommunications Services are governed by the operators of those services.

Incoming and outgoing calls may be presented using your operating system’s calling interface. If the Application’s setting to show calls in your device’s call history is on, the name of the conversation and the time and duration of each call are recorded in your device’s call history, which your operating system stores and may synchronize to your other devices according to your settings. That history is governed by Apple’s privacy policies and can be turned off in the Application’s settings.

7.Call Recording and Transcribing

If enabled, the Application allows for the recording of audio and video calls. These recordings are saved locally to your device and are never shared with Barium. Recordings of audio and video calls are regulated in several jurisdictions. Barium does not have any responsibility for the use of any call recording functionality, if enabled. You are responsible for ensuring your own compliance with all applicable laws.

If enabled, the Application allows for the generation of call transcripts from voice and video calls. These transcriptions are performed entirely on your device utilizing on-device speech-recognition functionality provided by your operating system. These transcriptions are saved locally to your device and are never shared with Barium. The Application is designed to refuse to transcribe calls if it cannot do so on your own device, and will never send audio to any external server for processing. The Application does not contain any ability to opt in to or configure an external server for this purpose. Transcriptions of calls are regulated in several jurisdictions. Barium does not have any responsibility for the use of any call transcription functionality, if enabled. You are responsible for ensuring your own compliance with all applicable laws.

8.Information Stored on Your Device

To function as a Matrix client, the Application may store information locally on your device, including: (i) the applicable Third-Party Homeserver address you configured; (ii) authentication credentials and/or access tokens; (iii) encrypted keys and other cryptographic information; (iv) cached messages and media, including a locally-stored, encrypted cache of your messages that makes them searchable on your device; (v) application settings; (vi) account and room information retrieved from your applicable Third-Party Homeserver; (vii) content you share to the Application from other applications, which is stored temporarily while it is sent and then removed and (viii) other information necessary for the Application to operate.

This information remains under the control of your device and the services with which you choose to communicate. It is never transmitted to Barium merely because it is processed or stored locally on your device by the Application.

Removing the Application from your device may remove some or all locally stored information, subject to the behavior of your operating system and any backup services you use.

9.Apple Watch Companion Application

If you install the Application’s Apple Watch companion application, limited conversation information, such as conversation names and pictures, recent messages, read receipts and unread counts, is transferred from your device to your paired Apple Watch over an encrypted connection provided by your operating system, and may be cached on your Apple Watch so that the companion application can function when your device is not reachable. Messages and voice messages you create on your Apple Watch are transferred to your device, which sends them. If you enable the Application’s app lock, message content is not transferred to your Apple Watch. The companion application displays information provided to it by the Application running on your device and does not maintain its own connection to any Homeserver or other Independent Service. Information stored on your Apple Watch remains on your device and is never transmitted to Barium.

10.CarPlay

If you use the Application with CarPlay, the Application displays limited information on your vehicle’s display, such as conversation names, unread counts and recent calls, and does not display the content of messages on your vehicle’s display. You may ask Siri to read messages aloud and to send messages that you dictate. Those requests are handled by Siri as described in Section 11. Notifications shown on your vehicle’s display do not include message content. The Application does not receive any information from your vehicle. What your vehicle’s own systems display, record or retain while connected to your device is determined by your vehicle’s manufacturer and is not controlled by Barium.

11.Siri, Shortcuts and Suggestions

If you use Siri or the Shortcuts application with the Application, your requests, such as a message you dictate or a conversation you ask to open, are processed by Apple as part of Siri or Shortcuts and are governed by Apple’s privacy policies. The Application sends a message you dictate through your Third-Party Homeserver in the same way as a message you type.

The Application includes an optional setting, “Share with Siri & Suggestions,” which is off unless you turn it on. When on, the Application provides your operating system with the names of your conversations and a record that a message was sent or received in them. This allows: (i) Siri to recognize the conversation names you speak and (ii) your conversations to appear in the share sheet, in Siri suggestions and in notifications. The Application never provides your operating system with the content of your messages for this purpose, and Barium never receives any information related to your use of Siri or Shortcuts. This information is stored by your operating system on your device and is governed by Apple’s privacy policies. When you turn the setting off, the Application deletes the information it has provided. When you remove an account from the Application, the Application deletes the information it provided for that account.

The Application includes a second optional setting, “Show Siri the conversation,” which is off unless you turn it on and is not available on Mac. When on, while you are typing a message the Application provides your device’s keyboard with the most recent messages in that conversation, including their text, who sent them and when, so that writing features such as Write with Siri and suggested replies can take the conversation into account. Those messages are decrypted on your device before they are provided. What your operating system does with them, including whether they are processed on your device or by Apple’s servers, is governed by Apple’s privacy policies. Barium never receives this information.

