Before you write
4dots respects intellectual property and removes infringing content when it’s reported. It helps to know how it works:
- We need the code. Drops are encrypted on the sender’s device and there’s no public list or search, so we can only find a drop from its four-digit code or link, like 4dots.app/#1234.
- Drops don’t last. Every drop deletes itself within a day at most, often much sooner, and some disappear the moment they’re opened.
- Deleted is gone. We keep no copies or backups.
Send a notice
Email dmca@4dots.app. Under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3)), your notice must include:
- Your physical or electronic signature, as the copyright owner or someone authorised to act for them.
- The copyrighted work you believe is infringed.
- The drop’s code or link, and what in it infringes.
- Your name, postal address, phone number and email address.
- A statement that you believe in good faith that the use isn’t authorised by the copyright owner, its agent or the law.
- A statement that the information in your notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you’re authorised to act for the copyright owner.
What happens next
We check that the notice is complete and, if the drop still exists, delete it, normally within one working day. Because the sender is anonymous, we can’t pass the notice on to them. We block people who repeatedly share infringing content wherever we can identify them, for example by IP address.
Knowingly false notices can make you liable for damages (17 U.S.C. § 512(f)), so please only report content you’re sure about.
Counter-notice
If your drop was removed because of a mistake or misidentification, you can send a counter-notice to dmca@4dots.app with your signature; the code of the removed drop; a statement under penalty of perjury that you believe in good faith it was removed by mistake or misidentification; and your name, address and phone number with a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for your address (or, outside the US, any judicial district where 4dots may be found) and will accept service of process from the person who sent the notice. We’ll forward it to them. A removed drop can’t be restored, because we keep no copies.
Other illegal content
To report other illegal content, including under the EU’s Digital Services Act, email dmca@4dots.app with the drop’s code, why you believe it’s illegal, your name and email address, and a statement that you believe your report is accurate and complete. Reports of child sexual abuse material can be sent without your name, and should also go to the police or a hotline such as NCMEC’s CyberTipline.
Last updated 2 October 2026