Question 1

Are PinkyBond calls end-to-end encrypted?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Audio and video travel peer-to-peer over WebRTC with DTLS-SRTP, so the media is encrypted between the two phones. The call setup (offer, answer, network candidates) rides the same end-to-end encrypted relay as your messages — AES-256-GCM under the pairing key you created in person. Each call derives its own key material, so a recording of one call can never be unlocked by a later compromise.

Question 2

Can PinkyBond, Apple or Google listen to a call?

Accepted Answer

No. There is no media server. When both phones can reach each other directly, nothing but the two of them touches the audio. When a network makes a direct path impossible, a relay (TURN) forwards the encrypted packets — it cannot decrypt them. The relay never sees the pairing key and never receives plaintext.

Question 3

How is this different from Signal or WhatsApp calls?

Accepted Answer

The encryption primitives are the same family, and Signal has the longer audit history — we say so on the comparison table. The difference is the threat model and the pairing. Signal and WhatsApp identify you by phone number and let anyone who has it call you. PinkyBond has no accounts and no numbers: the only person who can call you is the partner you paired with by scanning each other’s QR codes in the same room, and the call’s DTLS fingerprint is cryptographically bound to that pairing secret, which closes the man-in-the-middle door that number-based apps leave to a safety-number check most people never do.

Question 4

Are calls free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Calling her is free on PinkyBond by decision — it lives on the home screen, outside the Pro paywall. Chat, the coach and the relationship forecast are Pro.

Question 5

Does it work between iPhone and Android?

Accepted Answer

Yes — an iPhone and a Pixel call each other directly. On iPhone the call uses the native call screen (CallKit); on Android it is a first-class Telecom call, so it rings, shows on the lock screen and respects Do Not Disturb like any phone call.

Question 6

What does the server know about a call?

Accepted Answer

That a call was attempted between a pairing id and how long it lasted, for reliability metrics. Not who you are, not what was said, not the video. Push notifications that ring the other phone carry no content.

Dimension	Signal	WhatsApp	FaceTime	PinkyBond
Media encryption	SRTP (Signal Protocol keys)	SRTP	SRTP, keys per FaceTime session	DTLS-SRTP, per-call keys
Identity	Phone number	Phone number	Apple ID / phone	None — the pairing you made in person
Who can call you	Anyone with your number	Anyone with your number	Anyone with your ID	Only your partner
MITM protection	Safety number (manual check)	Security code (manual)	Apple key directory	Fingerprint bound to the pairing secret, checked automatically
Server in the audio path	Relay when needed	Relay when needed	Relay when needed	TURN relay when needed; cannot decrypt
Audit history	Extensive, public	Partial	Apple internal	Platform crypto (CryptoKit / Tink); no third-party audit yet
Forward secrecy	Yes	Yes	Yes	Per call: yes. Messages: planned
Knows the relationship	No	No	No	Yes — same app as her forecast and your check-ins

A phone line only the two of you can pick up

Peer-to-peer first

Bound to the pairing

Per-call keys

No content in the ring

Honest comparison

Why a couples app needs its own phone line