Get set up in five steps.

Go to the messenger in your browser

Use the browser that can install a web app on your system — this matters, the install option only appears in the right one:

iPhone / iPad

Safari (iOS installs web apps only from Safari)

Android

Chrome

Windows / Linux

Chrome or Edge

Mac

Chrome, Edge, or Safari 17+

You sign in with your existing account; the same browser keeps you signed in, so there’s no separate password to set up here.

Add it to the home screen

Turn on alerts

Open the installed app. Near the top it shows an “Enable notifications” prompt — tap it, then choose Allow in the browser’s permission dialog.

That’s what lets the messenger reach you when it’s closed: a call rings even if the app isn’t open, and new messages raise a notification with the sender’s name. If you dismissed the prompt, you can grant it later in the browser’s site settings (the padlock/ⓘ next to the address).

Secret chats never reveal their text in a notification — an encrypted message shows only a generic “🔒 Encrypted message”.

A quick confirmation

• It launches on its own. Opening from the home-screen icon shows the app full-screen — no browser address bar.
• Messages arrive. Send one to a contact (or ask them to send you one) and watch it appear; the ✓✓ turns when they read it.
• Notifications fire. With the app in the background, a new message or an incoming call should alert you.
• It survives offline. Turn the network off and reopen — chats you’ve already loaded are still there, and it re-syncs when you’re back.

What the info page shows you

Tap the ℹ️ at the top of the chat list. It’s a read-out of this device — nothing here messages anyone; it’s for seeing and controlling what the app keeps locally:

• General — app version, when it was built, when you signed in.
• Storage — how much space is used, split into cached files, secret messages, and other; whether storage is marked persistent.
• Encryption — when this device’s key was created, how many secret messages are stored, how many are awaiting recovery, and how many contacts you’ve verified.
• Connection — the live socket status and a small graph of reconnects, handy if the network feels flaky.
• Install app — the one-tap install button, if you skipped step 2.

Erase everything on this device

At the bottom of the same ℹ️ panel is “Erase everything on this device.” It’s a deliberate two-step button — the first tap only reveals the confirmation — because it is total:

• It removes all local data: the device (master) key, your secret messages, cached chats and files, and every stored setting.
• The app reloads. On your next sign-in a fresh device key is created automatically.
• Encrypted history from before is gone for good — its keys are destroyed, which is the point.

Use it to hand the device on clean, or if you’re worried it’s no longer only yours. It clears local storage only — it doesn’t sign you out on the server, so on a shared device use your account’s normal Log out as well.