What each part does, in plain words — so you know exactly how private a conversation really is.
Getting connected
Meet up and scan each other's codes. This is the strongest way to connect — it proves, face to face, that you're really talking to them.
Can't meet? Share your code as a link. It works, but a link can be swapped in transit — so a link contact stays lower-trust until you dap in person.
A short code made from your shared keys. Read it out loud when you're together — if both phones match, no one is listening in the middle.
The trust colors
Every chat is tinted by how you connected. The color is a constant, at-a-glance reminder of how sure you can be.
Added by link. Encrypted, but trust is “first sight” — you can't rule out a swapped link.
Met in person and scanned codes. You know who you're talking to.
An in-person dap that never touches a backup — the highest bar.
Messaging
Type and send. Your message shows right away with a “Sending…” mark until it's delivered. On an iPad keyboard, press Enter to send (Shift+Enter for a new line).
Set a message to vanish after it's read or after a timer. Expiry is silent — the other person just sees it go. (A screenshot still notifies them.)
Speak your typed words as a synthetic voice — no recording of your real voice — or record a real voice note if you prefer.
Photos are shrunk and stripped of location and camera data before they ever leave your phone.
Tap any message to reveal its date and time underneath. Tap it again to hide it.
Privacy & safety
Messages are end-to-end encrypted. The relay that carries them can't read them, and doesn't learn who is talking to whom.
A notification only ever says “New message” — never the sender or the text. What you said stays on your phone.
If you screenshot a chat, the other person is told. No app can actually stop a screenshot, so we're honest that it happened.
Set a PIN so your keys are encrypted at rest and dropped from memory when you step away. Add a recovery code if you want a way back in.
Choose whether a chat can be restored on a new phone from a backup, or lives and dies with this one. When two people choose differently, the stricter choice wins for both.
Channels
Broadcast channels you can follow, like Iown News. They're one-to-many and lowest-security by design — public-ish announcements, not private chats. You can leave, or re-join, any time in settings.