FAQ

I lost my phone. Is my account gone?

No, as long as you have the twelve words. Install the app on another device, tap I already have a recovery phrase, and your account, addresses and wallet are back.

Chat history is a separate matter: XMTP restores from its nodes, Telegram and Matrix from their servers, Nostr and Status only what their relays and store nodes still hold. See Protocols.

I lost the twelve words.

While the app is still open on a device that has the account, Settings → Recovery phrase shows them again. Write them down now.

If the device is gone too, so is the account. Nobody can recover it, because nobody else ever had it.

Why does the app start almost empty?

Because it is a messenger first. The wallet, market alerts, the dapp browser and bots are plugins that ship switched off, each saying what it adds and what it may reach. Turn them on under Settings → Plugins. Nothing makes a network request until you do.

Can I swap tokens, or move them to another chain?

Yes, once the wallet plugin is on. /trade 25 usdc eth quotes a swap, and --from base --to arbitrum bridges between EVM chains. The quote comes from LI.FI, which works without an account; the transaction itself is signed on your device. Wallet has the details.

Why does Telegram ask me for an API ID?

Telegram requires every client to identify itself with a developer's API ID and hash. Rather than shipping one for everyone, which Telegram could rate-limit or revoke for every user at once, the app asks each person to register their own at my.telegram.org. It takes a minute and nothing about it is shared.

Matrix says my homeserver is not supported.

The app needs a homeserver with sliding sync: Synapse 1.114 or newer, or the Conduit family. Element X has the same requirement. Ask whoever runs the server.

Separately, a server that only signs in through a web page, as matrix.org does now, does not work yet. One with password sign-in does.

A Matrix message says it is waiting for the keys.

It was sent to the chat before this device joined, or before this device existed, so its encryption key was never shared with you. That is how Matrix end-to-end encryption works rather than a fault. New messages arrive readable.

Can I message someone on WhatsApp or Signal?

Not directly. Those networks do not allow it. You can through a Matrix homeserver running a bridge; WhatsApp, Signal & friends explains what that involves.

Can an AI assistant use it?

Yes, on a computer. The statim command does whatever the app does, and statim skills install teaches Claude Code or Codex how to use it. Turn it on first under Settings › Command line; it is off until you do. The assistant runs as you, on your machine. Anything that signs, erases an account or turns on a plugin still waits for you to approve it in the app. See Command line.

Who can see my messages?

It depends on the protocol, and the app says so on every chat. Briefly: on XMTP, Nostr and Status, only the people in the chat; on Matrix, the chat's members, in chats with encryption on; on Telegram, Telegram. The Privacy page lists everything that leaves your device.

Does the app collect anything?

Two anonymous things: how long the app took to start with the host of the slowest request while it did, and a count of how many devices run each version. No account, no identifier, no content.

Separately, balances go from your device to a public blockchain endpoint (or one you set), prices to a public market endpoint, and link previews to the linked site. None of that reaches the developer.

Is there a fee on sends or swaps?

No. The app holds no funds, runs no exchange and takes no cut. You pay the chain's fee and whatever the route charges, both shown on the review card before you confirm.

How does the app update itself?

On the phone it fetches its own improvements when you open it, and uses them the next time. Anything that changes the parts of the app Apple and Google review still arrives as a normal store update.

On a computer it looks for a new version each time it opens and downloads it in the background. It checks the download's signature first and refuses one that doesn't match. When the update is ready, a Restart button shows at the bottom of the sidebar.

Why does my computer warn me when I install it?

The desktop app isn't signed with an Apple or Microsoft certificate yet, so both systems treat it as coming from an unknown developer.

macOS refuses to open it the first time. Click Done, then go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down to the message about Statim and click Open Anyway. After an update, macOS may ask once more whether the app can use its Keychain item. Choose Always Allow.
Windows shows "Windows protected your PC". Click More info, then Run anyway.

FAQ