Trust
Confidentiality is the product.
A blind market is only worth using if the blinds hold. This page sets out exactly who can see what, how that is enforced, how your data is handled, and what “pilot” means today.
The visibility model
Who sees what.
Participants see their own listings and the deals they are party to. Fathom, as operator, sees the whole book — it has to, to match and run auctions.
| Information | Seller | Buyer | Fathom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your own offers or requests | Own offers | Own requests | All |
| Anyone else’s listings | No | No | All |
| Seller’s ask and auction reserve | Own only | No | Yes |
| Buyer’s maximum rate | No | Own only | Yes |
| Proposal terms (route, capacity, term, rate, TCV) | Own proposals | Own proposals | All |
| Counterparty before the deal is paid | Alias, e.g. Buyer B-4MZX | Alias, e.g. Seller S-7KQ2 | Name and company |
| Counterparty once the deal is active | Name, company, country | Name, company, country | Yes |
| Open (English) auction bids | Best rate and count, no identities | Best rate and count, no identities | Every bid, with bidder |
| Sealed auction bids | Own bid only | Own bid only | Every bid, with bidder |
| Fathom’s commission on a deal | Fee and net proceeds | Not shown | Yes |
Enforcement
How the blinds are kept shut.
Scoped at the server
Every request for a listing, proposal, auction or deal is checked against the account making it. Ask for someone else’s listing and the answer is “not found” — not “forbidden” — so the system doesn’t even confirm it exists.
Stable aliases
Before a deal is paid, counterparties appear as aliases such as Buyer B-4MZX. Aliases are derived with a keyed hash, so they are consistent for a participant but can’t be reversed without Fathom’s secret.
Hidden values can’t be probed
A bid that crosses a seller’s reserve or a buyer’s ceiling is accepted but can never win. There is no error message to reveal where the hidden number lies.
Only the terms of your deal
A proposal shows the agreed terms and nothing else: sellers don’t see the buyer’s maximum, buyers don’t see the seller’s ask or reserve, and neither sees the other’s other listings.
No side channels
Participants talk to Fathom’s deal desk, never to each other, until a deal is active.
Nothing cached on the device
The Fathom app can be installed on a phone or desktop, but it never stores market data for offline use. Everything is fetched fresh from the server when you’re signed in.
Accounts
Passwords are stored as salted scrypt hashes. Sessions expire after seven days. Accounts are created by Fathom after an access request is reviewed; first sign-in requires setting your own password.
The operator
What Fathom itself can see, and why.
Fathom’s operators see every offer and request, including asks, reserves and maximum rates, and every auction bid with the bidder’s identity. Matching and auctions can’t be run without it.
Fathom is not a participant in its own market. Operator accounts can’t post offers or requests or place bids, and Fathom does not buy or sell capacity on its own account. Access to the operator console is limited to the people running the deal desk.
Data handling
What we keep, and who else touches it.
What we store
Account details (name, work email, company, country, role), your listings, proposals, bids, deals and deal-desk messages, and access requests made through this website.
Payments
Handled by Stripe. Card and bank details go to Stripe directly; Fathom never sees or stores them.
Network
Traffic is encrypted in transit (HTTPS) and passes through Cloudflare. For rate limiting we keep a one-way hash of the requesting IP address, not the address itself.
No trackers
No advertising, no analytics, no third-party scripts, fonts or pixels — on this website or in the app. This website sets no cookies.
Details
See the privacy notice and terms (both drafts during the pilot).
Pilot status
What “pilot” means, without the small print.
- Fathom is in a closed pilot with a small number of invited participants. We don’t publish volumes or customer names.
- Landing-station and cable-system reference data in the app is illustrative and not authoritative. Confirm route details with the counterparty before contracting.
- Fathom holds no regulatory licences or approvals, and has not yet undergone an independent security audit or certification.
- The service is provided as is during the pilot. Our privacy notice and terms are drafts awaiting review by counsel.
- The capacity contract itself (IRU or lease agreement) is between buyer and seller. Fathom’s terms cover use of the marketplace and its commission.
Found a security issue, or have a concern about confidentiality? Write to [email protected].