Uh... hi

[Arantor]

You should always assume the admin can access the PMs because they're responsible legally for what happens on the platform they run, self-hosted or otherwise.

 

[Cedric]

That was my guess. I don't consider PMs on self hosted forums private anymore because of it. It doesn't matter what forum or who is admin of it. No one can promise that every single person who will ever be admin won't use/abuse the ability because you don't know who every admin of your forum is going to be nor what kind of person they are and that includes people who have not yet promoted but might one day get the job in the future.

Exactly. While we make it a point not to look through private messages—it’s none of our business, and we're adult enough not to abuse it—there are certain cases when we may need to, particularly if a member reports a violation.

Our Terms of Service make it clear: “Private Message (PM) Advertising: Unsolicited advertising through private messages is not allowed. However, if you have an ongoing conversation, an agreement, or explicit permission, it is acceptable. We reserve the right to review private messages if a member reports a breach of these terms.”

Source: Terms of Service

We’ve been transparent about this from the start to ensure everyone knows what to expect. But ultimately, if you truly need privacy, email or another private channel is always a safer option, as it’s completely outside our platform’s reach.