Effective 16 August 2026 · Operated by GreyNOC · Contact: [email protected]
The short version: GreyNOC has no accounts — your identity is a cryptographic key
that lives in your browser and never leaves it. Private rooms, direct messages, and calls are
end-to-end encrypted; we cannot read them. The Community Lobby, public rooms, and the feed are
public, and are erased whenever the server restarts. The core messenger sets no cookies;
GreyPath Operations uses functional cookies for authorization and run-resume state. GreyNOC
runs no ads, uses no analytics, and never sells your data. Payments are handled entirely by
Stripe — your card number never touches our servers. California residents: we do not
sell or share your personal information and we honor your CCPA/CPRA rights — see the
California Privacy Notice in section 12.
1. Who we are
GreyNOC operates this service (the retro messenger, Code Lab, training academy, certifications,
DROP advisory board, GreyNOC OS arcade, and GreyMESH) at chat.grey-noc.com. For
anything in this document — questions, data requests, complaints — email
[email protected].
2. No accounts — your identity is a device key
We do not collect names, emails, phone numbers, or passwords to use GreyNOC. Your identity is an
Ed25519 key pair generated in your browser on first use. The private key never leaves your
device; the server only ever sees the public half, which acts as your pseudonymous handle.
Your screen name is whatever you choose — it does not need to be your real name.
Because we hold no account record, losing your device key (for example by clearing browser
storage without a migration code) is unrecoverable by design.
3. What we can never read (end-to-end encrypted)
- Private rooms, 1:1 direct messages, and voice/video calls run peer-to-peer over
WebRTC. The server relays only connection signaling (who is connecting to whom) — the
content flows directly between participants, end-to-end encrypted.
- Code Lab collaboration sessions use the same peer-to-peer channels.
- Offline messages (sent while a buddy is away) are sealed on your device with hybrid
post-quantum encryption (X25519 + ML-KEM-768) to the recipient's key. The server stores only
the ciphertext plus routing metadata (sender and recipient public keys, sender screen name,
timestamps). Sealed messages are deleted on delivery, or after 7 days if never collected.
- Room passwords are never sent to the server — only a salted verifier.
WebRTC connection setup uses Google's public STUN servers and may reveal network metadata,
including IP information, to Google and to the peers you connect with. STUN does not receive
the encrypted room, message, or call content.
4. What is public in the app
The Community Lobby, public rooms, and the home feed are not private: what
you post there is visible to everyone connected and passes through the server in plaintext.
This community content is held in server memory only and is erased whenever the server
restarts. DROP advisories you publish are public by intent and persist until you
delete them or the bounded advisory store prunes the oldest entries (you can delete your own
advisories in-app). Presence — your screen
name, online/away status, and the “where in the app” activity badge — is
broadcast to other users while you are connected; you can blank the activity badge with
Hide my activity in Settings or leave the roster entirely with appear offline.
Presence is never written to disk.
5. What we store, and for how long
Persisted server-side, keyed to your identity key or an opaque vault token your browser holds:
These records survive server restarts. The store has bounded capacity; if a limit is reached,
the service may prune the oldest or least-recently-used records before the retention event
listed below.
- Saved profiles (display preferences you save) — until you delete or wipe them.
- Training progress (BB Academy, White Team, GreyPath), exam records, and
server-graded completions — until you wipe them.
- Certificates: the credential record and the certificate name you enter. The name is
permanent once locked and is shown publicly at
/verify to anyone who has
the certificate's unguessable serial. GreyPath operation certificates may use a separate
name you choose for that credential; it is locked when you connect the completion to your
GreyNOC key. Treat sharing a certificate serial as publishing its printed name.
A full wipe removes your certificates and the locked name.
- Buddy list: mutual buddy relationships and pending requests (with sender screen
names), so requests survive while you're offline. Pending requests and results expire after
30 days; mutual relationships remain until removed or capacity-pruned.
- Arcade & range records: GreyNOC OS CTF solves, FRAGNET match stats, GreyNet
Browser solves, Rips play counts and card collection, and related handles.
