Guide

Getting started

Your account, the devices it lives on, the recovery phrase that protects it, and the personas you use in chats.

Your account

Whispurr creates an account on your device the first time you open it. There's no email, phone number or password: the account is a set of keys stored on your device. It holds your personas and everything in their chats.

First launch

A short introduction explains accounts, personas and chats, and ends with Create First Persona. You can skip it with Not now and replay it later from Device Settings › About › Replay Onboarding.

More than one account on a device

The account created on a device is its primary account. When you link a device to an account from another device, that account appears under Linked Accounts on the device home. One account is active at a time.

Go back to the device home.
Tap an account. The active one is marked Current account.
Tap Switch to This Account.

To stop using a linked account on this device, open Account Settings and tap Leave Account. The device returns to its primary account, and your other devices keep their access.

Recovery phrase

Each account is protected by 24 words. With them, you can restore the account on a new device from one of its backup devices. Write them down and keep them somewhere safe and offline.

Open Account Settings › Recovery Phrase.
Tap Reveal Recovery Phrase and confirm with Face ID, Touch ID or your device passcode.
Write the 24 numbered words down in order, then tap Hide Recovery Phrase.

The phrase hides itself when you leave the screen or switch apps. Anyone with the phrase and access to a backup device can restore your account, so never share it or store it in a chat. Restoring is covered in Backups and restore.

Devices

A device is one installation of Whispurr on an iPhone, iPad or Mac. It has its own name and four-word code. Device settings apply only to that installation, and every account on it uses them.

Rename: Device Settings › Device › Rename. Names can be up to 100 characters and are stored on this device.
Appearance: Theme follows the system, or is always light or dark.
Transports: Network, Nearby Wi-Fi and Bluetooth choose how this device connects. Turning them all off keeps chats local. See Transports.
Privacy options: Generate link previews, Include photo locations and Show map under routes.
Notifications: whether this device shows alerts and message previews. See Notifications.

Linked devices

Link another iPhone, iPad or Mac to use the same account on it. The new device receives your personas, chats and activity history, and keeps them in sync from then on. Its own primary account stays available too.

You approve every new device from one you already trust, after checking that both show the same verification code.

Link a device

On the device that already has the account, open Account Settings and tap Link Another Device. A QR invitation appears, valid for 5 minutes.
On the new device, go to the device home and tap Linked Accounts › Link Account. Scan the QR code. On a Mac, use Choose QR Image or paste the invitation copied with Copy Invitation.
Both devices show a verification code. Check that the codes match.
On the first device, tap Approve Device. A progress bar shows the account and chat history being sent.
On the new device, tap Link Account and Switch.

See and unlink devices

Account Settings › Linked Devices lists every device using this account, with when it was last seen. To remove one, tap it and choose Unlink Device.

Unlinking stops the account syncing with that device. It does not erase data already stored on it. If you still have the device, use Leave Account on it as well.

Personas

A persona is the name and picture you share in chats. Create different personas for different parts of your life, such as family, a climbing club or work. Each persona has its own Chats, Contacts, Activities and Vault, and nothing crosses from one to another. All your personas belong to your account, so they appear on all your linked devices.

Create a persona

On the account page, under Personas, tap Add Persona.
Enter a name people will recognise (up to 100 characters) and tap Add.

Switch personas

Go back to the account page and tap another persona. The list shows the most recently used first, with unread counts. When you open a contact card or invite link, Whispurr asks which of your personas it's for.

Name and picture

Open Persona Settings and use Rename, Choose Image or Remove Image. Pictures are cropped with Move and Scale, then re-encoded with their metadata, including location, removed.

Archive or delete a persona

Archive (Archive Persona) removes the persona and its chats from all your devices, and gives you a QR code and a five-word phrase. These are the only way to bring it back, and they're shown once, so save them. Restore it later from Account Settings › Restore Persona.
Delete (Delete Persona) removes the persona from your account and hides its chats on your devices. Its Vault items are deleted. There's no undo.

Resetting the app

Device Settings › Reset App deletes this installation's accounts, personas, chats and media. Data on your other devices is kept. Save your recovery phrase first: with it, you can restore the account from one of its backup devices.