Privacy
Last updated: 19 August 2026
StrangerPost takes a message written by a stranger and prints it on paper, physically, on someone else's thermal printer. This page explains what happens to the data you entrust to us, in plain words and without boilerplate.
The most important part comes first, because it changes everything: a public message comes out on paper in the homes of people you do not know, and paper cannot be recalled.
Contact
For any request about your data write to privacy@strangerpost.com. To report offensive content use abuse@strangerpost.com instead.
The full identifying details of the data controller are provided on request to anyone entitled to them, by writing to the same address.
What happens when you send a message
A message is made of text, optionally a photo, and one choice: public or private.
If you leave it public, it is published on the site's board, reachable by its number, and printed on the thermal printers connected to the service, which belong to private individuals in places you do not know.
If you mark it private, it does not appear on the board and cannot be reached by number, but it is still printed: that is the point of the service.
Once printed, that sheet exists. We cannot delete it, recall it, or know where it ends up. Write only what you accept becoming permanent and outside your control.
No account needed, and we do not ask for one
Writing requires no registration. We do not ask for an email, a name, an age or a phone number. Whoever writes stays anonymous, and that is a design choice, not an oversight.
When you submit, you receive a personal link that lets you view your message again and download its PDF receipt. Keep it: it is the only way to prove that message is yours.
Email addresses exist only for printer owners, who sign in with a temporary link sent by email. They use no passwords.
Photos
If you attach a photo, it is converted to dithered black and white, the only format a thermal printer can reproduce. That is the version published and printed.
Images are stored on the server together with the message.
The IP address, kept only in hashed form
At submission we compute a cryptographic fingerprint of your IP address and keep only that. The address itself is never stored in clear.
It serves two purposes and no others: enforcing a limit on how many messages can be sent in an hour, and blocking anyone abusing the service. It is not used to profile you and is not linked to any other information about you.
How moderation works
Every text passes through a banned-word filter and a rate limit. A message can be rejected or held for human approval.
If the server is configured with an OpenAI key, photos are sent to OpenAI's moderation API to be checked. OpenAI is a provider based in the United States, so in that case there is a transfer of data outside the European Union.
A flagged photo is never published automatically: it goes into an approval queue where a person looks at it. The automated check can only raise the level of scrutiny, never lower it.
Cookies: one only, technical
The site uses a single cookie, called sp_session, and only for printer owners who have signed in. It keeps the session open.
We do not use Google Analytics or any other analytics tool. There are no advertising pixels, no third-party scripts, no profiling. That is why you will not find a cookie banner: there would be nothing to ask you about.
Where the data is stored
The site is hosted on a server inside the European Union. Messages and images are stored there.
The only transfer of data outside the European Union is the one described in the moderation section: photos sent to OpenAI. If others are added in future, they will be listed here.
How long it stays
Public messages stay published indefinitely: the board is the service, and an archive that empties itself would make no sense.
You can request removal of your message by writing to privacy@strangerpost.com and attaching the personal link you received when you submitted it. That link, not the number: the number is public, so anyone could use it to have someone else's message deleted. The link is the only proof the message is yours.
Your rights
You can ask to access the data concerning you, correct it, delete it, restrict its processing or object to it, by writing to privacy@strangerpost.com.
There is a practical limit worth stating openly: an anonymous message is not linked to an identifiable person, so we cannot trace it back to you on its own. To exercise your rights over a specific message we need the personal link you received at submission.
If you believe the processing is not lawful, you can lodge a complaint with the Italian data protection authority, the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali.
The mobile app
An app for iOS and Android is in preparation. It is not published yet and processes no data at this time.
This notice will be updated before the app becomes available, to describe exactly what data it collects and which providers it is passed to.
Minors
The service is not directed at children under 14 and we perform no age verification. If you are a parent and believe your child sent a message, write to abuse@strangerpost.com quoting the message number and we will remove it.
Changes to this notice
If anything changes, the updated version is published on this page and the date at the top is updated. Substantial changes are also announced on the site.