Trust and legal

Privacy policy

Last updated 27 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. An optional account adds held files, which are stored sealed so the server cannot read them. Ferry also keeps 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 Shola Jegede.

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.

About feedback

If you send a message on the feedback page, the server keeps the message, the type you chose, the page you were on, and your operating system, browser and device type. If you add an email address, the server keeps that too and uses it only to reply to you. A message is linked to nothing else about you. To have a message deleted, write to the contact address on this site.

About testimonials

If you share a testimonial, the server keeps your name, what you wrote or the link to your video, the role or company you gave, if any, and your email address, which we use only to reach you about it. We read it first, and it appears on the site only after we approve it and only with the agreement you ticked. To have yours removed, write to the contact address on this site.

If you create an account (optional)

Accounts are opened gradually. Sign-in is handled by Kinde. If you have an account, the server keeps:

• Your email address, your name if you give one, your plan and storage limits, and the time you last signed in.
• Each held file: the sealed file in object storage, its size, when it expires, how many times it was opened and whether you or an agent key created it. The file name and type are sealed with the file, and the key that opens it stays in the link you share. If you add a password, it is used in your browser to make the key and is never sent to or stored by the server. The file is deleted when it expires, 1 hour to 7 days after you send it, as you choose, and you can open it again from your dashboard on the device you sent it from. A direct send without an account is never stored. The server cannot read any of it.
• Your history: for each entry you keep or import, the file name, size, type, direction, device name and time. You can remove one entry or all of them.
• Agent keys: a name, a one-way hash, the last four characters, the scope and when it was last used.
• Requests you send for access or for more storage, with the message you write.

You can export all of this, or delete your account, from Your data in the dashboard. Deleting removes your account, keys, history and requests, and removes your held files from storage. Your sign-in record at Kinde is separate. Write to the contact address on this site to have it removed. Emails about access and plans are sent through Resend, and only to the address you gave.

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 readable contents of your files or text, including held files, which are stored sealed.
• File names, folder names or paths.
• The encryption keys, or the secret part of a transfer or held-file 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.
• A list of the files you sent and received in a transfer: their names, sizes and times. It does not hold the files or any text you sent. You can clear it on the transfer page, and Ferry removes it after 2 days.
• A history page that lists every file you sent or received on this browser: names, sizes, times and the name of the other device. It does not hold the files or any text you sent. You can remove one entry or all of them on the history page. Ferry keeps it until you do.
• 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.

The Chrome extension

The extension reads the address and title of a tab only when you click its icon or its menu item. It reads an image only when you send that image, and it asks for permission to read images from a site the first time. Files that your other device sends to it are saved in your Downloads folder by Chrome. It stores a device ID, its secret and your remembered devices in the extension’s own storage. It keeps no history and has no analytics.

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.

Contact

Questions or requests about your data: me@sholajegede.com.