Trust and legal

Privacy policy

Last updated 8 October 2026

The short version

Ferry sends your files and text directly from one device to another. They are encrypted on the sending device and decrypted on the receiving device. The Ferry server never receives them, their names, or the keys that protect them. It does keep anonymous statistics about how the service is used, described below.

What the server stores

To let two devices find each other, the server keeps a small amount of data. Ferry is operated by the operator of this site.

About a device

• A random device ID that your browser creates. It is not linked to your name or email.
• A one-way hash of a secret your browser creates, used to prove requests come from that device.
• The device name, for example “Mac (Chrome)”, or a name you typed.
• The time the device last had Ferry open.

A device record is deleted after 90 days without use.

About a transfer

• A random transfer ID, a 6-digit code, and the time it expires.
• A one-way hash of a join token. The token comes from the part of the link after the # sign, which browsers never send to servers.
• The device IDs and names of the devices that joined, and the public halves of their encryption keys.
• Connection setup messages between the devices. These are encrypted with a key the server does not have.
• If “Show to devices on my network” is on, a keyed hash of your public IP address. The address itself is not stored.

Setup messages are deleted when the devices connect or the transfer ends. Everything about a transfer is deleted after it expires, which is 24 hours after it starts.

About remembered devices

• The pair of device IDs that agreed to remember each other.
• A short-lived, encrypted invitation when one of them starts a transfer to the other. It is deleted after 10 minutes.

Usage statistics

To understand how Ferry is used, the server records an event when a page is opened, a transfer is started or joined, a file or text message is sent, or two devices choose to remember each other. An event can include:

• The date and the kind of event.
• The country, region and city your network appears to be in, as estimated by the hosting provider from your IP address. The IP address itself is not stored.
• Your operating system, browser and whether the device is a phone, tablet or computer.
• The site that linked you here, and which page of Ferry you opened.
• For a file: its general type, such as image or video, its extension, such as “pdf”, its size, and whether the route was direct or relayed.
• How a device joined a transfer: by link, code, nearby list or remembered device.
• A random-looking visitor code that changes every day. It lets visits be counted without identifying a device from one day to the next.

Events never include a file name, file contents, text you send, a device ID or an IP address. They are deleted after 120 days. Daily totals for the whole service are kept longer.

What the server never receives

• The contents of your files or text.
• File names, folder names or paths.
• The encryption keys, or the secret part of a transfer link.

For the statistics above, the sending device reports the type, extension and size of each file it sends. Nothing else about a file is reported.

IP addresses and other companies

• The companies that host this site and its database process your IP address to deliver the service, as any website host does.
• To connect directly, your two devices learn each other’s IP addresses. This is how peer-to-peer connections work.
• Your browser contacts public address-discovery servers run by Cloudflare and Google to find a route between the devices. They see your IP address and nothing about your files.
• When no direct route exists and a relay is configured, your encrypted data passes through the relay. The relay cannot decrypt it.

Ferry has no advertising and no third-party analytics or tracking scripts.

What is stored on your device

• The device ID, its secret and its name.
• Your list of remembered devices and the keys shared with them.
• Encryption keys for transfers that are still open.
• Files you received, in the browser’s private storage, until you save them. Ferry clears finished files after 24 hours and unfinished ones after 3 days.
• Your settings, such as whether received files save automatically.

You can remove all of it by clearing this site’s data in your browser settings. Ferry sets no tracking cookies. One cookie is used only to keep the site operator signed in to the admin page.

Offline mode

Offline mode does not contact the server. The two devices exchange connection details through the QR codes on their screens.

Children

Ferry is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect data from them.

Changes

If this policy changes, the new version is posted here with a new date.