Item 1. Business
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Overview
We are a communication software company. We believe
that one’s right to privacy should not end the moment they click “send.” Our flagship product, DatChat Messenger &
Private Social Network (the “Application”), is a mobile application that gives users the ability to communicate with privacy
and protection.
The Application allows users to exercise control
over their messages, even after they are sent. Through the Application, users can delete messages that they have sent, on their own device
and the recipient’s device as well. There is no set time limit within which they must exercise this choice. A user can elect at
any time to delete a message that they previously sent to a recipient’s device.
The Application also enables users to hide secret
and encrypted messages behind a cover, which messages can only be unlocked by the recipient and which are automatically destroyed after
a fixed number of views or fixed amount of time. Users can decide how long their messages last on the recipient’s device. The Application
also includes a screen shot protection system, which makes it virtually impossible for the recipient to screenshot a message or picture
before it gets destroyed. In addition, users can delete entire conversations at any time, making it like the conversation never even
happened.
The Application integrates with iMessage, making
private messages potentially available to hundreds of millions of users.
Competition
The current market for mobile messenger applications
is highly competitive, and we expect that it will remain competitive. There are currently several large companies that provide mobile
messenger applications and we expect several more competitors to enter into this market in the next few years. Well-established competitors
include Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Facebook, Telegram, MeWe, Confide and Apple iMessage.
We believe that it is the range of privacy and security features that
we offer that sets us apart from our competitors.
Our flagship applications are the DatChat Privacy
Platform and Private Encrypted Social Network, which address the needs of consumers and businesses to communicate with increased levels
of privacy and control over messages and social posts, even after they are sent or shared. In addition, we are developing a blockchain-based,
decentralized communications platform that is being designed to allow consumers and businesses to connect directly with each other. We
currently have approximately 22,572 Monthly Active Users, of which approximately 16,620 are Android users.
Observing that mobile messaging and social media
users are drawn to several different messaging platforms by specific capabilities, we set out to create the Application to consolidate
popular messaging and social media features such as group chats, emoticons and video sharing, offer new and unique features such as being
able to “nuke” a conversation to remove all traces of it from all parties involved, and deliver increased levels of privacy
and security. As public concerns over privacy in an ever-expanding digital society grow, the Application offers comfort to its users
with extensive control over their messages and posts, even after they are sent or shared. The Application allows users to not only control
how long or how many times a message or post may be viewed by the recipient, but also allows the sender to erase the message or entire
conversation after it is sent. Our goal is to make the Application a leader in the mobile secure messaging and social media market based
upon our proprietary technology and enhanced privacy and security features. We intend to roll out additional features including video
chat, attachments, unique social posts and other features to enhance the messaging and social media experience.
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Software and Development
Our ability to compete depends in large part
on our continuous commitment to research and development, our ability to rapidly introduce new features and functionality and our ability
to improve proven applications for established markets in which we have competitive advantages. We intend to work closely with our customers
to continuously enhance the performance, functionality, usability, reliability and flexibility of the Application.
Our software and development team is responsible
for the design enhancements, development, testing and certification of the Application. In addition, we may, in the future, utilize third
parties for our automated testing, managed upgrades, software development and other technology services. We are also developing video
messages and video messages containing hidden messages embedded in the video stream. We anticipate that the video messaging currently
under development will allow users to change the number of views allowed or destruct the message after being sent, in addition to setting
the message to auto-self-destruct. We are also in the process of developing a private and encrypted social wall/network.
Marketing and Monetization
The Application is currently offered for
free on Apple’s App Store and Google Play. Initial marketing is expected to consist of public relations, “cost-per-install”
campaigns, social media marketing using the Facebook’s ad platform and other readily available advertising platforms.
We anticipate utilizing social influencers and
additional public relations strategies to promote the Application on a global basis, which also includes making the Application available
for use in other languages.
We also plan to add in-app purchases such as
user customization features, unique emoticons, stickers and long form video messages to monetize the Application.
We anticipate monetizing the Application with
a subscription-based service for small and medium size businesses. In the future, we may develop other mobile applications and services
for consumers once our user base reaches a level at which we deem it to be economically feasible. No assurance can be given that we will
successfully develop new or future applications that will be embraced by users or generate revenue.
Intellectual Property Portfolio
We strive to protect and enhance the proprietary
technology and inventions that are commercially important to our business, including seeking, maintaining and defending patent rights.
Our policy is to seek to protect our proprietary position through a combination of intellectual property rights in the United States,
including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secret laws and internal procedures. Our commercial success will depend in part on our
ability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary technologies.
As of March 21, 2022, we had 2 issued patents,
1 notice of allowance and 0 filed patent application in the United States relating to our encryption technologies and blockchain platform.
