Almost every social app says it respects your privacy. Very few say what that promise commits them to. This is a list of nine questions you can ask any network, including ours: what each one is really about, and how UNET answers it. Where we fall short, we say so.
1. How does it make money?
Start here, because the answer shapes the other eight. If the money comes from ads, then your attention and your behavior are the product, and every feature is judged by how much it helps sell them. "Privacy settings" on such a service mostly decide which data gets used, not whether it is collected.
UNET has no ads, and no paid plans either. The feed ranks posts from people you follow, and you can see how the ranking works and change it. Servers still cost money. We are a small team and for now that cost is on us, but anyone who wants to can support the project. A service with nothing to sell is worth questioning. Our answer is above: a small team is paying for it, for now.
2. What does it need to create an account?
An email address or a phone number links your account to your real identity, and those details end up in every breach and every data broker's file. If a service asks for one, ask what it is for.
On UNET you pick a username. No email, no phone number. The trade-off is real: there is no "reset by email" button, which leads straight to question 6.
3. Can the service see your password?
It should not be able to. On UNET the password never leaves your device. We do not store it and could not hand it over if asked.
4. Are direct messages end-to-end encrypted?
"Encrypted in transit" only means nobody on the network path can read your message. The service itself still can. End-to-end means only the people in the conversation hold the keys.
UNET's direct messages, and the pictures and voice notes in them, are end-to-end encrypted. Group chats are not: our servers can read them, and in open and closed groups the history is public. Be wary of any app that says "encrypted" without saying which of the two it means, or which conversations it covers.
5. What does it learn about you without being told?
Content is only part of it. A photo carries its own metadata: where it was taken, with what device, when. A photo taken at home can carry the coordinates of your front door.
UNET removes EXIF data, including GPS location, from photos you upload to posts and comments. Even so, a server that delivers a message has to know who it is addressed to, so end-to-end encryption protects what you say, not the fact that you said it. Ask every service where that line sits.
6. How do you get back in if you lose access?
Recovery is where privacy quietly breaks. If an email link can reset your account, then your email inbox is the real key to it, and whoever controls that inbox controls you.
UNET works differently. You keep a recovery key. If you forget your password, you enter the key and set a new one. The cryptography does the work, not an email link and not a support agent. The price is simple: if you lose both your password and your key, we cannot get you back in.
7. Can you protect the account with more than a password?
Passkeys and hardware keys make phishing far harder, because there is no code to type into a fake page. On UNET you can use either as a second factor.
8. Can you leave, and can others still reach you?
If you cannot take your data and leave, you are not really in control of it. Look for data export and for open standards.
You can download your data in Settings → Account → Export my data. UNET accounts can also be followed from the fediverse through ActivityPub. Details and limits are in UNET joins the fediverse with ActivityPub.
9. Can anyone check the claims?
"Trust us" is not a security model. The cryptography behind UNET's authentication and encryption is open source, so you, or someone you trust, can read it. We also publish live numbers: as of 7 November 2026, 1,190 people, 4 of them permanently blocked, and 172 logged moderation actions in the last 30 days. A network that publishes how often it intervenes gives you something to hold it to.
Using the list
Give each question a yes, a no, or "they don't say". The "they don't say" answers tell you as much as the others. You can run the same list against X, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, or Instagram on our comparison page, and read our longer take in UNET vs Threads.
Here is where UNET falls short: group chats are readable by our servers, and if you lose both your password and your recovery key, nobody can get you back in. If you can live with those trade-offs, the app is on the download page.
FAQ
Is UNET really free of ads?
Yes. There are no ads and no ad tracking. Posts are ranked from people you follow.
Can UNET read my direct messages?
Not in direct messages: those are end-to-end encrypted. Group chats are not, and we say so openly.
What if I lose my password?
Enter your recovery key and set a new password. If you have lost the key as well, nobody can restore the account, including us.
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