FAQ
Common questions
Short answers to the questions we hear most about using KindChat. From signing up to invitations, groups, backup and Plus.
Getting started and your account
How do I sign up for KindChat?
With your phone number. You receive a six-digit code by SMS, type it in, pick your name, done. There is no password to remember.
Who can see my phone number?
Nobody. On KindChat your number is not an address: contacts see your name, never your number. And only people you have invited or accepted can reach you.
How old do I have to be to use KindChat?
From 16 you use KindChat on your own, with no code and nobody’s permission. In the European Economic Area, the US and Canada it also works between 13 and 15, but then only with a parent code: an adult takes you into their Care Circle and approves new contacts. In India the minimum age is 18, with no exception. What counts is the country of your phone number.
How do I move to a new phone?
Just sign in on the new phone with your number; your old phone is signed out automatically. Your chats start fresh on the new phone, and your contacts stay. An encrypted backup that brings your chat history along is not switched on yet.
Can I use KindChat on several devices at the same time?
No, KindChat deliberately lives on one device. When you sign in on a new phone, the old one is signed out automatically. That keeps your encryption and your data simple and safe.
What happens when I sign out?
Signing out deletes your chats and your call list from that device. That is on purpose: nobody who picks up the phone later can read them. Your contacts are kept. Without an encrypted backup, the deleted chats cannot be restored.
Contacts and inviting
How do I invite friends who are not on KindChat yet?
In the “Contacts” tab, tap the share icon: KindChat shows your six-character invite code, which you can share through any app: another messenger, email or a social network. The code is valid for seven days, and several people can use it.
Can I invite several contacts at once by SMS?
Yes. When inviting, pick people from your address book and KindChat sends them your invitation by SMS. You see exactly who it goes to and confirm first. The numbers are used only to send the invites and are not stored; KindChat never uploads your address book by itself.
How do I add someone as a contact?
Tap the plus in the “Contacts” tab. There you enter an invite code you received, or the other person’s public code.
What is the public code for, and how does it work?
Your public code lets people ask to connect with you without you handing out your phone number. You share it as text, for example through the share sheet. Every request lands in “Requests” first, and you decide whether to accept. You can renew or switch off the code at any time. Having your own code is part of Plus; using someone else’s code is always free.
What is “Requests”?
The waiting room for connection requests made through your public code. Nobody becomes your contact automatically: every request waits there until you accept or decline it.
How do I join a group?
Through an invitation from a member or the group’s QR join code. Joining is always free, no matter how big the group is.
Chatting
What can I send besides text?
Photos and videos, plus polls, time polls, bring lists, time capsules and PDF documents. These extras are created with Plus; receiving, voting and taking part is always free.
Can I edit or delete messages?
You can edit your latest text message in a one-on-one chat as long as it has not been read yet. Deleting for everyone works even after that; the chat then shows everyone that the message was deleted.
What do the check marks under my message mean?
One check: sent. Two checks: arrived on the other person’s phone. When the checks turn green, the message has been read.
How big can groups get?
With Free you create groups of up to 5 members, and with Plus you can create larger groups too. Joining any group is free, whatever its size.
How do @-mentions work in groups?
Type @ and pick a person; they see the mention highlighted in the chat. There is deliberately no “@everyone”, and a mention does not ring louder than any other message. That keeps groups calm.
Screenshots and privacy
Why can’t I take screenshots of chats?
To protect your privacy: what you write to each other should not travel on as a screenshot. On Android the system therefore blocks the capture completely. On iPhone, Apple does not let apps block screenshots; there KindChat detects the screenshot and shows you a reminder that private conversations should stay private. Your own invite code, of course, you can always screenshot and share.
Are my messages really encrypted? Who can read along?
Yes. Messages, media and Pulse are end-to-end encrypted with the Signal protocol, and calls are end-to-end encrypted as well. No one can read along on the way, not even we can. Before sending, your device checks the text; if it is unsure, cannot yet judge the language on its own, or lacks the memory for it, our server in the EU checks the text and the messages before it automatically, without your account ID. The text is stored there only if you have turned on “Help improve moderation”, and then pseudonymised. Our team can read only what you write to the official support chat (it says so clearly right in the chat) and a message someone has reported.
How can KindChat check messages if everything is encrypted?
The kindness check runs on your phone, before the message is encrypted, the way a spell checker reads along. On the recipient’s phone it checks once more after decryption. If your phone is unsure, cannot yet judge the language on its own, or lacks the memory for it, it asks a KindChat server in the EU for a second opinion; what is checked then is the text in question and up to five messages right before it, without your account ID. The text is stored there only if you have turned on “Help improve moderation”, and then pseudonymised.
What is inside my push notifications?
Never the content of your messages. A wake-up signal travels through Apple’s and Google’s push services. Depending on its kind, it carries a fixed notice text such as “New message”, the number of unread messages, identifiers that only KindChat can match, and, for an incoming call, the display name of the caller, the type of call (audio or video) and its start time. Only your phone decrypts the messages you receive. Said honestly: Apple and Google can read these details, see that your device was woken and when, and know its push address. That is not message content, but it is not nothing either. How much your lock screen shows is up to your system settings.
What is the “Help improve moderation” switch?