- Promotion records: redeemed promotion codes and the associated entitlement period,
keyed to your identity key.
- Academy support tickets: your identity public key, handle, category, message and any
code you choose to attach, course/app context, replies, status, and timestamps. Tickets remain
until removed on request or capacity-pruned.
- Public key material: your identity public key and any signed ML-KEM public prekey you
publish so other users can address and encrypt offline messages to you.
- GreyMESH identity binding — see section 10.
- Pro billing record — see section 6.
- Sealed offline messages addressed to you — see section 3.
Browser-only state includes your private keys, theme and
preferences, trust pins for buddies' keys, cached progress, and — if you use GreyMESH
— a capped history of mesh messages you've seen (including LoRa direct-message text), kept
on this device only so your inbox survives a reload. You can wipe it any time (section 11).
6. Payments (Stripe)
GreyNOC Pro checkout happens on Stripe's hosted payment page. Your card details go
directly to Stripe and never touch GreyNOC's servers. We pass Stripe your identity
public key as the purchase reference; Stripe returns and we store: your Pro status, Stripe
customer and subscription IDs, your checkout email, and the renewal date — keyed to
your identity key so your entitlement can be honored and refunds or chargebacks can revoke it.
Subscriptions are cancellable any time from the receipt Stripe emails you. Stripe processes
your payment data under its own privacy policy.
7. IP addresses & security logs
We use your IP address transiently for rate limiting and abuse defense (connection caps,
attack-pattern scoring, temporary bans). This data lives in server memory with short windows
(roughly 10-minute scoring, 15-minute automatic bans). High-severity security events (for
example, exploit probes) may be written to server console logs with the offending IP.
Operator-imposed manual bans store the IP, reason, and timestamps until they expire or are
lifted, and may be permanent. Bounded administrative-control and GreyPath-deletion audit
records also store the operator's IP.
8. Cookies & local storage
The core messenger sets no cookies and GreyNOC embeds no analytics, ad, or fingerprinting
scripts. GreyPath Operations sets signed, functional HttpOnly cookies: one remembers acceptance
of its authorization statement (normally 30 days), and separate cookies resume in-progress
Black Glass, Quiet Meridian, and Last Light runs (normally 12 hours). They are scoped to the
relevant /greypath routes, use SameSite=Strict, and are marked
Secure in production. Client state such as identity keys, preferences, progress,
the 18+ confirmation, trust pins, and saved GreyMESH message history is kept in browser local
storage to make the app function. Our edge provider (Cloudflare) may set its own operational
cookies as part of serving the site.
9. Service providers
- Stripe (payments) — receives what you enter at checkout; sends us the billing
record described in section 6.
- Cloudflare (edge proxy/CDN) — all traffic to
chat.grey-noc.com
transits Cloudflare, which sees client IPs and request metadata and keeps edge logs under its
own policy.
- Google public STUN (WebRTC connectivity) — browsers contact
stun.l.google.com and stun1.l.google.com, which can receive IP and
connection metadata but not encrypted room, message, or call content.
- Self-hosted origin — the server and its data store are operated by GreyNOC,
not a third-party database service.
We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for advertising. Ever.
10. GreyMESH (optional LoRa radio)
If you connect a Meshtastic node, understand that LoRa mesh traffic is a separate,
lower-trust transport: node names, GPS positions, telemetry, and mesh text received by the
bridge are rebroadcast to all connected GreyNOC users and are governed by Meshtastic's own
channel encryption, not GreyNOC's end-to-end encryption. Mesh node data expires from server
memory after a few hours; a node-to-identity binding you create persists until you unbind it.
Mesh messages you view — including LoRa direct messages — are cached in your
browser's local storage (capped, device-only) so your inbox survives a reload; clear it from the
inbox toolbar or with a full data wipe (section 11). Because a LoRa from address is
spoofable, sender names on mesh messages are advisory, not authenticated.
