Encryption
How PinkyBond encrypts messages and calls
Everything she shares with you is encrypted on her phone and decrypted on yours. Our server forwards sealed envelopes it cannot open. We never hold the key.
Built on platform cryptography
We did not write our own crypto. On iPhone we use Apple's CryptoKit. On Android we use Google's Tink. Curve25519 key agreement, HKDF-SHA256 and AES-256-GCM on both, pinned to each other by shared test vectors, so an iPhone and an Android phone produce byte-for-byte identical ciphertext.
Key agreement
Curve25519 (X25519) ECDH
Encryption
AES-256-GCM
Key derivation
HKDF-SHA256
What we do, and what we don't
Every row is checkable. The last three are where we fall short of the best messengers, and we would rather you read that here than find it out later.
| Dimension | PinkyBond |
|---|---|
| Encryption | AES-256-GCM, end-to-end between the two phones |
| Key agreement | Curve25519 (X25519) ECDH, then HKDF-SHA256 |
| Implementation | Apple CryptoKit on iPhone, Google Tink on Android — byte-for-byte interoperable |
| Key storage | iOS Keychain / Android Keystore, hardware-backed where available |
| Pairing | QR code in person, or a 6-character code / link exchanged remotely; both public keys exchanged |
| Verification | A 6-digit code on both phones confirms no one sat in the middle |
| Account | None — no phone number, no email, no password |
| የመልእክትና የጥሪ ይዘት የአገልጋይ ተደራሽነት | ምንም የለም። ቁልፉን በፍጹም አንይዝም። |
| What the relay stores | የጥምረት መለያ፣ የመልእክት አይነት፣ የጊዜ ማህተም፣ መጠን፣ የተመሰጠረ ጽሑፍ — ከደረሰ በኋላ ወዲያውኑ ይሰረዛል፣ ቢበዛ ለ30 ቀናት |
| ፎቶዎች፣ ቪዲዮዎች እና ፋይሎች | እስከ 2 GB፣ ለእያንዳንዱ ፋይል በአዲስ ቁልፍ የታሸገ፣ ያንንም ቁልፍ የያዙት እናንተ ሁለታችሁ ስልኮች ብቻ ናቸው፤ ከወረደ በኋላ ይሰረዛል፣ ቢበዛ ለ30 ቀናት። ገና ላልዘመነ የአጋር መተግበሪያ፦ እስከ 25 MB በጥምረት ቁልፍ ስር፣ ለ30 ቀናት ይቀመጣል |
| የጥሪ መዝገብ | የትኛው ስልክ እንደደወለ፣ መቼ፣ ድምፅ ወይም ቪዲዮ፣ ውጤቱና ቆይታው — ለአገልጋያችን ሊነበብ የሚችል፣ ለ90 ቀናት ይቀመጣል፣ ጥምረቱን ስታቋርጡ ይሰረዛል። የድምፅ ወይም የቪዲዮ ይዘቱ ግን በፍጹም አይደለም። |
| Push notifications | Carry no text; the phone decrypts locally |
| Safety Mode | Yes — her phone sends neutral substitute data instead of her real status. Your app shows no indicator, though the flag itself is in the snapshot. |
| Forward secrecy | No — one key per pairing |
| Open source | No |
| Independent audit | Not yet |
How pairing works
No phone number. No email. No account. In the same room, she shows a QR code and you scan it. Apart, she sends you a 6-character code or a link. Either way both phones exchange public keys, derive the same secret, and show a 6-digit verification code so the two of you can confirm no one sat in the middle.
