Frequently asked questions

Yes, they are encrypted, and no, we can't read them. Every message, photo, video, voice note, and file you send in a personal or group chat is end-to-end encrypted: it is locked on your device and unlocked only on the recipients' devices, with keys we never hold. Our servers only see encrypted data, so even if we were compelled to hand it over, we couldn't decrypt it. It is automatic, with nothing to switch on. We still see what we need to deliver messages, such as account identifiers and message metadata (timestamps, sender and recipient, delivery and read status). Profile photos, group icons, and sticker images are not end-to-end encrypted, because our servers have to be able to show them. If you report a chat, a copy of your most recent messages in it goes to our safety team with the report, and you can review it before you send.

Yes. O'Chat's core messaging is free on iOS and Android. There are no ads, we don't sell your data, and we never use your messages to train AI models — we can't read them in the first place.

Privacy first, by default. O'Chat stays focused on messaging — no data business, no feature creep.

Yes. Saved Messages is your chat with yourself: no one else is in it and no one else can see it. Use it to jot down notes or keep photos and files for yourself. It is encrypted on your own device and never sent to O'Chat's servers, and it is included in your encrypted chat backup, so you can take it with you to a new phone.

Yes. Go to Settings → Chats and turn off Online Status. This hides both your online status and your last seen. It works both ways: while yours is hidden, you also can't see other people's online status or last seen.

Your chats are end-to-end encrypted and stored only on your phone. O'Chat is signed in on one phone at a time. If you switch phones or reinstall without a backup, your old chat history can't be recovered. So back up before you switch, then restore that backup on the new phone.

There are two ways, and you can use both. Cloud backup: go to Settings → Chat backup and set up backup to Google Drive (Android) or iCloud (iPhone). Backups then run automatically — daily and on Wi-Fi by default — and you can change the schedule or turn it off. Backup file: go to Settings → Chat backup → Export to file, and save the file somewhere safe. Either way, the backup is end-to-end encrypted on your phone and locked with your backup password, which must be at least 12 characters. To restore, install O'Chat on the new phone, sign in, go to Settings → Chat backup → Restore from backup, choose your cloud backup or your file, and enter your backup password. Older backups made with a 64-character recovery key still open with that key. A Google Drive backup can't be read on an iPhone, and an iCloud backup can't be read on Android — to move between the two, use a backup file.

Then that backup can't be opened — not by you, and not by us. Your backup is end-to-end encrypted with your password, and we never see the password, so we can't reset or recover it. Keep it somewhere safe. If you still have the phone with your chats on it, you can set a new backup password and back up again; your cloud backup is then replaced by one that opens only with the new password. Backup files you saved earlier still need the password (or recovery key) they were made with.

Logging out doesn't erase your chats or encryption keys from your phone, so if you log back in to the same account on that phone, your chat history is still there. Without a backup, your history doesn't move to a new phone and doesn't survive reinstalling the app. To keep it, make an encrypted backup in Settings → Chat backup.

On messages you send: a clock means sending, one tick means sent to the server, two grey ticks mean delivered to the other device, and two blue ticks mean read. In group chats, the ticks turn blue once everyone has read the message.

Yes, within 15 minutes. You can edit your own text messages in personal and group chats: long-press the message, tap Edit, change the text, and send. The message then shows an "edited" label. Deleted, forwarded, and burn-after-read messages can't be edited.

Long-press a message, then tap Delete. Delete for me removes it from your device only — the other person still sees it. It works in personal chats, group chats, and Saved Messages. Delete for everyone removes it for everyone in the chat and leaves a "This message was deleted" note; it is available in personal and group chats within 48 hours of sending. In groups, admins can also delete other members' messages.

A burn-after-read message can be opened only once. After it is opened, it stays for the time you chose, then it is erased from both devices, with no copy kept on our servers. To send one, open a personal or group chat, tap the flame icon next to the attachment button, and choose how long the message lasts after it is opened: 30 seconds, 1 hour, or 1 day. While "Burn-after-read ON" shows above the keyboard, every message you send is a burn message; tap the flame again to turn it off. Burn messages aren't available in Saved Messages.

Screenshots and screen recordings of an open burn message come out black, on both Android and iPhone. An iPhone can't block the screenshot button itself, so if someone takes a screenshot there, the chat shows that they took a screenshot of a disappearing message. Android shows no such notice. Nothing can stop someone photographing the screen with another camera.

Screen security hides O'Chat's content in the app switcher (recent apps), so people around you can't see your chats there. It is on by default. It also blocks screenshots and screen recordings of the whole app, on both Android and iPhone. To change it, go to Settings → Account & Privacy → Screen security. If you take a screenshot while it is on, you may see a notice you can tap to open this setting.

Yes. Group messages use the same end-to-end encryption as personal chats — only members of the group can read them.

Group admins. Open the group, tap the header to open group info, then edit the name or description.

Open group info, tap the member, and choose Make admin. Only existing admins can promote others.

Open group info, tap the member, and choose Remove. Only admins can remove members.

On the login screen, switch to the Email option, enter your email address, then enter the verification code sent to your inbox. Email login only works if you have already added and verified that email on your account.

Go to Settings, tap your profile at the top, then tap Phone. Confirm it's you with a code sent to your current number (or your verified email), then enter the new number. Changing your number signs you out on all devices.

Go to Settings, tap your profile at the top, then tap Display Name, Bio, or Email.

In the app, go to Settings, tap your profile at the top, scroll down, tap Delete Account, and confirm with the verification code. If you can't use the app, use our account deletion page. Your account is then scheduled for deletion, and deleting in the app also erases the chats on that phone. Changed your mind? Sign in again with the same account within 30 days and tap Restore Account. Restoring brings back your account, not the chats erased from your phone — those come back only from a backup. After 30 days the deletion is permanent and the account can't be restored. Your profile, contacts, message metadata, settings, and tokens are permanently removed within 90 days, and encrypted backup copies on our side are purged on the same schedule. Cloud backups in your own Google Drive or iCloud are yours to delete — we can't access or remove them. Messages already delivered to other people's devices stay on those devices.

The app is available in four languages: English, Bahasa Melayu, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. Switch anytime in Settings → App Language.

All of these are in Settings → Chats. There you can turn read receipts, online status, and media auto-download on or off, choose to save photos and videos to your gallery, and clear cached media.

Make sure O'Chat is allowed to send notifications: check Settings → Permissions in the app and your phone's own notification settings, and check that the chat isn't muted. On some Android phones (for example Xiaomi, Huawei, Honor, vivo, and OPPO), also allow O'Chat to start automatically, or the phone may stop it from receiving new messages in the background.