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Coldge is a campus app for university students in the UAE, on iPhone, Android and the web (app.coldge.com). You can chat one to one and in groups, follow your university's and your organizations' channels, share posts, find events and share course files in your university's Drive.

Your university decides who can join, through its own Microsoft sign-in.

Coldge is operated by the Coldge team, based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. A limited liability company is being set up and will take over this role.

Coldge is built for students, and faculty can join too. Each university decides in its Microsoft setup who gets access. If your university gives access to alumni or staff, they can join; if it doesn't, they can't. People who haven't been given access by a university on Coldge can't join.

University staff who look after Coldge for their university use a separate staff dashboard, not the app.

Yes. Coldge is currently free to download and use, and it has no ads.

Your Coldge account belongs to you, not to your university. Signing up with a personal email (like Gmail or Outlook) means your account, username and direct chats stay yours after you graduate or leave. University addresses (.edu, .ac and your university's own domains) can't be used to sign up.

Your personal email is where sign-in codes, password resets and account emails go. Other members and your university's staff don't see it; Coldge's own team can, for support and safety. To change it, go to Profile > Emails & Sign-In and confirm with your password and a code sent to the new address.

Your university decides who can join Coldge, using its own Microsoft sign-in. During sign-up you choose your university and sign in with the Microsoft account it gave you, and Coldge checks that your university has given you access. This keeps Coldge to real members of a university and cuts down on spam and fake accounts.

Microsoft tells Coldge your name, your university email, your Coldge access role and the groups your university uses for badges. Coldge doesn't read your university mailbox, files or directory. It re-checks your access in the background about once a day.

Not yet. During sign-up you can only choose universities that are connected to Coldge, and you need your university's Microsoft sign-in to finish creating your account.

If you'd like Coldge at your university, ask your university's IT or student affairs team to contact us at support@coldge.com.

You must be 16 or older to use Coldge. Coldge doesn't check your age today: by creating an account, you confirm that you're 16 or older. If we learn that an account belongs to someone under 16, we'll close it. We are adding age checks and extra protections for members under 18, as UAE law requires.

If you're 16 or 17, see "I'm 16 or 17. Is there anything I should know?" under Privacy & Data, and the Terms of Service: https://www.coldge.com/terms

The quickest way is the QR code: open Coldge on the new device, scan the code with your main device and confirm with Face ID or your passcode. Never scan a code someone sent you; Coldge will never ask you to.

You can also sign in with your username or personal email and your password, or with Microsoft, and then sync your chats from your main device or your backup.

Your main device is usually the first phone you set up Coldge on: it holds your encryption keys and approves new sign-ins. Every sign-in sends a "New sign-in" email, so you'll know if someone else gets in.

Tap "Forgot password" on the sign-in screen and enter your username or personal email. We'll email a code to your personal email. Resetting your password signs you out on every device.

If you lose your phone, sign in on another device with your password or Microsoft, then restore your chats from your backup. Without a backup you can start fresh: you keep your account, groups and contacts, but older end-to-end encrypted messages can't be unlocked on the new device.

Coldge can back up your end-to-end encrypted chats so you can restore them on a new device. The backup is locked with a recovery key that Coldge never has.

On phones, backup turns on by itself in app versions that support it, and the key is saved in your iCloud Keychain or Google account (on Android, this needs a screen lock). On the web, you set it up with a passkey or a recovery key. Turn it on or off in Profile > Chat Backup on your main device.

If backup is off and you lose your devices, older encrypted messages can't be restored.

Coldge checks your access with your university's Microsoft sign-in about once a day. When your university removes your Coldge access in Microsoft (for example after you graduate or leave), you don't sign in again within 14 days when asked, or Coldge can't confirm your access for 30 days, your university's setting decides what happens:

• End access (the default setting): your membership ends. If your university gives you access again later, you can rejoin by signing in with Microsoft.
• End access and block: your membership ends, and you can't rejoin until your university removes the block.
• Review manually: you keep access while your university's staff review it.