A voluntary switch in Settings, off by default. If you turn it on, individual check decisions may be stored pseudonymously: without your name, your number or your account, and names or contact details inside the text are replaced first. The data stays in the EU and is deleted after three years at the latest. You can turn the switch off again at any time.
The kindness check
What happens when my message is held back?
It simply stays in your input field, with a short explanation. You can reword it or discard it. Nothing was sent, the other person learns nothing, and there is no point score in the background.
Why is a received message hidden on my phone?
Your phone also checks on arrival. If a message looks hurtful, it arrives hidden, with a note about what it might contain. You decide for yourself whether to look at it anyway.
How do I report a message?
Press and hold the message and choose “Report message”. You see exactly what will be transmitted before you send it. The reported person never learns that, or by whom, they were reported. You find the outcomes of your reports in Settings. And if someone is bothering you, you can block them at any time.
I think a decision is wrong. How do I appeal?
In Settings, “My moderation record” lists every decision about your account with a written explanation, and you can appeal right there. Your appeal is always reviewed by a human, and by a different person than the first time.
Calls
How do calls work?
You can reach any contact by voice or video call: open the contact, tap the phone or camera icon. Calls are end-to-end encrypted and only happen between contacts. Group calls do not exist yet.
Are calls recorded or listened to?
No, by nobody. KindChat technically cannot record calls, and the kindness check does not listen in either. What you say stays between you.
What does “Always route calls through KindChat” mean?
Normally two phones connect as directly as possible during a call; the other side can then see your IP address. With this setting the still-encrypted call always runs through our servers, and your IP address stays hidden. It can slightly affect call quality.
Pulse
What is Pulse?
A calm place for small updates: photos, videos or a few words, visible only to your contacts. No strangers, no ranking algorithm, no public stage. And the same kindness check as in chats applies.
Who sees my Pulse posts, and who can comment?
Only your own contacts see your posts, and only they can comment. Nothing on Pulse is public. You can delete your own posts at any time.
Someone posts too much for my taste. What can I do?
You can mute any contact on Pulse. They never notice, you stay contacts, and you simply stop seeing their posts.
Backup and switching phones
How do I back up my chats?
An encrypted backup is built but not switched on yet. Until then your chats are only on your phone: when you switch phones they start fresh, and your contacts stay.
I lost my recovery code. Now what?
The encrypted backup is not switched on yet. Once it is, this applies: The code is the only key to your backup, and we deliberately keep no copy. Without it the backup cannot be opened, not even by us. So store it somewhere safe, for example in a password manager. You can create a new backup with a new code at any time.
How long are my messages kept?
Messages are kept for 30 days on Free, without limit on Plus. A message that is not delivered within 30 days is deleted, on Plus too. Pulse posts disappear after 24 hours on Free and after 7 days on Plus.
Free and Plus
What does KindChat cost?
KindChat is free, with full protection and all core features. Plus and the Care Circle add comfort on top, such as more storage, bigger groups and extras. You find the current prices in the app and on the App Store and Google Play.
What is never behind the paywall?
Everything that protects: the kindness check, encryption, blocking, reporting and appeals, the help resources, the discreet app icon, joining groups and receiving everything. On KindChat, safety is never a premium feature.
What happens when my Plus runs out?
Nobody loses protection or connections. Your groups remain; only the comfort extras pause until you upgrade again.
Good to know
Which languages does KindChat come in?
The app comes in ten languages: English, Deutsch, Español, Français, Italiano, Nederlands, Polski, Português (Portugal), Português (Brasil) and Türkçe. The kindness check is independent of that: it detects the language of each message by itself.
How accessible is KindChat?
KindChat works fully with VoiceOver (iPhone) and TalkBack (Android), grows with your phone’s text size and adds its own slider for the chat text size. Light and dark themes, clear contrast and plain language are part of it.
Who is the “KindChat Support” contact?
Our official help channel, which every account has automatically. This one chat can be read by our support team so we can help you, and it says so clearly right there. Every other chat stays end-to-end encrypted.
Is there KindChat for the desktop or the browser?
No, KindChat is available for iPhone (iOS 15 or newer) and Android (Android 10 or newer). KindChat’s protection lives on your phone, where checking and encryption happen. We will look at further platforms later.
Does the Android app run without Google Play services, and can I install it without the Play Store?
Installing it outside the Play Store is possible, but we distribute it only through the Play Store and the App Store; there is no F-Droid build. Without Google Play services you lose push, and with it the notification about new messages and the ring for incoming calls: on Android both run through Firebase Cloud Messaging. You then see new messages when you open the app. Encryption and the kindness check are untouched by this, they run on your device anyway. An alternative such as UnifiedPush is not something we support at the moment.
Is KindChat open source?
No. KindChat’s code is our intellectual property and stays closed. What is open is what we build on: the encryption is the Signal Protocol, and the open-source software, datasets and models behind the kindness check are listed in the app under Settings in the open-source notices. How the check decides and what it sends to our server is described openly on the AI transparency page. And end-to-end encryption holds whether or not anyone can read our code.
Didn’t find your question?
The handbook explains KindChat step by step, in plain words. And you can write to us any time, in the app to “KindChat Support” or by email.