Whist

Getting started.

Whist is a private messenger for iPhone. One person — the circle owner — pays for a plan; everyone they invite joins free. Here’s the whole journey.

1 · Create your account

  1. Open Whist and tap Create account.
  2. Pick a plan: Duo (2 people), Circle (6), or Team (15). You pay through the App Store; the people you invite pay nothing.
  3. Fill in your name and contact details, then verify with the 6-digit code sent to your email.
  4. Whist generates your keys on your device — this is the moment your identity is born, and it never leaves your iPhone.
Your account is your device.There is no password and no server-side identity to recover. That’s a privacy feature with a real cost: if you erase the app or lose the phone, the account is gone. Multi-device support and encrypted backup are designed and on the roadmap.

2 · Invite your people

  1. After setup, Whist shows your invite code — 8 characters, valid for 7 days.
  2. Send it to the people in your circle however you like.
  3. They download Whist, tap Have an invite code? on the welcome screen, and join free.
  4. You can rotate or revoke the code anytime in Settings — the old code stops working immediately.

3 · Start an encrypted chat

Tap Start a chat from the chat list. Every conversation is end-to-end encrypted with MLS (currently labeled beta, unaudited — see the security brief for exactly what that means). The relay that moves your messages only ever sees ciphertext.

4 · Verify who you're talking to

  1. Open a chat, tap the person’s name at the top, then Safety number.
  2. You and your contact see the same 60 digits. Compare them in person or over a call.
  3. If they match, flip Mark as verified — the chat shows a verified badge from then on.
Why bother?Matching numbers prove no one sits between you. If your contact’s key ever changes (new phone, or something worse), Whist automatically removes the verified badge and you should compare numbers again.

5 · Disappearing messages

Set a timer per chat — from 5 minutes to 1 week. The clock starts when a message is sent, not when it’s read. When time is up the message is genuinely deleted from the encrypted database, not hidden. One honest limit: a message already delivered to someone’s device can’t be recalled from it — a screenshot always wins, in any messenger.

6 · Photos, files & voice notes

Attach photos and files with the paperclip, or hold the mic button for a voice note. Every attachment is encrypted on your device before upload with its own single-use key — the server stores bytes it cannot open.

7 · Privacy controls

  • Read receipts and typing indicators are OFF by default. Turn them on in Settings if you want them.
  • Erase all data and Delete account live in Settings → Danger Zone. They destroy data for real — the confirmation names exactly what dies.