Frequently Asked Questions

Getting started

Do I need an account?

No. There is no registration, no email, no phone number and no username. Install the app and it works.

How do I add someone?

Open the Friends tab and tap +. Under Add a friend — where are they? you get two choices: Here, for someone at arm's length, which hands the code over by AirDrop; or Elsewhere, which sends it through another app. There is also By hand, where you can create a code or paste a code you were given.

What does a code look like?

Three words and a number, like spruce-otter-42. Shared as a link it becomes tesseract-network.com/i/spruce-otter-42. Either form works — your friend can tap the link or type the words.

Is there a QR code?

Not for adding friends. The QR scanner in the app is only for linking your own computer to your account.

Codes, requests and waiting

My code stopped working. Why?

A friend code is for one person and dies after it is used, or after 24 hours, whichever comes first. The app says so on the screen where it gives you the code. If yours has lapsed, create another.

Why is it saying “waiting for friend to accept”?

Because nothing connects automatically. Whoever owns the code receives a friend request and has to accept or reject it. Until they do, you wait. If they never open the app, the request simply expires with the code.

Someone picked an emoji for me. What is that?

When you add each other, each side privately chooses an emoji to label the other person. It is a name substitute, since there are no usernames — it is not identity verification. Do not treat a matching emoji as proof of who you are talking to.

Groups

How do I start a group?

Open the Groups tab, tap New group, then Create. You can add people you are already friends with, or tap Invite with a link to produce a joining link.

How many people can be in a group?

Up to 200. There is no smaller limit on the free tier — groups are not a paid feature. What Plus changes is how many photos and files you can send, not how many people you can send them to.

How does someone join with a link?

They tap Ask to join and are told to wait for the creator to let them in, with a short code to read out. The creator matches that six-digit code against the request before admitting them — so a link on its own is not enough to get in.

Who can let people into a group?

Only the person who created it. The creator can also switch the joining link off entirely, after which it stops working for everyone who has it.

Privacy and security

Are my messages encrypted?

Yes, end-to-end. They are encrypted on your device before they leave it, and the relay that carries them cannot read them.

Can you read my messages?

No. We hold public keys, device tokens for notifications, and whatever ciphertext is briefly waiting in your mailbox. None of that is readable message content. The Privacy Policy sets out exactly what the server does and does not hold.

What does the duress PIN do?

Entering it unlocks a separate decoy account, with its own identity, its own friends and its own history. Your real account is hidden, not deleted, and the App Lock settings are hidden too so the decoy does not give itself away. Nobody is notified. It is there to make a forced unlock produce something plausible — it does not send an alarm, and you should not expect anyone to know you used it.

How long are messages kept?

A one-to-one message is removed from your phone five hours after you have viewed it. The relay discards a message as soon as it has been delivered. Group posts and their attachments can sit on the relay for up to 72 hours so that people who are offline still receive them.

Can I recover a deleted message?

No. There is no backup, no export and no recovery, on your device or on the server. That is the design, not a missing feature.

What data do you collect?

No analytics, no cookies, no third-party trackers, and no personal data. See the Privacy Policy for the full account.

Connection

What do the connection messages mean?

Online and Connected mean the app is reachable. Connecting through Tor… appears while a Tor circuit is being built, which takes longer than a direct connection. Connection failed means it could not reach the relay at all. In a group with Tor switched off you may see Direct · relay sees your IP, which is telling you exactly what it says.

Can I use it on mobile data?

Yes, on Wi-Fi or mobile data. Tor routing works on both and is slower on both.

Troubleshooting

The app will not connect

Check your internet connection, then close and reopen the app. Some corporate, school and public networks block the traffic Tesseract needs; if you are on one of those, try mobile data. If you have Tor routing on, turn it off briefly to see whether Tor is what is failing.

My friend cannot use the code I sent

Codes are single-use and last 24 hours. If it has been used once already, or a day has passed, it is dead — create a new one and send that.

I cannot get into a group

Someone has to let you in. Check that the creator has seen your request, that you have read them the six-digit code so they can match it, and that they have not switched the joining link off.

Still stuck?

If none of the above covers it, get in touch. Please do not send anything sensitive in that first message — email is not encrypted, and we cannot read your Tesseract messages to help you debug them.