11. Your choices & rights
The KEEP / WIPE switch in Settings' Danger Zone erases your local identity and settings,
and deletes your server-side saved profiles, training progress, exam records, and certificates
(including the locked certificate name). Because of how the system is built, a wipe does
not remove: your Pro billing record (including the checkout email), sealed offline
messages queued for you, buddy-list entries, published encryption prekeys, GreyMESH bindings,
GreyNOC OS, FRAGNET, GreyNet Browser, and Rips records, promotion records, Academy support
tickets, security/ban/audit records, or DROP advisories you published (delete those in-app first).
To have those residuals removed
— or to request a copy of the data we hold against your identity key — email
[email protected]. We verify such requests by
asking you to prove control of the identity key (and, for billing records, the checkout email),
since that key is the only thing that ties data to you.
If you are in the EU/UK (GDPR) or California (CCPA/CPRA), the rights to access, correct,
delete, and port your data apply as described above; we honor them regardless of where you
live. California residents: section 12 is your full California Privacy Notice, including
the categories we collect, how to exercise each right, and our response times. We cannot
produce end-to-end encrypted content in response to any request — we do not hold the
keys. We process the little personal data we have to provide the service you request
(contract), and to keep the service secure (legitimate interest).
12. California Privacy Notice (CCPA/CPRA)
This section is the notice California residents are entitled to under the California Consumer
Privacy Act as amended by the CPRA. GreyNOC is available to California residents. We
honor everything below regardless of whether the CCPA's business-size thresholds actually
apply to us — we would rather meet the standard than argue about it.
12.1 Notice at collection — what we collect and why
You see a short version of this notice on the age & policy gate, before your identity key
is generated or any record is written against it. To be exact about what the gate cannot come
before: loading the page at all means your request reaches our edge provider and our server,
which see your IP address, and the app opens its service connection as the script loads
(sections 7 and 9). That transport-level collection is how the page arrives on your screen, so
it cannot wait behind a gate the page itself renders. Everything else does wait.
Sections 3–9 above are the long version; the statutory categories map onto them like
this:
- Identifiers — your identity public key (a pseudonymous handle, not a name),
the screen name you choose, your IP address, and, if you buy Pro, the checkout email Stripe
returns to us. Purpose: operate the service, deliver your entitlement, defend
against abuse.
- Commercial information — your Pro status, Stripe customer/subscription IDs,
renewal date, and any promotion code you redeem (section 6). Purpose: honor and
bill the subscription, apply refunds and chargebacks.
- Internet or other electronic network activity — training progress, exam
records, certificates and the name you lock to them, buddy-list relationships, arcade and
range records, Academy support tickets, and short-lived security/rate-limit records
(sections 5 and 7). Purpose: provide the training and community features you use,
and keep the service secure.
- Geolocation data — only if you choose to connect a Meshtastic node: GPS
positions broadcast by nodes on your LoRa mesh pass through the bridge (section 10).
Purpose: operate the optional GreyMESH feature. Skip GreyMESH and we collect none.
- Communications content — public rooms, the Community Lobby, and the feed pass
through our server in plaintext and are erased on restart; private rooms, direct messages,
and calls are end-to-end encrypted and we cannot read them; offline messages sit as
ciphertext we cannot open (section 3). Purpose: relay your messages, which is what
a chat service does.
We do not collect Social Security or government ID numbers, financial account numbers
(Stripe holds those, not us), biometric information, precise device geolocation from the app,
education records as defined by FERPA, or inferences drawn to build a profile about you. We
run no ads, no analytics, and no fingerprinting.
12.2 Retention
We keep each category only as long as section 5 describes: pending buddy requests and results
expire after 30 days, uncollected sealed messages after 7 days, IP scoring within roughly
10–15 minutes (longer only for manual bans and audit records), and community content
until the next server restart. Saved profiles, training progress, exam records, and
certificates persist until you wipe them. Records a wipe does not reach — your Pro
billing record and checkout email, promotion records, buddy-list entries, published prekeys,
GreyMESH bindings, arcade and range records, support tickets, and the rest of the section 11
list — persist until you ask us to remove them; security, ban, and audit records are kept
for as long as they serve that purpose, and an operator-imposed ban may be permanent
(section 7). The store has bounded capacity, so the oldest or least-recently-used records may
be pruned sooner. We do not keep personal information for longer than needed for these
purposes.
