Questions and answers.
The ones people run into most.
Getting in
- Do I need a phone number?
- No. An email address and a password, or a Google account. We do not ask for a phone number and do not store one.
- Do I need a Surf account?
- Yes, and it is the same account. Surf Messenger is a second door into conversations you may already have. If you are signed in on Surf, opening the messenger signs you in here too.
- Is there an app to install?
- No. It runs in a browser and adds to your home screen on iPhone, Android and desktop, where it opens in its own window and works with no network.
- Does it cost anything?
- No. Encryption, groups, calls, search and backups are all on a free account. Running a broadcast channel and turning read receipts off are part of a Sapphire subscription.
What we can see
- Can you read my messages?
- No. A message is encrypted on your device before it is sent, and the encrypted version is the only one we hold. A direct message that cannot be encrypted is not sent. There is no unencrypted fallback.
- What does a notification say, if you cannot read the message?
- Who it is from, and the words 'New message'. The text is not in the notification, because the server that sends it does not have the text. The same is true of your conversation list: the preview you see there was decrypted by your own device.
- Does search upload my chats?
- No. Searching runs against the copy your device has already decrypted, and your query is never part of a request. Opening a result asks our server for a message by its id. Anything this device has no key for is counted and named in the results.
- What happens if someone demands my messages?
- We can hand over what we hold, which is the encrypted version and what was needed to deliver it. We cannot decrypt it, and we hold no key that produces a readable copy.
- Is there anything that is not encrypted?
- Two things. A group larger than 256 people is not end to end encrypted, because the group scheme stops there. And a small number of messages sent before we shipped encryption were stored readable; everything since is encrypted.
Your history
- Why is my history empty on a new device?
- Because only your devices can unlock your chats, a new one cannot read what it was not there for. Approve it from a device you already use, or restore your backup, and your history comes with you. The app counts what it cannot open and offers the route that applies.
- What happens if I lose my recovery key?
- The backup stays sealed and nobody can reissue the key, including us. Your messages survive on any device that already holds them, and a device that does not will never be able to read what came before it. Write the key down and keep it somewhere safe.
- Does signing out erase my messages from this device?
- No. Signing out ends the session; the decrypted history stays sealed in this browser's storage under a key that cannot be exported from it. Removing the account from the device is what erases the keys, the decrypted history and anything derived from it.
- Can I export my messages?
- No. The export covers your profile, posts, bookmarks and follows, which are the things our servers can read. Your messages are not among them, because our servers cannot read them.
- Can I delete my account?
- Yes. Deletion is scheduled thirty days out and can be cancelled inside that window.
Moderation, audits and money
- How do you handle abuse if you cannot read anything?
- With controls you hold yourself. Someone you do not follow goes to a separate tray, and blocking sends nothing to the person blocked. Reports go through Surf, where account-level action happens.
- Has this been audited?
- No. There is no third-party audit and the source is not published. The primitives are standard and listed on the security page.
- How is this paid for?
- Donations. There is no advertising and no tracking.
Something else
If your question is not here, Surf's help centre covers the account this signs you in with, and contact reaches a person. Anything you have found in the encryption itself goes to [email protected]. No Surf account yet? Create one.