User guide

Everything you need to get the most out of OvateChat — a private, end-to-end encrypted messenger. Jump to a section below, or read straight through.

Getting started

1. Create your account

Creating an account takes three short steps. You'll need an email address you can check right now.

  1. Enter your email. We send a 6-digit code to confirm it's yours.
  2. Enter the code. If it doesn't arrive within a minute, check your spam or junk folder — and in Outlook, the Other tab. You can also go back and use a different address.
  3. Choose your username and display name. Your username is how friends find you and must be unique (3–30 characters: lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens or underscores). Your display name is what people see in chats, and can be anything you like.

That's it — your account is ready and you can start messaging people straight away.

Your email stays private. It's used only to verify your account. It is never shown to other people, and nobody can find you by it — unless you choose to allow that later in Settings → Privacy.

2. Set your recovery phrase

Your recovery phrase is a list of words that acts as the master key to your account. It's generated on your device and never sent to us. You don't set it during sign-up, so OvateChat keeps a reminder pinned at the top of your conversation list until you do.

  1. Tap the reminder at the top of your chats, or go to Settings → Security → Recovery phrase.
  2. Write the words down, or save them in a password manager.
Don't put this off. OvateChat is zero-knowledge — we keep no copy of your keys. If you lose your recovery phrase and your devices, your account cannot be recovered by anyone, including us.

3. Your username

You pick your username when you sign up, and you can change it any time in Settings → Profile — as long as the new one isn't taken. People find you by username; OvateChat never uploads your phone's address book.

Chatting with people

Add a friend

  1. Tap New chat (the + button on the conversations screen).
  2. Search for a username (or an email, if that person opted in to be found that way).
  3. Tap Add friend → Add to send a friend request.
  4. Once they accept, open the chat and say hello.

If someone you haven't added messages you, it appears under Requests at the top of your conversations list — tap Accept or Decline.

Send a message

  1. Open a chat, type in the message box, and tap send.
  2. The ticks under your message show its status: one tick = sent, two grey = delivered, two blue = read.
  3. Long-press a message to react to it with an emoji.
If a message fails to send (e.g. you were offline), tap Tap to retry under it. OvateChat also keeps trying automatically.

Photos, files & more

Everything you attach is end-to-end encrypted and decrypted only on the recipients' devices.

  1. In a chat, tap the attachment button.
  2. Choose what to send: photo/video, a file, a voice note (hold to record), or your location (including live location for a set time).
  3. Add an optional caption and send.

Groups

Create a group

  1. Tap New chat → New group.
  2. Give the group a name and pick friends to add.
  3. Create it — group messages are encrypted just like one-to-one chats.

Manage a group

Open the group and tap its name to reach Group info, where you can:

Managing conversations

Your devices

Link another device

Add another device with a QR code — no password needed:

  1. Install and open OvateChat on the new device and tap Link this device with a QR code.
  2. On your primary phone, go to Settings → Security → Linked devices → Link a new device and scan the code. Your chats are copied to the new device, end-to-end encrypted.

Or sign in on the new device with your password: it shows a 6-digit linking PIN to enter on your primary phone under Linked devices.

On a Mac or a Windows PC

OvateChat for Mac (Mac App Store) and for Windows (Microsoft Store) is a linked device too. There is no sign-up on a computer — the account lives on your phone. Open the app on the computer and scan the code it shows from Settings → Security → Linked devices → Link a new device on your phone; your chats come across encrypted, and from then on the computer receives messages and calls like your phone does.

On a computer other people use, keep the app lock on (the app offers it right after linking; later under Settings → Security): after a few minutes without use, when the window is closed or when the computer locks, it asks for Touch ID, Windows Hello or the computer's password before it shows anything.

Only device? Recover with a code

If you've lost access to your primary device, choose "This is my only device — make it primary" during sign-in. You'll confirm with a code sent to your verified email; this signs out all your other devices.

Auto-revoke idle devices

In Settings → Security → Auto-revoke idle devices you can have linked (non-primary) devices lose access automatically after a period of inactivity.

Security

Find these in Settings → Security.

Privacy controls

In Settings → Privacy you control:

Backup

In Settings → Backup you can enable an encrypted backup. It's encrypted with your own key before it leaves your device, so it's opaque to us — only your recovery credential can restore it.

Because of the zero-knowledge design, a reinstall without a backup (or your recovery phrase) starts fresh. Set up a backup and keep your recovery phrase safe.

Your account

Update your email

In Settings, update your email; you'll confirm the new one with a verification code.

Delete your account

  1. Go to Settings → Security → Delete account and confirm.
  2. Your account freezes immediately and is scheduled for permanent deletion after a 30-day grace period.
  3. Changed your mind? Just sign in again within 30 days — the deletion is cancelled and you'll get a "Welcome back" note.

Sign out

Settings → Security → Sign out revokes this device's session. Your local data stays unless you also reset it.

Troubleshooting