- Is it end-to-end encrypted?
-
No, and we would rather say so here than in a meeting. Messages are
readable by the system that stores them, which is what makes search
work and what lets a company get its own records out when it has to.
This is the same model as Slack or Google Chat. If you specifically
need a system where nobody operating it could ever read a message,
this is the wrong product and we will tell you that on the first call.
- Who can read our messages?
-
The people you invited, and — while we operate the server for you — us,
when we are doing something you asked for. We are not going to claim we
are technically incapable of it, because on this architecture nobody
honest can. What we will do is put in writing who is authorised, what
they can reach, and where that gets logged.
- What happens when someone leaves?
-
You remove them, and we make sure the removal actually ends their live
session rather than waiting for them to sign out. What we cannot do is
reach onto a former employee's laptop and delete the messages already
delivered there — no chat product can, and anyone who says otherwise is
selling you something.
- What if we want to leave?
-
You take your data with you. The software underneath is open source
(Apache 2.0), your message history exports, and nothing about the setup
depends on us continuing to exist. We would rather earn the next month
than trap you in it.
- What is it built on?
-
Buzz — an open-source chat platform built by Block, Inc. and designed
from the start for people and AI agents working together. It is young
and it moves fast, which is exactly the part we take off your hands: we
watch the releases, test them, and update your server when an update is
safe. You never think about a version number.