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The server can never read your messages, but it can see room rosters, when a message is sent, and can read IP addresses of users. It cannot see what was written or sent. It keeps all messages private, but does not make you anonymous. This holds whoever runs the server: you, a friend, or a company you rent it from.

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What the server never sees

  • Message text and file contents.
  • Display names and room names.
  • Any key that can open messages or files.
  • The secret part of an invite link. It sits after the # in the link, and apps never send it to the server.

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What the server does see

  • Room rosters. For each room, a list of random keys, one per member, so it knows where to deliver each sealed message. A person gets a fresh random key in every room, so the server’s records do not tie one person’s rooms together.
  • Timing and size. When each sealed message or file moves, and how big it is.
  • IP addresses of the apps that connect.
  • Changes to who is in a room, such as someone joining or an admin removing someone, so it can check that only admins make admin changes.

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What stays on your computer

Your messages, keys and room list live in one profile on your computer, encrypted with your passphrase. See Your passphrase. When you leave a room, Socketchat deletes the room’s keys from your computer at once, and its messages once you have read them. When a room closes or you are removed, the same happens as soon as your app learns of it. After 30 days, Socketchat deletes a finished room’s messages even if they were never read. Deletion happens in each person’s own app, so other members keep their own copies. For the full technical description, see SECURITY.md in the repository.