Our issued patents will expire in 2036. In addition, we plan to continue expanding and strengthening our IP portfolio with additional
patent applications in the future. We may not be able to obtain protection for our intellectual property, and our existing and future
patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights may not provide us with competitive advantages or distinguish our products
and services from those of our competitors. Our pending patent application and future applications may not result in the issuance of
patents, and any resulting issued patents may have claims narrower than those in our patent applications. Additionally, our current and
future patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights may be contested, circumvented, or found unenforceable or invalid,
and we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing them. Our internal controls may not always be effective at preventing
unauthorized parties from obtaining our intellectual property and proprietary technologies.
Other companies that own patents, copyrights,
trademarks, trade secrets, and other intellectual property rights related to the mobile, encryption, blockchain, communication, privacy,
internet, and other technology-related industries frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement, misappropriation,
and other violations of intellectual property or other rights. Third parties, including our competitors, may make claims from time to
time that we have infringed their patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, or other intellectual property rights. As our business
grows and competition rises, the risk of facing claims related to intellectual property and litigation matters will likely increase.
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Our Privacy Policy
Privacy and security are the foundations of our
Company. We recognize that this is why users are drawn to the Application and that our users care deeply about how their personal information
is collected, used and shared. When you read our Privacy Policy, we hope that you notice that it has been written to advance our core
principles and protect the integrity of the Application.
When users sign up for the Application, they
are required to provide us with certain personal information such as their name, email address and phone number. We take commercially
reasonable and appropriate measures to protect this personal information from accidental loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure,
alteration, or destruction, taking into account the risks involved in processing and the nature of such data, and comply with applicable
laws and regulations. We do not currently transfer any personal information to third-parties that do not act on our behalf, and we will
not do so without users’ opt-in consent. Similarly, we do not currently collect sensitive personal information from users without
opt-in consent. We may disclose personal information to certain types of third-party companies, but only to the extent needed to enable
them to provide such services. The types of companies that may receive personal information and their functions are: marketing assistance,
analytics and reporting, customer support, email and SMS delivery, cloud infrastructure, and systems monitoring. All such third parties
function as our agents, performing services at our instruction and on our behalf pursuant to contracts which require them to provide
at least the same level of privacy protection as is required by our Privacy Policy. In addition, we may be required to disclose personal
information in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including for the purpose of meeting national security or law enforcement
requirements. We may also disclose personal information to other third parties when compelled to do so by government authorities or required
by law or regulation including, but not limited to, in response to court orders and subpoenas.
With respect to retention of personal information,
we may only retain such users’ personal information in a form that identifies them only for as long as it serves the purpose(s)
for which it was initially collected as stated in our Privacy Policy, or subsequently authorized. We may continue processing users’
personal information for longer periods, but only for the time and to the extent such processing reasonably serves the purposes of statistical
analysis, and subject to the protection of our Privacy Policy. After such time periods have expired, we may either delete the personal
information or retain it in a form such that it does not identify the user personally.
Most importantly, when users send an encrypted
message through the Application, we may only temporarily process and store the message in its encrypted form. We do not (and cannot)
read our users’ encrypted messages and we delete our users’ messages as soon as they have been successfully self-destructed
or deleted. Our end-to-end encryption ensures that we will never have access to the contents of our users’ messages. Moreover,
we recognize the privacy rights of our users and are committed to complying with data protection laws to the extent they apply to us,
and to assist our users in exercising their rights under applicable law. For example, users may exercise their rights pursuant to the
EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) or Section 1798.83 of the California Civil Code, simply by submitting a request
via email to privacy@DatChat.com.
Employees
As of March 21, 2022, we have a total of 6 full-time
employees and 4 consultants. We are not a party to any collective bargaining agreements. We believe that we maintain good relations with
our employees.
Our Corporate Information
DatChat, Inc. was initially incorporated in Nevada
on December 4, 2014 under the name YssUp, Inc. On March 4, 2015, an amendment to our articles of incorporation was filed with the Nevada
Secretary of State, changing YssUp, Inc.’s name to “DatChat, Inc.” On September 22, 2016, amended and restated articles
of incorporation were filed with the Nevada Secretary of State in order to, among other things, authorize the Company to issue preferred
stock.
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Available Information
Our website address is www.datchat.com.
The contents of, or information accessible through, our website are not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and our website address
is included in this document as an inactive textual reference only. We make our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(“SEC”), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments
to those reports, available free of charge on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we file such reports with, or furnish
such reports to, the SEC. The public may read and copy the materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at
100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the
SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Additionally, the SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other
information. The address of the SEC’s website is www.sec.gov. The information contained in the SEC’s website is not
intended to be a part of this filing.
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.