How AChat works
AChat has two ways to be in a chat: an account (Google sign-in plus a username) or, in anonymous rooms, a display name with no account. The two are never linked: if you also have an account, AChat doesn't connect your anonymous messages to it.
Chat types
| Chat | Who's in it | Needs an account | End-to-end encrypted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal chat | You and one contact | Yes | Yes |
| Private group | Contacts you invite, or people an admin approves | Yes | Yes |
| Anonymous room | Anyone with the link (and password, if set) | No | Only with a password |
| Community channel | Community members | Depends on the community | No |
| Status | Your accepted contacts | Yes | No |
Where messages live
- On AChat's servers: every chat's messages, so each device can fetch them. End-to-end encrypted messages are stored in a form the servers and AChat's administrators can't read.
- On your devices: chats and files you've opened, so they load fast and open offline, plus an outbox of messages waiting to send. Search runs here, over what the device holds.
- Your keys: on your linked devices, and restorable with your recovery key. AChat doesn't keep a copy.
How long things last
| What | How long |
|---|---|
| Personal chats and groups | Until someone deletes them, unless the chat sets disappearing messages (1 minute, 1 hour or 1 day) |
| Anonymous room messages | A set number of days after each one is sent (10 by default), or until the kept-until date if someone keeps the room |
| Trash | A set number of days (30 by default), never longer than the chat's own history |
| Status | 24 hours |
| Location history | Until the chat is permanently deleted from Trash or expires |
The privacy page lists everything else, and Data, privacy & deletion summarises it.
Sending a message
- You write it. It goes into the outbox first, so it survives a lost connection or a reload.
- AChat sends it and retries until it's accepted, without sending it twice.
- The label under it moves from Sending (or Waiting to send while offline) to Sent once it has arrived.
Platforms
The same AChat runs in the browser and on Android, in five languages. There are no voice or video calls.