Getting started: your first ten minutes
Two paths from no account to first message sent, one starting on an Android phone and one on a computer. Create, unlock, add the second device, write.
This is the path from no account to first message sent, in the order the app itself suggests. Nothing here takes more than a couple of minutes. Where a step has its own article, follow the link for the details and screenshots.
Start where you are. If your first contact with Private.Ki is the Android app, follow Start on Android below. If it is a browser on a computer, skip to Start on a computer. Either way you end up in the same place: one account, on two devices.
On a computer you need a current browser with JavaScript on — see System requirements. On Android you need version 7.0 or newer and the app from Google Play — see Install Private.Ki. You do not need a phone number or another email address, though a recovery address is strongly recommended.
Start on Android
1. Install from Google Play
Search Google Play for Private.Ki, or open play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.privateki.app. Check that the developer under the name reads Private.Ki and that the Play address contains id=com.privateki.app before you install. Full steps and what else to check: Install Private.Ki.
2. Create your account on the phone
Open the app. It starts on the sign-in screen; choose to create an account. You pick a username (6–30 characters, letters a–z, digits and dots — it becomes your @privateki.net address), your name, and a password (at least 8 characters with upper case, lower case and a digit). Then you choose how you unlock — Password only or Passphrase (advanced) — and the app generates your key pair on the phone. Nothing about this is different from doing it in a browser.
Full articles: Create your account · Choose your unlock method.
3. Say yes to the two prompts
Android asks once whether Private.Ki may send notifications. Allow it — that is what tells you mail and chats have arrived while the app is closed, and the notice never shows a name or any text. See Push notifications.
Shortly after, the app offers App lock: Lock Private.Ki with your fingerprint? Turning it on puts your fingerprint, face or the phone's screen lock in front of the app. It is the first row of Settings afterwards, so you can turn it on later instead.
4. Unlock, and send your first chat message
When the app reopens it asks you to unlock — your password, or your passphrase if you chose that. Then tap the compose button at the bottom right and choose New chat. Type another Private.Ki address, pick the person from the list, write a line and send. The first time you write to an address the app asks you to confirm before the message goes; that is normal and happens once per address.
Full articles: Start a chat · Invite someone outside Private.Ki.
5. Add your computer
Open https://app.privateki.net in a browser on the computer and sign in with the same address and password — that is all it takes; the two devices share one account and unlock separately. If you would rather not type, you can pair by QR code instead: see Pair a second device and Sign in with a QR code.
Then work through the remaining setup on whichever device you prefer: two-factor authentication and a recovery address, steps 4 and 5 below. They are the same everywhere.
Start on a computer
1. Create your account
Open https://app.privateki.net and fill in the sign-up form: a username (6–30 characters, letters a–z, digits and dots — it becomes your @privateki.net address), your name (what recipients see; you can change it later), and a password (at least 8 characters with upper case, lower case and a digit). Click Create an account.
Depending on how sign-ups are configured at the time, you may need an invitation link to register. If you arrived through a chat invite from a friend, the account is created as part of accepting it.
Full article: Create your account.
2. Choose how you unlock
Your key pair is generated on your device next. First you choose what protects the private key:
- Password only — your password unlocks your mailbox when you sign in. Recommended for most people.
- Passphrase (advanced) — a separate passphrase you type after every sign-in. Strongest protection, and unrecoverable if you forget it. If you pick this, use Generate Passphrase, store the result in a password manager, and tick the acknowledgement before Confirm and create account.
123123Full article: Choose your unlock method. Why it matters: How encryption works.
Some accounts are asked to set up two-factor authentication or a recovery address at this point, before the mailbox opens. If you see that screen, it is steps 4 and 5 below, brought forward.
3. Pair your phone
Your mailbox opens with a short Setup checklist — each item about a minute. It is also under Settings → Setup. In the mailbox you can dismiss it with Remind me later (it comes back in three days) or, once you have snoozed it before, Don’t show this again; the Setup page always lists the steps and lets you bring the reminder back with Show these in my mailbox again.
The first item is Connect your phone. On Android, install the app from Google Play first — see Install Private.Ki — then click Show QR on the computer, and on the phone choose Sign in with a QR code → Scan their code and point the camera at your screen. Compare the short codes on both devices and approve. The phone is now signed in and unlocked without you typing anything on it. On iPhone, open https://app.privateki.net in Safari and do the same.
123123Full articles: Setup checklist · Sign in with a QR code · Pair a second device.
The rest, on either device
4. Turn on two-factor authentication
Second item: Turn on two-factor authentication → Set up. Scan the QR code with any authenticator app, enter the six-digit code, and click Verify & Enable. From now on, sign-in asks for the current code after your password. There are no backup codes, so keep the authenticator app safe.
Full article: Set up two-factor authentication.
5. Add a recovery address
Third item: Add a recovery address → Add. Enter an email address you control, then the six-digit code we send there. This is the only way we can reach you if you lose your password. We store only a hash of the address — the app will ask you to type it again when it is needed rather than show it to you.
Full article: Set up a recovery email.
6. Send your first email
Click New email in the sidebar, or the compose button at the bottom right on a phone. Type a recipient — another Private.Ki address shows a green padlock, meaning the message will be end-to-end encrypted; an outside address is sent as ordinary email unless you have imported their key. Add a subject and text, attach up to 10 files of 25 MB each, and click Send. A toast lets you undo for a few seconds.
1212On the phone, tap the pencil button at the bottom-right. The composer opens full-screen.
Full articles: Compose and send · Undo send · Attachments.
7. Send your first chat message
Switch to Chats with the toggle at the top of the sidebar. You already have one chat waiting: a welcome message from Private.Ki Team. To start your own, click New chat and enter a Private.Ki address — or an outside email address, in which case the app creates a single-use invite the other person can accept in a few taps. Type your message (up to 1000 characters) and press Enter — Shift + Enter adds a line break.
1212On the phone, tap the chat half of the floating switch at the bottom, then the + button.
Full articles: Start a chat · Invite someone outside Private.Ki · Switch between Email and Chats.
What to do next
- Set a default signature under Settings → Signatures — see Signatures.
- Pick a theme under Settings → General — see Theme and appearance.
- Learn what the padlock and shield icons on each message mean — see Security glyphs.
- On the web, learn the handful of keyboard shortcuts.
Common questions
Do I have to do all the Setup steps?
No, but each removes a way to lose access: the second device is another way in, two-factor stops a stolen password, and the recovery address is the only path to a password reset. The checklist stays in your mailbox until they are done or you snooze it.
Can I create the account on the phone and still use it on a computer?
Yes. The account is not tied to the device it was created on. Sign in on the computer with the same address and password, or pair by QR code.
I closed the passphrase screen before saving the passphrase
If the account was created, the passphrase you saw is the only one that opens it. If you did not save it, you cannot get in; create a new account. If you refreshed before finishing key setup, you are simply signed out — sign in again and continue.
Can I change my username later?
Only in limited circumstances, and it resets the account. See Change your username.