She taps “Pair with partner” in PinkyBloom
Her phone generates a Curve25519 key pair (Apple CryptoKit on iPhone, Google Tink on Android)
She shows a QR code, or sends you a 6-character code or link if you are apart
You scan or enter it in PinkyBond, and your phone generates its own key pair
Your public key travels back to her the same way; both phones now hold both public keys
Each phone runs ECDH and HKDF-SHA256 to derive the same shared secret — nothing secret crosses the network
The shared secret is stored in the iOS Keychain or the Android Keystore
A 6-digit verification code appears on both phones; if they match, no one sat in the middle
The Blind Relay
አገልጋያችን ለታሸጉ ፖስታዎች የፖስታ ሳጥን ነው። የተመሰጠረ ጽሑፍን የሚይዘው ሌላኛው ስልክ እስኪያነሳው ብቻ ነው፣ ከዚያም ይሰርዘዋል — ያ ስልክ ከመስመር ውጭ ከቆየ ቢበዛ ከ30 ቀናት በኋላ። ቁልፍ በፍጹም አይይዝም። Push ማሳወቂያዎች ምንም ጽሑፍ አይይዙም፤ ስልኩ በራሱ ላይ ይፈታዋል።
PinkyBloom
Encrypts on her phone
Blind Relay
እስከሚደርስ ድረስ የተመሰጠረ ጽሑፍን ይይዛል፣ ቢበዛ ለ30 ቀናት
Cannot decrypt
PinkyBond
Decrypts on your phone
አገልጋያችን ስለ አንድ መልእክት፣ አንድ ፋይል እና አንድ ጥሪ የሚያስቀምጠው ሁሉ፦
pairingId
Identifier for the pairing; not a name, number or email
senderRole
Which app sent it: PinkyBloom or PinkyBond
messageType
ምን አይነት ፖስታ እንደሆነ — ለምሳሌ የውይይት መልእክት፣ የሁኔታ ቅጽበት፣ የደረሰኝ ማረጋገጫ ወይም የጥሪ ዝግጅት — በውስጡ ያለውን ግን በፍጹም አያሳይም
timestamp
When it was sent
ciphertext
AES-256-GCM blob we cannot open; its length is the only thing we can measure
retention
ሌላኛው ስልክ ሲቀበለው ወዲያውኑ ይሰረዛል፤ ከመስመር ውጭ ከሆነ ቢበዛ ለ30 ቀናት
relayReceipts
ከደረሰ በኋላ፣ ይዘት የሌለው መዝገብ ብቻ ይቀራል፦ የትኛው መልእክት እንደነበረ እና መድረሱን ወይም ማብቃቱን። ላኪው ስልክ “አልደረሰም” ብሎ ማሳየት እንዲችል ለ30 ቀናት ይቆያል
mediaObjects
ፎቶዎች፣ የድምፅ ማስታወሻዎች፣ ቪዲዮዎች እና ፋይሎች እስከ 2 GB፣ በ Cloudflare R2 ላይ እንደ የተመሰጠረ ጽሑፍ ተከማችተው፣ በተመሰጠረው መልእክት ውስጥ ብቻ ከሚጓዝ ለእያንዳንዱ ፋይል በአዲስ ቁልፍ። የአጋርህ ስልክ ካወረደው በኋላ ይሰረዛል፤ ቢበዛ ለ30 ቀናት
callLog
ከሁለቱ ስልኮች የትኛው እንደደወለ፣ መቼ፣ ድምፅ ወይም ቪዲዮ፣ ተነስቷል፣ ታልፏል ወይም ተከልክሏል፣ እና ምን ያህል እንደቆየ። ለአገልጋያችን ሊነበብ ይችላል — ስልክ ጠፍቶ የነበረ ስለ ያመለጠው ጥሪ የሚያውቀው በዚህ መንገድ ብቻ ነው። ለ90 ቀናት ይቀመጣል፣ ጥምረቱን ስታቋርጡ ይሰረዛል። የድምፅ ወይም ቪዲዮ ይዘት በፍጹም አይደለም
Calls
Voice and video are peer-to-peer WebRTC with DTLS-SRTP and fresh keys for every call. The call setup rides the encrypted relay like any message. Before media flows, your phone checks the peer's DTLS fingerprint against a key derived from the pairing secret; a failed check aborts the call.
አውታረ መረብ ቀጥተኛ መንገድን ሲዘጋ፣ አንድ አገልጋይ ማንበብ የማይችላቸውን ፓኬቶች ያስተላልፋል። ምንም የሚዲያ አገልጋይ ጥሪን በፍጹም አይሰማም፣ እና ምንም ጥሪ አይቀዳም። ከአይፎን ወደ አንድሮይድ ይሰራል። አገልጋያችን የሚያስቀምጠው የጥሪ መዝገብ ነው — የትኛው ስልክ እንደደወለ፣ መቼ፣ ድምፅ ወይም ቪዲዮ፣ ውጤቱና ምን ያህል እንደቆየ — ለ90 ቀናት፣ ስልኩ ጠፍቶ የነበረ አጋር ያመለጠውን ጥሪ አሁንም እንዲያይ። ተጨማሪ በ /calls.
Safety Mode
Encryption protects her data from outsiders and from us. Safety Mode is for the case where the person on the other end is the concern. She can pause sharing at any time, and he is never notified. She can also turn on Safety Mode, which substitutes neutral data he cannot distinguish from a real update.
When Safety Mode is active, the partner sees:
Phase
“Follicular”
Mood
“Good”
Energy
3 (Moderate)
The neutral data is encrypted and sent through the normal relay, so it looks the same as a real update in transit and on his screen.
Questions
Encrypted between the two phones. We never hold the key.
No phone number, no email, no account. The same cryptography on iPhone and Android, and a relay that forwards ciphertext it cannot open.
