Law Enforcement Guidelines

HUSH is designed so that we hold as little user data as possible. This page explains what we can and cannot provide in response to lawful legal process.

What we can provide

• Account existence for a given username
• Account creation date and last sign-in timestamps
• Minimal routing metadata (encrypted message envelopes, timestamps, conversation IDs) where retained
• Reports voluntarily submitted by users that name the account in question

What we cannot provide

• Plaintext message contents, attachments, or call audio/video — these are end-to-end encrypted and never accessible to HUSH.
• User passwords or recovery phrases — only salted hashes are stored.
• Real-name identity, phone numbers, or email addresses — we do not collect them.
• Historical message content that has been deleted or that we never possessed in plaintext.

Legal process we accept

• Valid subpoenas, court orders, and search warrants issued by a competent authority with jurisdiction.
• Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) requests routed through the appropriate channel.
• Properly attested emergency disclosure requests where there is a credible risk of imminent serious harm.

How to submit a request

Send requests to legal@hushdigital.org.uk on official letterhead, including the requesting officer, agency, jurisdiction, statutory authority, scope, and a return contact. We may seek clarification or narrow overbroad requests, and we will challenge requests that are facially invalid or that compel us to break encryption.

User notice

Where legally permitted, we will notify affected users of legal process before disclosure so they may seek to challenge it. We will not notify when prohibited by law, court order, or when doing so would create a risk to life.

Transparency

HUSH publishes aggregate transparency information periodically. Nothing in this policy waives our obligation to challenge unlawful or overbroad requests.