12.Device Permissions

The Application may request certain operating system permissions to provide the features you invoke, and for no other purpose. Such permissions may include:

• (a)camera – enables video calling and the capturing of photos and videos that you choose to send;
• (b)microphone – enables voice messages, audio calls and call recordings that you initiate;
• (c)photo library – enables saving images you choose to save and selecting photos you choose to send;
• (d)location – enables location sharing that you initiate, as described in further detail below;
• (e)speech recognition – enables on-device transcription of calls, as described in Section 7;
• (f)Face ID / Touch ID – enables the Application’s optional app lock; biometric information is processed solely by your operating system and is never available to the Application or to Barium;
• (g)Siri – enables sending messages, placing calls and hearing messages read aloud by voice, as described in Section 11;
• (h)local network – enables connecting to a Homeserver that you operate on your local network;
• (i)notifications – enables notifications for new messages and calls, as described in Section 14; and
• (j)screen recording – enables the screen sharing function during a call, only when you choose to share it.

The Application may request access to your device’s location only to provide location-sharing features that you elect to invoke, such as sharing your current location or sharing your live location within a conversation. Location information which you choose to share is transmitted as a message through the Matrix Protocol and your applicable Third-Party Homeserver using end-to-end encryption, if enabled, to the participants of the applicable conversation. The Application does not use your location for any other purpose, does not track your location in the background except during a live-location share that you have initiated and never transmits information to Barium.

13.Information You Provide to Barium

Barium may receive information if you choose to communicate directly with us outside of the normal operation of the Application. For example, if you email us for support, we will receive your email address and whatever information you choose to include in your message. We use information submitted directly to us solely for the purpose for which it was provided, such as responding to a support request, investigating a reported problem or communicating with you.

If you choose to send us your diagnostics log, described in Section 16, it will contain the technical identifiers described there, including the Matrix identifiers of people with whom you communicate.

PLEASE DO NOT SEND PASSWORDS, MATRIX ACCESS TOKENS OR OTHER ACCOUNT INFORMATION, ENCRYPTION KEYS, RECOVERY KEYS, MESSAGE CONTENTS OR OTHER SENSITIVE INFORMATION IN A SUPPORT REQUEST.

14.Push Notifications

Push notification functionality, where available, uses APNs to alert your device to new activity. APNs is operated by Apple, which assigns each installation of the Application an opaque device token used to route notifications to it. Apple’s handling of notification traffic is governed by Apple’s own privacy policies.

The Application’s notification design does not place message content in notification payloads. When you enable notifications, the Application registers with your Third-Party Homeserver so that it notifies the Push Gateway of new activity in your account. The Push Gateway receives only the information needed to deliver that notification: (i) your device’s APNs token, (ii) an identifier of the Application, (iii) an opaque identifier that tells the Application which of your accounts the notification concerns, (iv) opaque identifiers of the room and event concerned and (v) an unread count. The Push Gateway does not receive message content, sender identity, room names or your Matrix account information.

The Push Gateway forwards this information to APNs and does not retain any of it. The Push Gateway does not have any storage or request logging capabilities. Any message content displayed in a notification is retrieved from your Third-Party Homeserver and decrypted locally on your device after the notification arrives.

The Push Gateway runs on infrastructure provided by Cloudflare, Inc., which processes each request in transit in order to deliver it. Apple necessarily processes the timing and routing of notifications delivered to your device. Neither receives message content, sender identity or your Matrix account information from the notification. Notification routing information is also processed by your Third-Party Homeserver. The handling of information by Apple, Cloudflare, Inc. and your Third-Party Homeserver is governed by their own respective privacy policies.

Notifications are prepared privately on your device. When a notification arrives, the Application retrieves and decrypts the corresponding event locally and decides, on your device and according to your settings, what the notification displays, including the sender’s name and picture, message text and, where you allow it, a preview of a photo. Content displayed in a notification is stored by your operating system with that notification until it is cleared, and may be shown on your lock screen, your paired Apple Watch or your vehicle’s display (without message content) according to your device’s settings. You can control whether notifications display message text and photos in the Application’s settings, separately on each device.

When you remove an account from the Application, the Application removes that account’s registration from your Third-Party Homeserver, after which no information about that account is sent to the Push Gateway.

15.Link Previews

If link previews are enabled, the Application retrieves a title and image for web links in your conversations directly from the website concerned, including links sent to you by others. When it does so, the operator of that website receives the information your device ordinarily sends when visiting a website, such as your IP address and the time of the request. You can turn link previews off in the Application’s settings.

16.Crash Reports; Diagnostics

The Application does not automatically send, and Barium does not receive, crash reports, diagnostic logs or usage telemetry. Information contained in operating system crash reports or diagnostic services may be processed by the provider of your operating system according to that provider’s policies.