If Microsoft only needs you to sign in again, you'll see "Confirm you're still at <University>" on Home and get reminder emails on days 0, 7 and 13 at your personal and university addresses; you have 14 days. A university Administrator can also end your access directly. When your membership ends you're told by notification and email. You keep your account, username, posts, events and direct chat history, but you leave your university's channel, groups and organizations, lose your badges, and can't send messages until you join a university again.

Go to Profile > Delete Account in the app or at app.coldge.com (or Delete account in the Account area if you're not in a university). Confirm with your password, and with the code we email you if you have turned on multi-factor authentication. Deletion happens straight away, can't be undone, and is confirmed by email.

Your profile, personal posts and comments, personal events, Drive files, memberships and devices are deleted. Some things are kept:

• Messages you sent stay in other people's chats, shown as from "Deleted account"
• Posts and events you published for an organization stay with it, shown as from "Deleted account"
• Reports you made or that are about you, with their copies
• Records of actions taken, security records and malware records
• Your profile photo and files you sent in chats, which aren't removed today
• Backups, for about 40 days and sometimes longer (see the Privacy Policy)

Deletion isn't available while Coldge is in maintenance or browse-only mode. If you can't use the Delete Account screen, for example because your account is suspended or your university is paused, email support@coldge.com from your personal email and we will delete your account for you once we have confirmed it's yours.

Coldge has direct chats, group chats, class chats (if your university sets them up) and read-only channels from your university, organizations and Coldge.

Direct chats, private groups and class chats are end-to-end encrypted: only the devices of the people in the chat can read them.

Official channels and discoverable groups are public: Coldge and the university can read them. Anyone who joins a discoverable group can read its history, while your university's dashboard shows its messages only when one is reported. Posts, comments and events aren't end-to-end encrypted either.

When you report a message, a readable copy is shared with the university and Coldge so they can review it, together with up to 10 messages before it and 10 after it (see "What happens when I report a message?"). Calls are not end-to-end encrypted.

In current app versions, every chat says at the top whether it is end-to-end encrypted or public.

A discoverable group is listed in Explore and search, where anyone it's open to can find it. Discoverable groups are public, like official channels: Coldge and the university can read their messages, and new members can see earlier messages.

New groups are discoverable by default, open to all universities, and anyone can join them. For a private, end-to-end encrypted group, turn off "Make group discoverable?" when you create it, or later in the group's settings. Switching only affects new messages: anything sent while the group was discoverable stays readable.

Not in your end-to-end encrypted chats: direct chats, private groups and class chats. Coldge can read public chats (official channels and discoverable groups), messages that Coldge or your university's systems post to you (such as "Coldge (Private)" messages, event follow-ups and university messages to groups of students), and copies of messages that someone reports.

Even for encrypted chats, Coldge's servers see who is in a chat, who sent a message and when, and who has read it, but not the text, photos or files.

Your university's staff can't read your direct chats, private groups or class chats. The exception is reports: if someone reports a message, staff of the university involved can read the copy that's shared, including the messages around it.

Your university's staff read its official channel and its organizations' channels in their dashboard, and see who received and read each message there. Discoverable groups are public, but the dashboard shows their messages only when one is reported.

Your university also has a private chat with you, shown as "<University> (Private)" in your university channel, and you can't reply there. What staff type there is end-to-end encrypted, but Coldge's server approves staff devices from their university role, so every staff member who runs your university's channel can read the whole chat, including earlier messages.

Anyone with an active membership at any university on Coldge can message or call you. There are no message requests: a first message arrives like any other chat, with a notification.

In a group that anyone can join, any member can add you without asking; you can leave at any time. If you don't want to hear from someone, block them.

Yes. Read receipts can't be turned off: in direct chats and groups, the sender can see who received and read their message, and when. The same is shown to organization admins for their own channel posts, to your university's staff for its channels and your private university chat, and to Coldge for its own channel.

Your online status and "last seen" time are on by default. While Online Status is on, any signed-in member at any university who you haven't blocked can see whether you're online and when you were last seen, not only people you chat with. Turn this off with Online Status in your Profile privacy settings. Typing indicators can't be turned off, and poll votes aren't anonymous.

