Everything in GistUp
Private by default
Every chat, group, photo and voice note is end-to-end encrypted with the Signal Protocol, the same encryption trusted by Signal and WhatsApp. There is no setting to turn on.
What GistUp's servers can see
- Your phone number, name and username
- Who a message is for, when it was sent and its size, so it can be delivered
- Who is in each group, so group messages reach everyone
What they can never see
- What your messages say
- Your photos and voice notes
- Group names
- Your chat history or your backup
- Your contacts
Notifications only ever say "New message". The sender and the text stay sealed until you open GistUp.
Light on data
| What you send | Data used |
|---|---|
| Voice note, 1 minute | about 180 KB |
| Photo, Data saver on | resized to 1280 px, compressed |
| Photo, Data saver off | resized to 1600 px, higher quality |
| Text message | a few hundred bytes |
- Data saver is on from the start. On mobile data, photos and voice notes download only when you tap them; on Wi-Fi they download by themselves.
- Data used this month shows what GistUp has sent and received, counted on your phone.
- Storage control keeps downloaded media under a limit you choose, from 250 MB to 2 GB, and never deletes photos you mark to keep.
Safe from scams and strangers
- Message requests: people you have not chatted with wait in a separate list and cannot see that you read their message.
- Scam warnings appear under messages that ask for your code, BVN, NIN, PIN or money, or that carry suspicious links. They are worked out on your phone.
- Block and report from any chat. Blocked people are not told, and their messages stop reaching you.
- Your number stays hidden. People find you by username, and by phone number only if you allow it.
Chats and groups
- Text, photos and voice notes, with ticks for sent, delivered and read.
- Delete for everyone within an hour of sending.
- Groups of up to 256 people, with admins who can add and remove members and rename the group.
- Messages wait safely when you are offline and send by themselves when you are back.
Backups only you can open
Back up your chats once a day, on Wi-Fi, sealed with a 64-digit key that only you hold. Restore them on a new phone with that key. Without it, nobody can open the backup, including us.
Works on the phones people have
GistUp runs on Android 8.0 and newer, including older 32-bit phones.