=== WG Chat ===
Contributors: widgetstorm
Tags: chat, live chat, support chat, gdpr, privacy
Requires at least: 6.4
Tested up to: 7.1
Requires PHP: 7.4
Stable tag: 1.0.0
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

A support chat that keeps every conversation on your own server, encrypted with AES-256. No cookies, no external service.

== Description ==

WG Chat puts a support chat on your site and keeps it there. Visitors write, you answer from the WordPress admin, and the conversations never leave your server.

Most chat services store conversations on their own servers and load their script from there. WG Chat ships everything with the plugin and makes no request to any other server. There is no account to create, no data processing agreement to sign with a chat provider, and nothing to add to the list of third parties in your privacy policy.

= Everything stays on your server =

* Conversations are stored in your WordPress database, each message encrypted with AES-256-GCM.
* The key comes from WGCHAT_KEY or the security salts in wp-config.php and is never stored next to the data.
* The plugin makes no request to any other server. Scripts and styles ship with the plugin.
* No cookies. The visitor's browser keeps only a signed conversation number in local storage, and only after the visitor's first message.
* Network addresses are never stored. The abuse brake counts messages per address for five minutes under a keyed hash.

= A chat button that does not slow your site down =

Switch on the floating button and it appears in the corner of every page. It brings a small stylesheet and a small script; the chat itself loads only when a visitor clicks. It is a real button for keyboards and screen readers, Escape closes the chat, and it sits on the right or the left (mirrored on right-to-left sites), in your colour, above cookie banners and the iPhone home bar. You can also embed the chat in a page as a block or with the shortcode `[wg_chat]`.

= Built for sites that answer to the GDPR =

* Delete a single conversation in one click when someone asks for erasure.
* Optional retention period: conversations without a new message for a number of days are deleted automatically.
* The WordPress privacy tools export and erase conversations that contain a person's e-mail address.
* A suggested paragraph for your privacy policy under Settings → Privacy.
* Deleting the plugin keeps your conversations unless you chose otherwise in the settings.

= For agencies =

WG Chat runs on multisite, activated per site or network-wide, and every site gets its own tables and its own key. You can offer your clients a chat whose data stays on the client's own server, and the plugin shows no notice of its maker in the chat window.

Agencies that hand the chat to their clients often want more: the name and photo of the person answering, the client's colours and texts, a role that answers chats without administrator rights, office hours with a message form, an e-mail on a new conversation and text snippets. These come with WG Chat Pro, a separate paid add-on for businesses. Everything in this free plugin works without it, with no time limit.

== Installation ==

1. Install and activate the plugin.
2. Under Settings → Chat, switch on the floating button, or add the block "WG Chat" or the shortcode `[wg_chat]` to a page (optional attributes: `title`, `greeting`).
3. Answer under Chat in the admin menu. Set the retention period under Settings → Chat.

Recommended: add `define( 'WGCHAT_KEY', '…' );` with at least 32 random characters to wp-config.php before the first conversation. Without it the key is derived from the site's security salts.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Does the plugin contact widget-storm.de or any other server? =

No. It has no update checker, no tracking and no remote code. Updates come from WordPress.org.

= Do I need a data processing agreement for the chat? =

Not with us: no conversation, address or visitor data reaches us or any other provider. The conversations are personal data on your own server, so they belong in your own privacy policy. The plugin suggests a paragraph for it under Settings → Privacy. This is not legal advice.

= Where exactly are the conversations stored? =

In two tables of your WordPress database, per site. The text of every message is encrypted; the key is not in the database.

= What happens if I change the salts or WGCHAT_KEY? =

Existing conversations can no longer be decrypted. The plugin never changes the key by itself.

= Who can answer chats? =

Administrators. Other roles can be given the capability `wgchat_operate`. WG Chat Pro adds a ready-made role "Chat agent" that sees the conversations and nothing else of the admin area.

= Does it work on multisite? =

Yes, activated per site or network-wide. Every site has its own tables and its own key, so one client never sees another client's conversations.

= Is anything in the free plugin locked or time-limited? =

No. Everything described above works without WG Chat Pro and without a licence key, for as long as you use it.

= Where do I get help? =

Write to info@widget-storm.de. We answer by e-mail.

== Screenshots ==

1. The floating chat button and the open chat on a site.
2. A conversation in the admin under Chat, with the button to delete it.
3. Settings → Chat: floating button, colour, side, distance from the bottom and retention period.
4. The chat embedded in a page as a block.

== Privacy ==

WG Chat stores the messages visitors write and the time of each message in your WordPress database. Message texts are encrypted. The chat asks for no name and no e-mail address, and network addresses are not stored. The plugin sends nothing to any other server. A suggested paragraph for your privacy policy is under Settings → Privacy.

== Changelog ==

= 1.0.0 =
* First release on WordPress.org.
