How KindChat works

New to KindChat, or just want a hand? This handbook explains KindChat in plain language — one topic at a time.

This handbook is also built right into the KindChat app — in ten languages (English, Deutsch, Español, Français, Italiano, Nederlands, Polski, Português (Portugal), Português (Brasil), Türkçe). You will find it any time under Settings → “How KindChat works”.

In the app it is built to scale with larger text and to be read aloud by screen readers (VoiceOver on iPhone, TalkBack on Android).

Welcome to KindChat

KindChat is a messenger, like the ones you may already know, but with one big difference: it helps everyone stay kind.

A calmer place to talk. When the check recognises a message that attacks or hurts people, it is held back before it is sent. So conversations here stay respectful.

Private by design. Your messages are end-to-end encrypted on the way; the exceptions are the Support chat and reported messages, and display names, group names, group pictures and reactions are not yet end-to-end encrypted. Before sending, your phone checks the text; only if it is unsure, cannot yet judge the language on its own, or lacks the memory for it, does a KindChat computer in Europe check it with the messages before it, without your account ID, and it stores it only if you have turned on “Help improve moderation”, and then pseudonymised.

The same for everyone. Kindness is not a paid extra. The same gentle rules apply to everyone, on every plan.

Your first steps

Ready to send your first message? It takes three small steps.

1. Add a person. Open the Contacts tab at the bottom of the screen. Tap the plus (+) button to add someone with an invite code.

2. Open a chat. Tap a contact's name to open your conversation with them.

3. Write and send. Type your message in the box at the bottom and tap the send arrow. To send a photo, tap the Attach button (the paperclip) first, then choose Camera or Photos.

Why a message can be held back

Sometimes KindChat will gently hold back a message before it is sent. This is normal. Here is why, and what to do.

Your phone does the checking. Before a message leaves your phone, KindChat quietly checks it for anything hurtful. This happens on your device, in a moment.

If a message is held back. You will see a kind note explaining why. Nothing is sent, and no one is told. You can simply reword it in a friendlier way and try again.

It is not about you. The check looks at the words, not the person. Strong feelings, disagreement, and honest talk are all welcome. Only what would harm someone is meant to be held back.

More on how our AI is used only for moderation, never to generate content: AI Transparency.

Your privacy

Your conversations belong to you. Here is how KindChat keeps them private.

Encrypted from device to device. Your messages are protected with end-to-end encryption. Our server holds no key to them. The exceptions: our server reads what you write in the Support chat, and a report hands over the reported message. Display names, group names, group pictures and reactions are not yet end-to-end encrypted.

What our servers keep. Your messages travel locked through our servers to the other person's phone and are kept encrypted on our server for 30 days from sending; if one side of a one-to-one chat, or a current member of a group, is a Plus or Care Circle member, for as long as that applies. A message in a one-to-one chat that is not delivered within 30 days is still deleted with its attachments after 30 days. We cannot open the encrypted content. The kindness check has one exception: if your device is unsure about a message, cannot yet judge its language on its own, or lacks the memory for it, it sends it with the messages before it to our service in Europe, without your account ID. It is stored there only if you have agreed to that in Settings, and then pseudonymised.

One gentle exception. If you ever write to KindChat Support, that one chat can be read by our support team so they can help you. Other conversations stay end-to-end encrypted (exceptions above), and you will always see a note when a chat can be read by Support. If someone reports a message, our team can read exactly that one message.

The full details are in our Privacy Policy.

Your personal code

A personal code lets people reach you without you giving out your phone number.

What it is. Your code is a short set of letters and numbers. Share it with someone, and they can ask to connect with you, without ever seeing your phone number.

You are always in control. When someone uses your code, it does not add them straight away. Their request waits for you, and you decide whether to accept or decline. Nobody is added automatically.

Make a new one or turn it off. On the Public code screen you can tap "New code" to replace it, and the old one then stops working, or "Turn off my code" to remove it completely.

A KindChat Plus feature. Creating your own code is part of KindChat Plus. Using someone else's code to reach them is always free.

Your Care Circle

The Care Circle lets someone you trust help look after you on KindChat.

A trusted helper. You can invite someone close to you, such as a family member or friend, into your Care Circle. It is built for peace of mind.

You choose what they can do. Care is set up together, step by step, and you decide what is shared. You can end it at any time.

