A little clarity about your conversations, your images, and your privacy.
Privacy & encryption
Are all my messages end-to-end encrypted?
Private-chat text, images, captions, and mentions are encrypted in your browser and decrypted in the participants’ browsers. Public-room messages are not end-to-end encrypted: visitors and the server can read them. Check that you are in a private conversation before sharing something personal.
Why the fuck should I trust you?
You shouldn't, that's the point. Check for yourself. The app is open source, and you can run it on your own server or inspect the code in your browser. The source code is available at
https://github.com/Dornkimik/SilenzaChat
Can the server or an admin read my private chats?
With the app running as designed, the server receives encrypted private messages without the secret keys needed to read them. Admin access does not unlock other people’s private conversations.
This depends on trusting the app delivered to your browser. Someone controlling the website could change its code to capture messages or keys. A compromised device or browser extension could also expose them.
What can the server still see?
The server can see aliases, who is talking to whom, connection IP addresses, message times, encrypted data sizes, and which messages are replies or have attachments. Encryption protects the contents of private messages; it does not hide all activity.
Am I completely anonymous?
You do not need an account, email address, or real name. Other visitors see a random alias. That does not make you untraceable: the server handles your connection, and the hosting provider may keep logs that include IP addresses. What you write or show in an image can also identify you.
What does “Verify identity” do?
In a private chat, choose Verify identity and compare the entire code with the other person in person, over a call, or through another trusted channel. Both screens should match. Only then choose The codes match.
The browser remembers the first encryption key it sees for that session. Comparing codes helps detect a substituted key; comparing them only in this chat is not an independent check. A changed key blocks private communication. Verification confirms the key you compared, not someone’s real-world identity from their alias.
Is encryption a guarantee that nothing can go wrong?
No. A recipient can copy or share what you send, and encryption cannot protect a compromised device or a modified website. This chat does not provide forward secrecy: someone who steals your browser’s private key could decrypt previously captured encrypted messages for that identity.
The chat’s encryption integration has not had an independent security audit. Avoid sharing information whose exposure would put you at risk.
Images & message history
Does my image get uploaded to the server?
An encrypted version does. Your browser resizes the image, re-encodes it to remove the original file metadata, and encrypts it before uploading. The original filename is not sent. The server holds the encrypted bytes temporarily in memory; the app does not write image files to disk.
The image key is shared inside an encrypted private message. The recipient’s browser downloads and decrypts the image locally. Removing file metadata does not hide personal information visible in the picture itself.
How long do images and messages stay available?
Only the latest 100 messages in each conversation are kept in server memory. They disappear when the server restarts. Anonymous sessions and their private history expire after 24 hours offline.
Sent images expire within 24 hours of upload; the host can set a shorter lifetime. Images also disappear when their message is deleted or leaves recent history, either participant is banned or their session expires, or the server restarts. Unsent uploads expire within 10 minutes. This is a temporary chat, not a backup or permanent inbox.
Can I delete a message I sent?
Yes. Choose Delete on your own public or private message. It is removed from the conversation for everyone, along with any attached image. Replies show that the original message was removed. You do not need admin access.
Deletion cannot erase screenshots, downloads, or copies someone has already made. Automatic expiry has the same limit.
Can anyone open a link to my private image?
The app does not create public image links. Downloads require an authorized browser session belonging to a participant, and the downloaded bytes are still encrypted. Your recipient can nevertheless save the decrypted image or share a copy.
Can someone receive a private message while offline?
Yes, if they have already opened SilenzaChat and set up their browser’s encryption identity. They can read it when they return while their session and recent message history are still available. Images must also be within their expiry period. A server restart clears waiting messages and images.
Using SilenzaChat
How do I start a private chat or send an image?
Choose someone under In good company. On a phone, the people list is below the chat. Private conversations appear in the sidebar.
In a private chat, use ＋ to choose a JPEG, PNG, or WebP image, add an optional caption, then send. Images can only be sent privately. The input limit is 12 MB and 32 megapixels; images are resized to at most 2048 pixels on the longest edge and must fit within 4 MB after preparation.
What happens if I refresh, clear browser data, or use another device?
Refreshing normally keeps your session and local encryption keys. Tabs in the same browser profile share them. Another browser, browser profile, or device has a separate identity; there is no account sync.
Clearing site data or ending an incognito session can lose your session and encryption keys. The server cannot recover those keys. If your session remains but its key is lost, private chat is blocked; clear the site’s data to start a new anonymous session.
Why is private chat unavailable?
Private chat needs HTTPS, or localhost for local use, and browser storage for encryption keys. Both people need to open the current version of SilenzaChat. If encryption cannot be set up, the app blocks private sending instead of sending plaintext.
If you see an identity-change warning, do not assume it is safe to continue. Contact the other person through a trusted channel. A new anonymous session has a new identity and needs to be verified again.
What is stored in my browser?
A session cookie lets the server recognize your anonymous session. Encryption keys and remembered peer identities are stored locally in the browser. The app also saves your theme preference. Decrypted messages and unsent drafts stay in the current page’s memory; the app does not save a permanent local chat archive.
How do replies, mentions, and moderation work?
Choose Reply on a message to respond to it. Type @ and choose an alias to mention someone. The emoji button opens a searchable picker, and /help lists chat commands.
Admins can manage rooms, ban anonymous sessions, and remove messages by ID. Those controls do not give them a key to decrypt other people’s private chats. A session ban affects that browser session; it cannot prevent someone from returning with a new identity.