Encryption vs. someone holding your phone
What end-to-end encryption protects, and what it can't once your phone is unlocked in someone else's hands.
Short answer
End-to-end encryption keeps messages unreadable while they travel and on the company's servers. It does nothing once your phone is unlocked in front of someone: they see the apps, the notifications and every conversation the apps keep. In everyday life, the person who can pick up or ask to see your phone, such as a colleague, a relative, an employer's IT team or an official at a border, is often a bigger risk than someone breaking the encryption.
Island.chat works this way: no app to install, no push notifications, no phone number required to register.
Start a private conversationWhat encryption protects against
- Someone reading messages on the network: public Wi-Fi, an office network, your mobile carrier.
- A breach of the company's servers, or the company reading messages itself.
- Readable copies of messages kept on the company's servers.
What it doesn't protect against
- An unlocked phone. Every app opens normally for whoever is holding it.
- The app being there. A messaging app's icon shows you use it, even with every chat deleted.
- Notifications. New messages can appear on the lock screen without unlocking the phone.
- Backups and linked devices. Copies can sit in cloud backups, or on a laptop or tablet signed in to the same account.
- Being asked to unlock it. Many people can't reasonably refuse: a manager with a company phone, a relative, an official.
- A compromised phone. Spyware can read whatever is on the screen, whatever app you use.
Side by side
| When someone has your phone | Typical messaging app | Island.chat in a private window |
|---|---|---|
| Shows you use the service | App icon and app list | Nothing installed |
| Conversation readable when the phone is unlocked | Yes | Only while the tab is open and logged in |
| Notifications on the lock screen | Yes, unless turned off | None |
| Messages stored on the phone | Yes, and often in backups | No. Decrypted only in the open page's memory |
The honest limits
- If someone makes you log in to Island.chat, they see the conversation, just as with any app.
- Outside a private window, the browser can leave traces: history, a saved password, an autofilled handle.
- Island.chat keeps the conversation off the phone so that a phone check finds nothing. It does not help you refuse a lawful request, and it isn't meant to.
Our Security page explains what Island.chat does and does not protect against.
Which matters more for you?
- If the main risk is someone with your phone, keep the conversation off the device and leave nothing installed.
- If the main risk is surveillance of networks or servers, any well-built end-to-end encrypted messenger covers it.
Island.chat is built for the first case and also covers the second.
About Island.chat
Island.chat is private, invite-only one-to-one messaging in your browser. There is no app to install and no phone number required to register, and messages are end-to-end encrypted on your device before they are uploaded. $20 for 30 days after a free trial. One person pays, both message. Card, prepaid card, or crypto.