If you are under 16. In the European Economic Area, the US and Canada this works too, and then it runs the other way around: an adult sets up the Care Circle and invites you with a parent code. They approve new contacts and groups, and you cannot switch that approval off while you are in the circle. Your messages, your calls and your location stay private all the same, they see none of it. The app always shows you that the approval is active, and you can leave the circle at any time. Your account then rests, crisis help and the reporting path stay reachable, and a new parent code brings you back at no cost. In the European Economic Area we recommend KindChat from age 13. What counts is the country of your phone number. If you say you live in India, 18 applies.

Groups with rules

A group needs someone who looks after it, and a few quiet rules everyone knows.

Who looks after a group. Whoever creates a group is its first admin. An admin can add or remove members, pass the role on and set how the group works. An admin can also make a trusted member a moderator, a helper who keeps things tidy.

When only admins post. An admin can turn on announcement mode, so only admins and moderators write while everyone else reads and reacts.

Quiet hours and messages per day. An admin can set quiet hours, during which only admins and moderators write, and how many messages each member can write in the group per day. The number does not apply to admins and moderators. Both rules are in the group info for everyone to see. During quiet hours the chat shows when it opens again, and whoever has written their messages for today sees that above the input field.

What always works. Reading, reacting, leaving the group, writing privately and reporting always work in every group, and nobody is shut out. Turning a rule off is free for everyone; turning one on is part of KindChat Plus or the Care Circle.

Sending later and opening later

Two calm ways to write now and let a message land at the right moment. They sound alike and do opposite things: Send later moves when it is sent. A time capsule moves when it is read. Both work in one-to-one chats and in groups.

Send later. Write now and pick when the message should go out: this evening, tomorrow morning, or a day and time you choose. Until then it waits in an encrypted store on your phone only, and signing out clears it. We are straight with you about the timing: it goes out the next time you open the app at or after that moment, so it is a calm way to write at 2am without waking anyone, not a to-the-second alarm. Up to 8 per chat, and cancelling one is free even without Plus.

Time capsule. A time capsule is sent right away, but it arrives gift-wrapped and stays wrapped until the day and time you chose. The other person sees a sealed card saying exactly when it opens, and from exactly that moment it can be opened: one tap unwraps it. For the other person it stays closed until that moment; as the sender you can always view your own text. When you seal it, you also choose how it opens: simply, or with a little celebration, from balloons and confetti to hearts and fireworks. And on the opening day their phone lets them know, without giving away who it is from; if it sits further up in a busy chat, the chat shows “Open time capsule” at the top, and one tap jumps to it and opens it.

The kindness check still comes first. Both are checked on your phone before they are sent, and again on the receiving phone before anything is shown. A sealed capsule is checked when it arrives, not when it opens, so nothing harmful can wait inside one. Writing either is part of Plus; receiving, opening and reading are free for everyone.

Sharing with Pulse

Pulse is a gentle place to share little updates, but only with the people you have chosen.

Only your contacts. What you post on Pulse is shown only to your contacts. It is not public, and strangers can never see it.

Share, like, and comment. Tap the camera to share a photo or a few words. You can like and comment on what your contacts share, too.

Stay comfortable. You can delete anything you post, and you can mute a contact to quietly hide their posts. The same kindness check applies to Pulse.

Voice and video calls

You can talk face to face or voice to voice, right inside KindChat.

Start a call. Open a contact and tap the phone or video button to call them. Calls are private and encrypted, just like your messages.

Answer a call. When someone calls, tap the green button to answer or the red button to decline. You will find your past calls in the Calls tab, and if you miss a call, the tab carries a small number until you have looked in.

Making KindChat easier to see and hear

KindChat is made to fit you, with bigger text, gentler colours, and full support for screen readers.

Bigger text. KindChat follows your phone's text-size setting. Make the text larger in your phone's settings and KindChat grows with it.

Light or dark. Prefer a darker screen? Open Appearance in Settings to choose light, dark, or match your phone.

Screen readers welcome. KindChat works with VoiceOver on iPhone and TalkBack on Android, so every button and message can be read aloud.

Staying safe and getting help

If something does not feel right, you are not alone. Here is how to stay safe and find help.

Block someone. If a contact is bothering you, open their details and choose Block. They will not be able to reach you, and they are not told.

Report something. You can report a photo that should not be there by pressing and holding it. Our team reviews reports carefully.

Talk to us, or to someone who can help. You can message KindChat Support at any time. And if you or someone you know is in crisis, Settings has a list of free helplines you can call right away.

Still have questions?

Write to us any time at hi@kindchat.app. If you or someone you know is in crisis, the app has a list of free helplines under Settings that you can call right away.