You can delete a message you sent at any time; it's deleted for everyone in the chat. Group admins can delete any message in their group. Messages can't be edited, and there are no disappearing messages.

When a message is deleted, its content is removed, but a record that a message was sent (by whom and when) stays. Copies already shared in a report are kept, anyone who saw it may have forwarded it, and backups may hold it for about 40 days and sometimes longer.

When you report a message, a readable copy is shared with the university and Coldge so they can review it. Your app also includes up to 10 messages before it and 10 after it in that chat, including other people's messages, photos, videos and files. This applies in end-to-end encrypted chats too.

When you report a person or a group, you can also share the last 10 messages of the chat (ticked by default; untick it to share none). Shared copies are kept with the report, with no time limit, and the people whose messages are included aren't told.

Blocking works both ways. Once you block someone, neither of you can message or call the other, add the other to ordinary groups, or find the other in people search and mentions, and each other's personal posts, comments, events and online status are hidden.

Blocking doesn't affect group chats or channels you share, and an organization's posts and events are never hidden. You can see and undo blocks under Blocked in your Profile privacy settings.

Yes. You can make voice and video calls in direct chats and groups, on phones and the web.

Calls are not end-to-end encrypted. The Coldge app has no call recording feature; calls run through a third-party video service (Zoom), which carries the audio and video. Coldge keeps a record of each call: who called whom, when and for how long.

Any member with a university can create a group from Create > Chat. Unless you change it, a new group is discoverable, open to all universities, and anyone can join (see "What does discoverable mean for a group?").

Admins can edit the group, approve join requests, add and remove people, mute members in the group, delete any message, pin one message and set "only admins can send". If the last admin leaves, the longest-standing member becomes admin; when the last member leaves, the group is deleted.

Organizations are clubs, societies and other groups at a university. Only university staff create them, and each one belongs to one university. Its admins are members chosen by staff or by other admins, and they run its channel, posts, events and groups together.

An organization has a public channel and can publish posts, events and groups under its own name. Its posts and events show the organization, not the person who wrote them, though the organization's members can see who posted in its channel. Students can't create organizations in the app: ask your university.

You can follow any organization whose page you can open: those at your university, and those at other universities that are open to all universities. Following adds you to its channel and sends you a notification for each new post and event (you can mute these under Followed organizations). Unfollowing doesn't remove you from the channel, and leaving the channel doesn't unfollow.

You can't ask to become a member: an organization's admins or your university's staff add members. The organization's members, and your university's staff, can see who follows it.

Each university defines its own badges (for example Faculty) from the roles and groups in its Microsoft setup; nobody hands them out one by one.

A badge's name shows only on the person's profile; everywhere else you'll see just the gold check. Hidden badges never show their name but can still give the check or the "Dr." title. Organizations, official channels and class chats carry the check too.

Badges give no extra powers. If your badge gives the check or the "Dr." title, your university reviews changes to your profile before they go live.

Any member with a university can create an event, unless their account is muted or suspended. Organization admins can also create events for their organization, with optional reservations, a waitlist and QR check-in.

You can edit or delete your own events, and people who were interested or had a reservation are told when an event is cancelled. Any current admin of an organization can edit or delete its events.

Events are open to all universities by default, which means anyone signed in to Coldge can see them. Choose "My university" to keep an event to your own university.

If you add an exact place, its name, address and map location are shown to everyone who can see the event, so leave it out if you'd rather not share it. The list of people interested in an event is also visible to everyone who can see it, and reserving a place marks you as interested.

Each university has one Drive, organized by department, course and tag, where members share course files such as PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. Only members of your university can see your university's Drive. Your university's staff and Coldge can see the files too.

Files you send in a group chat stay in that chat and never appear in the Drive or in file search. Files you upload to the Drive stay there if you leave the university, so remove any you don't want to leave behind. Deleting your account deletes them.

Drive files are shared by members. Even if a file looks like official course material, it isn't checked or approved by your university or by Coldge.

