Clear answers about messaging, Shore, encryption, Hermit/Shell/Conch+ pricing, and how Conch differs from behavioral-advertising platforms.
Conch is a privacy-first communication and social platform that combines end-to-end encrypted messaging, voice and video communication, communities, games, and Shore — a chronological social experience. Conch does not build behavioral advertising profiles or mine user activity for targeted advertising.
Both. Conch includes private messaging (direct and group chats, voice messages, media) and Shore, Conch’s chronological social network, plus communities and games — in one app.
Shore is Conch’s chronological social network. Following shows posts from accounts you follow in time order. Topics shows chronological content from hashtags or topics you intentionally follow. Discover is a separate area to explore public content — not a personalized behavioral feed. Conch does not build behavioral advertising profiles from Shore activity.
Yes. Hermit is Conch’s free plan ($0). It includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, Shore, communities, games, and core privacy protections — no behavioral advertising profile and no data mining for targeted advertising. Shell and Conch+ add paid voice and video features.
Hermit is Conch’s free plan: Privacy + Messaging. It includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, direct and group messaging, voice messages, Shore, communities, games, and Conch’s core privacy commitments (no behavioral advertising profile, no selling personal data). It does not include live voice calls, Lounges, video calling, or screen sharing.
Shell ($2.99/month or $29.99/year) adds Privacy + Messaging + Voice to everything in Hermit: voice calling, group voice calling, and Lounges. It does not include video calling or screen sharing.
Conch+ ($7.99/month or $79.99/year) is the full experience: everything in Shell plus video/camera calling, screen sharing, premium media features, and the ability to post video to Shore. All plans can watch Shore videos; posting video to Shore requires Conch+.
Yes. Private messages on Conch use end-to-end encryption by default. Conch still processes limited metadata (such as sender and timestamp) needed to deliver messages. Public Shore posts and communities are not described as end-to-end encrypted.
No. Conch does not sell personal information.
No. Conch does not show behavioral advertising in the product and does not build behavioral advertising profiles from your activity. “No data mining” refers to not mining activity for targeted advertising — not to zero operational data.
Yes. Voice calling and group voice calling are included with Shell and Conch+ (not on the free Hermit plan).
Yes. Video/camera calling and screen sharing are included with Conch+.
No. Shore’s main Following and Topics experiences are chronological based on who or what you follow. Conch does not rank Shore posts to maximize engagement or time spent in the app.
Yes. Communities and games are part of Conch and are included on Hermit and paid plans.
Conch may fit people who want group messaging, communities, Lounges/voice (Shell+), and optional video (Conch+) in one privacy-first platform without behavioral advertising profiles. Conch does not replicate every Discord server or bot feature.
Conch is funded by subscriptions (and a free Hermit tier), not advertising. Shore uses chronological feeds rather than behavioral engagement ranking, and Conch does not build behavioral advertising profiles or sell personal data.
Privacy-first means minimizing unnecessary data use, encrypting private messages by default, avoiding behavioral advertising, and not selling personal data — while still processing limited account, security, billing, and operational data described in our Privacy Policy.
Learn more about Shore, private messaging, behavioral profiling, or browse platform alternatives. Read the Privacy Policy or see pricing.