Short answers about privacy and security in Gua. These topics are linked from inside the app.
End-to-end encryption
Your private conversations are end-to-end encrypted. Messages and files are locked on your device and can only be opened by you and the people you are talking to. No one in between, including Gua, can read them.
Encryption is on from the first message, with nothing to set up.
Encryption protects what you write and share. It does not hide who you talk to or when, and the names, topics and pictures of groups are not encrypted. Reactions are not encrypted either: servers can see which message you reacted to and the emoji, but not the message text. Voice and video calls are not part of the current prototype.
Verifying your devices
When you use Gua on more than one device, each device has its own security identity. Verifying a new device confirms it really is yours and lets your encrypted history sync safely. If a device you do not recognize appears, remove it from your security settings.
Security changes
Gua may show a security notice when you or one of your contacts sign in on a new phone. This is normal. Here is what the notice means and what to do.
A contact’s security details changed
When a contact reinstalls Gua or moves to a new device, their security identity may change. Gua detects the change and shows a notice in your conversation.
Most of the time this simply means they changed devices and you can keep chatting. If the change is unexpected, or you are about to share something sensitive, confirm with the person through another trusted channel first.
Prompts about key storage
Gua’s servers keep an encrypted copy of the keys needed to restore your message history. That copy is locked with a key Gua’s servers never receive, so Gua cannot use it to read your messages. The key stays in your device’s secure storage, and on iPhone, iCloud Keychain can sync it to your other Apple devices.
If Gua asks you to finish setup on your new phone, tap Finish setup. You do not need to write down or save a recovery code. The rest happens automatically.
If you are still signed in on another device, Gua can transfer the keys from that device. You compare a short row of emoji on both devices to confirm that both devices belong to you. This keeps your encrypted history available.
If none of your other devices still has the keys, tapping Finish setup creates new key storage. Messages that exist only in the previous storage can no longer be recovered. Messages already available on your devices are unaffected.
Message history
What history a new member of a group can see depends on the group's settings. In private one-to-one conversations, history stays between you and the other person. You control what you share and with whom.
Deleting your account
You can delete your account in the app or ask Gua support to delete it. Deletion ends your sessions and disables the account.
During the beta, removing some data associated with the account still requires a request to privacy@gua.global. See Delete your account for the procedure and the data that may remain stored.
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