University Drive files and problem-report screenshots are scanned for malware, but a file can be visible before its scan finishes. Files found to contain malware are deleted. Files in end-to-end encrypted chats can't be scanned. If a Drive file is deleted for malware, Coldge tells the person who uploaded it. Only open files you trust.

Yes. Open the file's details (in Detailed view on a course page, or from search, Most Saved, Your Files or a profile's Files tab) and tap Report. You can remove files you uploaded at any time. Your university's staff can also remove files, with a reason, and the uploader is notified.

New posts are visible to all universities unless you choose "My university" when you post; then only members of your university can see them. Comments can be seen by everyone who can see the post. Posts and comments aren't end-to-end encrypted.

Nobody gets a list of who viewed your post, though Coldge records views for its analytics. You can hide the like count on a post; the people who manage it, and Coldge, still see it.

Posts can't be edited. You can delete your own posts from Profile > Posts or the post's page, and your own comments from Profile > Comments. Deleting a post also removes its likes and comments.

You can't delete other people's comments on your post. Your university's staff and Coldge can remove posts and comments that break the rules, and you'll be told why.

You can report a person, message, group, post, comment, event, file or organization. Choose a category (such as "Harassment or bullying" or "Someone may be in danger") and write a short reason.

Every report goes to Coldge, and most also go to the university the reported content belongs to (usually the poster's university, or the one that runs the group or channel). Some, such as a whole direct chat, go only to Coldge. People review reports: Coldge doesn't scan messages or posts for harmful content automatically.

You'll be notified when your report is received and when it's been reviewed, but not what action was taken. If someone is in immediate danger, call the police on 999.

Depending on what happened, your university's staff or Coldge can:

• Remove the content: a post, comment, event, file or the reported message
• Mute an account for 24 hours, 3 days, 1 week or until unmuted, so it can't send messages or create content
• Suspend a group or an organization, or delete an organization
• End someone's access to their university, with or without a block on rejoining (universities only)
• Suspend an account for 7 days, 30 days or permanently, so it can't sign in and its posts, comments and events are hidden (Coldge only)

Group admins can also mute or remove people in their own groups.

You'll get a notification that says who acted (your university, an organization or Coldge, never the individual staff member), the reason, any message from them, and an email address for questions. A suspension, or the end of your university access, is also emailed to your personal and university addresses.

Notices never name the person who reported you, but if a message in a direct chat is removed, you may be able to tell who reported it. You aren't notified if a group admin removes you from a group, or if Coldge signs your account out of a device for security reasons (you can sign back in).

There's no formal appeal process in the app. If you think a decision was wrong, write to the email address in the notification: your university's contact for its decisions, or support@coldge.com for Coldge's. You can also write to support@coldge.com if you can't reach your university. Coldge can lift any mute or suspension.

Coldge doesn't allow any content that sexualises, exploits or endangers children. Report it in the app straight away and choose "Someone may be in danger". Don't screenshot, forward or download it, even to report it. When Coldge becomes aware of such content, it removes it, permanently suspends the account and reports it to the UAE authorities. If a child is in immediate danger, call the police on 999. To report child abuse, call the Child Protection Centre on 116111.

The full rules are in the "Coldge child safety standards" section of the Community Guidelines: https://www.coldge.com/guidelines

Coldge collects what it needs to run your account and the features you use:

• Account details: your personal email, username, name, phone number (never verified) and password (stored scrambled, as a hash)
• From your university's Microsoft sign-in: your name, university email, Coldge access role and the groups used for badges
• What you share: messages (encrypted ones only in encrypted form), posts, comments, events, files and reports
• Devices and activity: device and app details, sign-ins, online status, read receipts, and how you use the app (see "Does Coldge use analytics?")
• Crash reports, where turned on, with personal details removed

Coldge doesn't access your contacts, your calendar or your device's location. If you add a place to an event, its address and map location are shown to everyone who can see the event. Full details are in the Privacy Policy: https://www.coldge.com/privacy

Coldge stores your account, messages, files and backups on Microsoft Azure servers in the UAE (the UAE North region).

