End-to-end encryption

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is the reason we can honestly say only you and the people you message can read your conversations. This page explains what that means, how OvateChat does it, and how you can verify it yourself.

In one sentence: your messages are locked on your device with keys only your recipients hold, travel through our servers as unreadable scrambled data, and are unlocked only on the other person's device — so no one in between, including us, can read them.

The idea

Most apps encrypt messages in transit to the company's servers — but the company can still read them there. End-to-end encryption goes further: the message is encrypted for the recipient the moment you hit send, and can only be decrypted by the recipient. The "ends" are the two devices; everything in the middle only ever sees ciphertext.

How it works in OvateChat

1 · Keys on deviceWhen you set up OvateChat, your device generates your encryption keys. The private keys never leave it.

2 · Public keys sharedOnly the public halves are uploaded, so others can start a conversation with you — like publishing an address that only you hold the key to.

3 · Locked & sentYour app encrypts each message for the recipient's keys. Our server relays the scrambled result.

4 · UnlockedOnly the recipient's device can decrypt it. The server never holds the keys.

Built on the Signal Protocol

OvateChat uses the Signal Protocol — the same open, independently-audited cryptography behind Signal and used by WhatsApp — for all one-to-one and group messages. Two parts do the heavy lifting:

X3DH (Extended Triple Diffie-Hellman) establishes a shared secret the first time two people connect, using published prekeys — so you can message someone securely even if they're offline.
The Double Ratchet gives every message a fresh key. This provides forward secrecy (a key compromised today can't unlock yesterday's messages) and self-healing (the conversation re-secures itself going forward).

For the technically curious: your device publishes an identity key, a signed prekey and a batch of one-time prekeys; a sender fetches that bundle to run X3DH, then the Double Ratchet takes over per message. Our servers only distribute public key bundles and relay ciphertext envelopes.

What is protected

End-to-end encrypted

Text messages
Photos, videos and files
Voice notes
Shared & live location
Group messages
Your optional cloud backup (encrypted with your own key)

Not message content

Operator announcements — the read-only "OvateChat" channel is a broadcast from us, so it isn't E2EE (and the app labels it as such).
Some routing metadata — to deliver a message and show receipts, our server necessarily handles which devices are involved and when. We keep this to the minimum and don't retain the content itself.

Zero-knowledge — and the trade-off

OvateChat holds no copy of your private keys and no "master key." There is no key escrow and no back door. This is what makes your messages genuinely private — but it has one honest consequence:

If you lose your recovery phrase, no one — including us — can restore your account or messages. Please store your recovery phrase somewhere safe when you set up the app.

Encrypted on your device, too

Encryption doesn't stop at the network. Your message history is stored in an encrypted database on your device, unlocked from your device's secure storage. If encryption can't be enabled, OvateChat refuses to store your messages in the clear rather than fall back to plaintext.

Don't just trust us — verify

You can confirm that your conversation is encrypted directly with the right person, with no one impersonating them in the middle, using a Safety Number:

Open a chat and tap the contact's name to open Contact details.
Tap Verify Safety Number.
Compare the number (or scan it) with your contact in person or over another trusted channel. If they match, your session is verified end-to-end.

Why it matters

Private conversations are a basic expectation, not a premium feature. Because OvateChat can't read your messages, we can't hand them over, lose them in a breach of our servers, mine them for advertising, or train anything on them. Privacy isn't a setting here — it's the architecture.

Want the technical details?

For the full picture — the Signal Protocol, key custody, exactly what our servers can and cannot see, and our honest limitations — read the Security & Technology overview.

Read the user guide → · Privacy Policy → · Security & Technology →