Questions and answers
The things people usually ask before they send their first private message.
Do I need to create an account?
No. There is no sign-up, no email confirmation and no password. Whisper makes your personal key the first time you open it, and that’s all it needs.
Does the other person need Whisper?
They need to open the message in Whisper, but they don’t have to install anything: every link works in Whisper for web, right in the browser.
Can Whisper (the company) read my messages?
No. Messages are scrambled on your device before they leave it and can only be unscrambled on the recipient’s. We don’t run any servers that your messages pass through — there’s nothing for us to read, sell or lose.
Can my email provider or phone company read them?
No. They carry the link, but the link only contains scrambled data. Even the part of the link that holds the message is never sent to any website when it’s opened.
What if I send it to the wrong person?
Nothing bad happens: a Whisper message can only be opened by the person it was written for. If you paste it into the wrong chat, nobody there can read it.
How do I know a message really came from who it says?
Every message is signed by its sender. When the sender is in your address book, you’ll see their name with a ✓. A message from someone you haven’t added says so clearly.
Why do I need to “connect” before sending?
Whisper has to know which padlock to use — the recipient’s personal key. The invite is how you get it, securely, without a central server. You only do it once per person.
Can I send files or photos?
Not yet — Whisper is for text: numbers, passwords, instructions and notes. Short messages work best, especially by text message, because long messages make long links.
Are my messages stored anywhere?
Only on the devices of the people in the conversation. Received messages from your contacts are saved on your device, encrypted, so you can find them again; you can delete them one by one or all at once, or turn history off in Settings.
What if I lose my phone?
Your key lives in your phone’s secure storage and never leaves it, so a new phone starts with a new key unless you made a backup (Settings → My key → Export backup). Without one, just invite your contacts again. On a lost phone, the app lock (Face ID, fingerprint or passcode) keeps others out.
Is this “military-grade encryption”?
We’d rather be specific: Whisper uses modern, widely-reviewed building blocks — ChaCha20-Poly1305, X25519 and standard OpenSSH keys. The technical section explains exactly how.
Ready to try it?
Whisper for web runs right in your browser. Invite someone and send your first private message in under a minute.