Some of the services Coldge uses handle data outside the UAE, for example network protection and website hosting, email delivery, push notifications (Apple, Google and Expo), crash reports, calls (Zoom), GIF search (GIPHY) and place search for events (Google). So Coldge doesn't say all your data stays in the UAE. The full list, with what each one receives and where, is at https://www.coldge.com/trust

No. Coldge doesn't sell or rent your personal data, and it doesn't show ads.

Yes. Coldge records how you use the app, such as sessions and time spent, how many messages you send (never their text), views of posts and events, and Explore searches. It's linked to your account, there's currently no setting to turn it off, and it's Coldge's own analytics, not a third-party or advertising service.

Your university's staff see totals, and a university Administrator can open one student's activity summary (each view is logged). Chat search runs on your device, and the words you type in people search aren't kept for analytics. Event activity is kept 25 months and search activity 180 days; most other analytics have no time limit until you delete your account.

Your university's staff can see:

• Your profile, your university email, your Microsoft access status, your badges (including hidden ones) and your membership history (including after you leave)
• Changes you make to your name, username, bio and photo
• Reports they handle, the content shared with them, and your moderation record from their own reports and mutes
• Your activity summary and usage totals (see "Does Coldge use analytics?")
• Who received and read messages in your university's channels and in your private university chat

They can't see your personal email, your password, your devices or sign-in history, or your direct chats, private groups and class chats (except copies shared in a report). They see your phone number only if a badge means your profile changes need their approval and you change it.

Any member at any university can open your profile: your photo, name, username, bio, university, badges and activity score. Your profile photo can be seen by anyone who has its link, even without signing in.

Your phone number is visible to everyone on Coldge by default. You can change this to Messaged (only people you've exchanged direct messages with) or No One under Phone Number Visibility in your Profile privacy settings. You're also listed in Most Active by default: turn off "Show Me in Most Active" to leave the list (your activity score still shows on your profile).

There's no download button in the app. Email support@coldge.com from your personal email address to ask for a copy of your data, or to ask us to correct it, and we will send it to you. We answer within 30 days, free of charge. You can see your own posts, comments and events in your Profile at any time.

You can use Coldge, but UAE law treats you as a child, so please talk to a parent or guardian about it. Coldge doesn't have age checks or separate settings for under-18s yet. We are adding age checks and extra protections for members under 18, as UAE law requires. Until then, choose your own settings:

• Set your phone number to No One
• Turn off Online Status and "Show Me in Most Active"
• Post and create events for "My university", and leave out exact event locations
• Make your groups private
• Block and report anyone who makes you uncomfortable

On phones, Coldge sends push notifications for new messages and calls, likes, comments, mentions, join requests for groups you run, new posts and events from organizations you follow, event updates and reminders, and account and safety notices. The web app doesn't send push notifications.

Coldge also emails your personal address (and your university address while you're a member) about sign-ins, password changes, your university membership and your account. These are account emails, so you can't unsubscribe from them. Coldge doesn't send marketing emails.

Notification previews may show the sender, the chat name and the start of the text for chats that are not end-to-end encrypted, posts, comments and account notices, and they pass through Apple, Google and Expo. Notifications for end-to-end encrypted chats carry only encrypted content. Call notifications always show the caller's name and photo.

For an encrypted chat, your phone unlocks the message to show it; if it can't, you'll see "New message". Coldge has no setting to hide previews, but you can hide them on your lock screen in your phone's settings.

Go to Profile > Notifications and set each type (Messages, Mentions & Replies, Likes, Comments, Post Mentions, Join Requests, Followed organizations, Account and Safety) to Sound, Vibration or Mute. You can also mute a single chat, or turn notifications off in your phone's settings. New-device sign-in alerts always ring, and account emails can't be turned off.

For help with your account or a question about Coldge, email support@coldge.com. To report a security problem, email security@coldge.com.

To report a bug, use Report a Problem in your Profile: it goes only to Coldge, not to your university. To report content or a person, use Report in the app.