12.3 We do not sell or share your personal information
We have not sold personal information, and we have not shared it for cross-context
behavioral advertising, in the preceding 12 months — nor will we. We do not sell or
share the personal information of anyone, including minors under 16. Because there is nothing
to opt out of, GreyNOC does not run a “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information”
link; if that ever changes, this section changes with it and the link appears. The service
providers in section 9 (Stripe, Cloudflare) process data on our behalf under contract, which
is not a sale or a share.
12.4 Sensitive personal information
We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information for any purpose beyond what is
necessary to provide the service you asked for. We do not use it to infer characteristics
about you. Your identity private key — the credential that would unlock
everything — never leaves your device, so we never hold it. Because we make no use of
sensitive personal information that the CPRA lets you limit, the “Limit the Use of My
Sensitive Personal Information” right would not change how we handle your data; you can
exercise it anyway and we will confirm it in writing.
12.5 Your California rights
- Right to know — the categories and specific pieces of personal information we
hold about you, the sources, our purposes, and the categories of recipients.
- Right to delete — deletion of personal information we hold, subject to the
statutory exceptions (for example, records we must keep to complete a transaction, to
detect security incidents, or to comply with law).
- Right to correct — correction of inaccurate personal information.
- Right to portability — a copy of what we hold in a readily usable format.
- Right to opt out of sale/sharing — we do not sell or share, so there is
nothing to opt out of (12.3).
- Right to limit use of sensitive personal information — see 12.4.
- Right to non-discrimination — we will not deny you service, charge you a
different price, or give you a lower level of service for exercising any of these rights.
GreyNOC Pro is a paid tier open to everyone on the same terms and has nothing to do with
privacy choices.
12.6 How to exercise them
Most of it you can do yourself, instantly, without asking us: the KEEP / WIPE switch in
Settings' Danger Zone deletes your local identity and your server-side profiles, progress,
exam records, and certificates. For anything the wipe leaves behind (section 11), email
[email protected] with the request
you are making. That mailbox is the designated method for all California requests.
How we verify you. GreyNOC has no accounts, so the only thing that ties data to you is
your identity key: we ask you to prove control of it by signing a challenge we send (and, for
billing records, to confirm the checkout email). We cannot honor a request we cannot verify to
this standard, and the law does not require us to re-identify data we hold in a form that
cannot be linked to a real person — but we will always tell you which of the two it was
rather than going quiet. An authorized agent may submit a request for you with your
written permission; we will still need the key-control proof.
Timing. We confirm receipt within 10 business days and respond within 45 calendar days.
If we need more time we will tell you before the 45 days are up and take at most another 45
(90 total). We do not charge a fee to handle these requests, unless one is manifestly
unfounded or excessive, in which case we will explain before doing anything.
What we cannot produce. End-to-end encrypted content — private rooms, direct
messages, calls, and sealed offline mail — is not something we can hand over, correct,
or read on request. We do not hold the keys. That is a design property of the service, not a
refusal.
12.7 Shine the Light (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.83)
We do not disclose personal information to third parties for those parties' own direct
marketing purposes. If you want that confirmed in writing, email us and we will send it.
12.8 California users under 18 (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 22581)
GreyNOC is an 18+ service (section 13) and is not directed to minors. If content was
nonetheless posted here by someone under 18, that person — or a parent or guardian
— may email us to have it removed. Removal takes the post out of public view; it may not
erase copies other users already saw, and public community content is erased on server restart
in any event.
12.9 Consumer complaints (Cal. Civ. Code § 1789.3)
GreyNOC's free features cost nothing; GreyNOC Pro's current price is shown on the Go Pro page
before you check out. To file a complaint about the service, email
[email protected]. California
residents may also contact the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services
of the California Department of Consumer Affairs in writing at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite
N 112, Sacramento, CA 95834, or by telephone at (800) 952-5210.
