Law Enforcement Guidelines

1. Who we are

Lemniscate is an end-to-end encrypted, non-custodial messenger operated by Lemniscate Labs LLC, a Domestic Limited Liability Company organised in the State of Wyoming, USA. These guidelines explain what we can and cannot provide in response to law enforcement requests, and how to submit one.

2. What our design means for requests

Private messages, private group messages, and call media are end-to-end encrypted. The encryption keys are generated and stored on each user's device. As a result:

• We cannot read the content of private messages or private groups, and we cannot decrypt them for anyone.
• We do not hold users' private keys, message content, or call audio/video.
• Call media flows directly between devices (peer-to-peer) and is not stored.

We cannot produce content we do not possess. A request for the plaintext of private communications cannot be fulfilled, because such plaintext does not exist on our systems.

3. What data may be available

By design we practise data minimisation. Depending on the matter and the validity of the legal process, limited information may be available, such as:

• Public content — public channels, public feed posts, and the public group directory are not end-to-end encrypted and can be reviewed and acted upon.
• Limited, pseudonymous metadata we hold to operate the service (for example, public key identifiers and coarse activity timing). Identities are pseudonymous; we do not require legal names to use the service.
• Account/identity actions — we can remove a group or channel from public discovery and suspend an identity from our service.
• Subscription records — for paid groups and channels we hold which pseudonymous identity has an active subscription to which group, and when it expires. We do not hold what was posted inside that group.
• On-chain records — LMNS transactions are recorded on the Lemniscate chain and are already public. Anyone, including law enforcement, can read them in our block explorer without contacting us; we hold no additional plaintext about them.

3a. What we do not keep, and for how long

Data we never had cannot be produced later. Our retention is deliberately short, and a preservation request can only preserve what still exists at the time it reaches us:

• Messages are relayed, not archived. An encrypted message is removed from our relay once the recipient's device has collected it. Undelivered messages expire.
• Status posts expire automatically (24 hours to 30 days depending on the account tier) and are then deleted.
• Large file transfers are held in encrypted chunks for up to 7 days and then deleted, whether or not they were collected.
• Media lives on the participants' own devices, not on our servers.
• Sender metadata — messages are transported using sealed sender, so for private messages our relay does not learn who sent a message to whom.
• Call media is peer-to-peer and never stored. Where a relay is used to protect participants' IP addresses, it forwards encrypted media without retaining it.

4. Valid legal process

We disclose information only as required by applicable law and a valid legal request directed to Lemniscate Labs LLC. We may decline or narrow overbroad, vague, or improper requests.

• US requests should follow the Stored Communications Act and other applicable law (subpoena, court order, or warrant, as appropriate to the data sought).
• Non-US requests should come through applicable mutual legal assistance channels or other lawful mechanisms.
• Preservation: we will honour a lawful preservation request for data we actually hold.
• Emergencies: where there is a good-faith basis to believe there is an imminent risk of death or serious physical harm, send an emergency request marked as such (see contact below).

Unless legally prohibited, we may notify affected users of requests concerning their account.

5. Child safety (CSAM)

We have a zero-tolerance policy for child sexual abuse material. Where we become aware of apparent CSAM — for example, through a user report or in public content — we act on it and, as a US provider, report it to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) as required by 18 U.S.C. § 2258A, and cooperate with INHOPE hotlines where relevant. Consistent with that law, we do not proactively monitor the content of private end-to-end encrypted communications.

6. Users outside the United States

Lemniscate Labs LLC is a U.S. company and operates under United States law. For users in the European Union we nonetheless run a notice-and-action mechanism so illegal content can be reported and reviewed, and we keep a point of contact for authorities. Reports can be submitted in-app (Report) or via the contact below.

We offer this voluntarily, as a courtesy. It does not mean we accept the jurisdiction of any court or authority outside the United States. Requests from non-U.S. authorities are handled as described in section 4.

7. How to submit a request

Send requests on official letterhead to [email protected]. Please include the requesting agency, a named contact and credentials, the legal basis, the specific identifiers at issue, and the precise data sought. Mark emergencies clearly in the subject line. We will route requests to qualified counsel.

8. Good faith

We aim to protect our users' privacy and to comply with the law. Providing strong encryption is lawful, and the absence of message content on our systems is a property of the product, not an attempt to obstruct any lawful investigation.