Frequently asked questions
Everything people usually ask before joining the mesh.
Does Seklio need the internet?
No. Phones connect to each other directly over Bluetooth LE and local Wi-Fi. There are no servers involved at any point — Seklio works the same in airplane-mode Wi-Fi, on a shared network, or with no infrastructure at all.
How far does it reach?
A direct link reaches as far as Bluetooth or your local Wi-Fi network does. But messages don’t stop there: each phone relays them onward, so your real reach is the whole connected mesh — a message can hop through up to 7 phones (15 for broadcasts) to find its recipient.
Is it really private?
Every direct and group message is end-to-end encrypted with well-studied primitives (X25519 key agreement, ChaCha20-Poly1305 encryption, Ed25519 signatures). Phones that relay your messages only ever see ciphertext. And because there are no servers, there is no central place where metadata piles up.
What data do you collect?
None. There is no backend to send data to. The only thing that can ever leave your phone is an optional, encrypted diagnostics report that you create and send manually if you want to report a bug.
Can I message someone who isn’t nearby right now?
Yes. Your encrypted message is stored on your phone (and on phones that have a stake in delivering it) and handed over whenever a path to the recipient appears — for up to 7 days. Delivery is confirmed end-to-end, so your bubble tells you when it truly arrived.
Does it drain my battery?
Seklio is built around Bluetooth Low Energy, which is designed for all-day background use, and switches to Wi-Fi links when they’re available — faster and cheaper per byte. It’s comparable to other always-nearby apps, not to GPS-style drain.
Do I need a phone number or an email?
No. Your identity is a cryptographic keypair generated on your device. You pick a handle (like @deniz) — that’s all anyone sees, and you can change it anytime.
Is there an Android version?
Yes, as a beta APK you can download from GitHub. iOS is in public beta on TestFlight. The two platforms speak the same open wire protocol.
What does Premium add?
Premium is for people who run Circles: creating encrypted groups and admin features like invites and member management. Messaging, joining Circles, broadcasts, photos — all of that is free, forever.
Is my chat history backed up somewhere?
No. Your history exists only on your device. That’s a feature: nobody — including us — can hand it over, leak it, or mine it. Deleting the app deletes your data.