Getting started

1. Install

• Android: join the closed beta, then install Saivo from Google Play.
• Linux desktop: ask for the build through the join page.

2. First start

Saivo makes an identity on your device. There is no sign-up, no phone number and no email address. The default message server (relay) is wss://saivo.erased.no/relay/v1. You can change it any time in Settings → Connection → Message server.

3. Create your recovery key

Saivo offers to keep an encrypted copy of your contacts and chats on your message server. Only your recovery key can open it, so you get everything back after a reinstall or on a new phone. Nobody can reset the key for you. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. If you lose both the key and the device, the data is gone.

4. Add your first person

Open My card and show the QR code, or share the card link. The other person opens Add contact → Scan code, or opens the link. When they write to you first, the message appears as a request until you accept it. See Adding people for all the ways.

5. Check who you are talking to

New contacts start unverified. Open the chat menu, choose Safety number, and compare the 60 digits with your friend in person or over a channel you trust. If they match, mark the contact verified. If a contact's keys change later, Saivo shows a red alert in the chat until you compare again.

6. Make it quiet and private

• Settings → Privacy and safety: read receipts and typing indicators are off by default.
• Notification content: show name and message, name only, or nothing on the lock screen.
• App lock: an optional passphrase (and a fingerprint on supported phones).
• Disappearing messages: set a timer per chat.

Calls on Android

Calls ring while Saivo is open, or while Settings → Connection → Stay connected is on. Stay connected is off by default; when on, Saivo shows a permanent notification and uses some battery, because Saivo does not use Google's push service. Calls do not ring through push yet.