Torn staff
What TornLife's research has established about Torn staff, and the questions players asked about it.
What TornLife has verified
- TornLife data lists Chedburn as Torn staff, Owner / lead developer. His forum posts carry the Developer role. (documented; TornLife data: get player, )
- The Torn Wiki's Privacy Policy page (operated by Chedburn Networks Limited, the data controller under the UK Data Protection Act 1998) lists categories of data Torn may collect, including that 'if you contact us, we may keep a record of that correspondence,' but this capture does not state anything specific about staff reading player-to-player private messages or in-game mail. (documented; Privacy Policy (1/4), )
- Torn staff (bogie) publicly confirmed in 2025 that staff access to chat logs, including private DMs, requires an input such as a filed player report (chat report category), which grants access to recent communications between the reporter and the reported party and nothing more; accessing logs also requires a justification sent to bogie and Julie. (confirmed by Torn; Torn violates your DM privacy, )
- Torn staff (bogie) stated that mods cannot view personal DMs outside of the report system, but officers/admins can access chat logs when there is a player report or chat report; officers cannot view faction chats, only admins can. (confirmed by Torn; Torn violates your DM privacy, )
- It is technically possible for staff to access the content of private message logs between players; access is gated by a report system rather than being freely available, per staff statements in both 2019 and 2025. (confirmed by Torn; Torn violates your DM privacy, )
- Per staff (bogie, 2019): Helpers have no chat log access at all; moderators can only check room logs (global/new player chat) on a report, and for private message logs moderators may only view the specific reported conversation, not a player's full message history; officers/admins can access player logs through either a player report or chat report. (confirmed by Torn; Chats, )
- Per staff (bogie, 2025), role access differs by chat type: moderators cannot view personal DMs outside the report system but can view public chat rooms (global/new player/trade/poker); officers can access reported DM conversations via the report system but cannot view faction chat logs, which only admins can access. (confirmed by Torn; Torn violates your DM privacy, )
- Staff (bogie) told a player directly asking about this in 2019 that they had no reason to look through that player's private messages and that the player's messages had never been accessed in their entire game time, offering to discuss any privacy concerns via message. (confirmed by Torn; Chats, )
- Four CloudJumper (staff) replies in 'Bugs & Issues' threads about private-message bugs (blank/erased PM content on the mobile app, and a separate 2023-2024 PM loading bug) show staff responding to PM-related bug reports by asking the affected user for screenshots or confirmation of whether the issue persists, rather than staff independently quoting or pulling message content from the backend in these posts. (documented; Private messages, )
Questions about Torn staff
- Can Torn staff read private messages sent between players?
Yes. Torn staff can technically view the content of private messages between players, but access is gated by the report system, logged, and requires …
- How do you delete a Torn account?
Deletion is self-service: close the account instantly in Preferences, wait 14 days, then return to confirm deletion. "Deleting" doesn't erase the acc…
- Who is Chedburn and what are his responsibilities?
Chedburn is Torn player ID 1, listed in TornLife's data as Torn staff with the title Owner / lead developer . His duties come from his own 2024-2026 …
History ·