13. Age requirement
GreyNOC is intended for adults and requires you to be 18 or older, confirmed by the
age gate on first run (self-attested). The service is not directed to children, and we do not
knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18 — if you believe we hold
such data, email us and we will delete it promptly.
14. Security & incidents
Beyond end-to-end encryption, the service uses signed identities, post-quantum sealing for
offline mail, a hardened content-security policy, and active abuse monitoring. No system is
perfect: if a breach affects personal data we hold, we will notify affected users where
feasible and any supervisory authority as required by law (including within 72 hours where
GDPR applies). Security researchers: responsible disclosure is welcome — see the
project's security policy before testing anything.
15. Changes to this policy
We may update this document as the service evolves. Material changes will be posted here with
a new effective date; continuing to use GreyNOC after a change takes effect means you accept
the updated version.
User Agreement
a. Acceptance & eligibility
By using GreyNOC you agree to this User Agreement and the Privacy Policy above. You must be at
least 18 years old.
b. California residents
GreyNOC is offered to California residents on the same terms as everyone else. Section
12 of the Privacy Policy is your California Privacy Notice: it lists what we collect, states
that we neither sell nor share personal information, and explains how to exercise your
CCPA/CPRA rights. We will not deny service, change your price, or degrade your experience
because you exercised those rights. Nothing in this agreement waives a right California
law gives you, and where any term here conflicts with California law as it applies to you,
California law controls and the rest of this agreement stays in effect.
c. Your identity key is your responsibility
Access, entitlements, and credentials are bound to your device identity key. Keep your device
and browser storage safe. If you lose the key without a Pro migration code, we cannot restore
what was bound to it — there is no account-recovery back door, on purpose.
d. Acceptable use
- Use GreyNOC only lawfully. No harassment, threats, doxxing, child sexual abuse material,
malware distribution, spam, or impersonation.
- Public spaces are lightly moderated. We may remove content, revoke certificates obtained
dishonestly, and ban identities, devices, or IPs at our discretion to protect the community.
- Security-training terms: the skills taught in BB Academy, White Team, GreyPath, and
GreyNOC OS are for systems you own or are explicitly authorized to test. The in-app ranges
and arcade targets are the only systems this service authorizes you to attack.
Attacking the service itself outside the responsible-disclosure process is prohibited.
e. Your content
You keep ownership of what you post. You grant GreyNOC the limited license needed to display
and relay it to other users (that is what a chat service does). Public posts are public;
community content is ephemeral and vanishes on server restart, so keep your own copies of
anything you care about.
f. GreyNOC Pro
- Pro is billed by Stripe as a subscription (or one-time purchase where offered) and unlocks
the features listed on the Go Pro page. Prices may change; changes apply from your next
renewal, never retroactively.
- The entitlement is bound to your identity key. Generate a migration code before moving
devices or wiping your browser — it is the only way to carry Pro across.
- Cancel any time from Stripe's receipt email; access continues until the paid period ends.
Refunds or chargebacks may result in revocation.
g. Certifications
Certificates are earned by passing proctored-style exams and are issued under the name you
lock, verifiable by anyone holding the certificate serial. Cheating, sharing exam content, or
gaming the grader voids the credential.
h. Disclaimers
The service, including all training content, is provided “as is”, without
warranty of any kind. Educational material is not professional, legal, or career advice.
We do not guarantee uptime — community data does not survive restarts, and the service
may change or end at any time.
i. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, GreyNOC's total liability for any claim arising from
the service is limited to the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim, and we
are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages.
j. Termination
You can stop using GreyNOC at any time (see section 11 for erasure). We may suspend or
terminate access for violations of this agreement.
k. Governing law
This agreement is governed by the laws of the United States. If any provision is found
unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.
l. Contact
Questions about this agreement or your data: [email protected].
GREYNOCCODING ACADEMY