The Application includes an optional diagnostics log that you may turn on in the Application's settings. When on, the Application records technical events, such as connection, call, encryption and notification events, together with the technical identifiers involved, such as Matrix user, device, room and event identifiers, in a file stored locally on your device. The diagnostics log does not contain message content, call content or encryption keys. It is limited in size, older entries are discarded automatically, and you may clear it at any time. The diagnostics log is never transmitted automatically. It leaves your device only if you choose to export it and send it to someone, for example to Barium with a support request, in which case Section 13 applies to what you send us.

17.No Tracking; No Advertising

Barium does not, and never will, use your Matrix communications, or any other related information, for advertising, profiling or behavioral tracking.

Barium does not, and never will, include any behavioral analytics or advertising SDKs.

Barium does not, and never will, collect, and does not sell, any of your personal information.

Barium does not, and never will, collect, and does not share, license or monetize in any way, the contents of your Matrix communications or any related information.

Because Barium, by design, does not receive your Matrix communications or any other related information, Barium cannot, and never will, use those communications to build advertising profiles or market them to third parties.

18.Access; Deletion

Barium cannot access, modify, export or delete any information stored by your applicable Third-Party Homeserver, any federated Matrix server with which you communicate, or any other Independent Services because Barium does not operate or administer those services. Requests concerning information stored by these services should be directed to the applicable operator.

If you believe that Barium itself possesses personal information about you, for example because you previously contacted us directly, you may contact us at [email protected]. We take the possession of personal information seriously, and we will respond to any requests concerning information actually within our possession as required by applicable law.

19.Legal Requests

Barium can only disclose information that is actually within our possession, custody or control. Because Barium does not operate or administer your Third-Party Homeserver, Third-Party Telecommunications Services or other Independent Services, we ordinarily do not possess information relating to your communications or Matrix account, including: (i) message history and contents; (ii) files and media; (iii) room contents, including room membership data; (iv) encryption keys and other security tokens; (v) call history and contents or (vi) Homeserver and other Independent Service account records. Barium cannot provide access to information that it does not possess.

If we receive valid legal process seeking information that is actually within our possession, custody or control, we will respond as required by applicable law.

20.Data Security

The Application is designed to minimize the amount of information transmitted to Barium. The security of your Matrix communications depends on several factors outside of Barium’s control, including your device, operating system, Homeserver, account credentials, encryption configuration, other participating devices, federated servers and other Independent Services.

NO SOFTWARE OR COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM CAN GUARANTEE ABSOLUTE SECURITY. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING APPROPRIATE SECURITY OVER YOUR DEVICES AND CREDENTIALS.

21.Children

The Application is not directed at children. Barium does not collect personal information from any Users, including children. Age limits, where they apply, may be set by applicable law, Barium’s Terms of Service and the Independent Services which you choose to use. It is your responsibility to comply with all applicable laws pertaining to the use of the Application by children.

22.International Use

The Matrix Protocol is a decentralized communications system. Any Third-Party Homeserver, Third-Party Telecommunications Services, federated servers and other Independent Services that you choose to use may be located in different countries or jurisdictions. As a result, your communications may be processed in jurisdictions outside your own. Barium does not determine the location in which independently operated Matrix services (including Independent Services) process your information.

23.European Privacy Laws

Barium does not act as the operator or administrator of your Homeserver or other Independent Services and does not control the processing of information, including personal information, being performed by them. Barium does not act as the controller or processor of personal information stored or processed by the Independent Services you choose to use merely because you access such services using the Application.

Where Barium separately receives personal information, such as information voluntarily provided to us in a support request, we will process that information only for appropriate purposes in accordance with applicable law. Nothing in this Privacy Policy limits the rights that you may have under applicable data-protection laws.

In operating the Push Gateway, Barium processes device tokens and the other routing information described in Section 14 solely to deliver notifications you have enabled. None of it is retained.

24.California Privacy Laws

Barium does not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. Barium does not receive or maintain a database containing Users’ Matrix communications or other personal information. If California privacy laws grant you rights with respect to personal information actually held by Barium, you may contact us at [email protected] to exercise those rights. Requests concerning information held by an Independent Service operator or administrator (including Third-Party Homeservers or Third-Party Telecommunications Services) must be directed to the applicable operator or administrator of that Independent Service.

25.Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as Barium changes or as necessary to reflect changes in applicable law. If we materially change Barium’s privacy practices, we will update this Privacy Policy and its effective date and provide additional notice where required by applicable law.

26.Contact

Questions concerning this Privacy Policy or personal information actually held by Barium may be directed to:

Barium Labs, LLC 5900 Balcones Drive Suite 30414 Austin, TX 78731 [email protected]