Your ID is all you share
Sign in with Apple and get a random ID. Share it — or a QR code — only with people you trust. There is no public directory, so strangers can't look you up.
Private by default
No phone number.
Nothing to trace.
Cove connects you through a random ID instead of your phone number. Every message, call, and photo is end-to-end encrypted — and the server forgets them soon after delivery.
- 0
- phone numbers
required - 100%
- end-to-end
encrypted - ~1 h
- until the server
forgets
M
Maya
End-to-end encrypted
Encrypted session established
Landed! Where are you?
Corner table, by the window
Photo · View once
“On my way — grabbing us coffees.”
Messages disappear after 7 days
Message
Only you two can read thisKeys never leave your devices
No phone numberRandom ID · K7D9-Q2XA
No contact uploadNo ads or trackersNotifications carry no message content
Private by design
Built to know as little as possible.
Encrypted from the first hello
Chats, groups, voice and video calls, photos, videos, voice notes, files — end-to-end encrypted, always. An unencrypted mode simply doesn't exist.
Strangers knock first
Anyone new has to send a message request before they can reach you. Accept, decline, block, or report — nobody lands in your inbox uninvited.
Your data, your control
The server keeps almost nothing.
It relays ciphertext and forgets. Encryption keys stay on your devices, and push notifications never include what was said.
You
encrypts on device
••••
relays ciphertext only
Them
decrypts on device
- ~1 hour
- and delivered messages are purged from the server
- 30 days
- at most for encrypted attachments awaiting pickup
- Zero
- message content readable by us — or anyone in between
Everything else you'd expect
Full-featured. Just quieter about it.
Encrypted voice & video calls
Calls ring on the native iPhone call screen and stay end-to-end encrypted — whether they connect directly or through Cove's relay, which only ever handles ciphertext.
Groups, reactions & replies
Group chats with the everyday moves — react to a message with an emoji, or quote one and reply. All of it end-to-end encrypted.
Voice notes, readable
Tap once to turn a voice note into text. Transcription runs per note, only when you ask for it — details in our Privacy Policy.
Disappearing messages
Set a timer globally or per chat. Messages delete themselves, on schedule, on every device.
View-once media
Photos and videos that vanish after a single viewing, with local caches wiped afterwards.
App lock & duress code
Lock Cove behind Face ID or a passcode — and set a separate code that wipes local data under pressure.
Safety numbers
Verify contacts in person by QR code. If their device ever changes, sending pauses until you confirm.
Up to five devices
Each device holds its own keys. Lost one? Revoke it remotely from any device that's still yours.
Encrypted backups
Protected by your passphrase and a recovery code. Moving phones? Transfer directly, device to device.
Common questions
Fair questions, straight answers.
How do friends find me without a phone number?
You get a random ID when you sign up. Share it, a QR code, or a link with people you trust; they send a message request, and the chat starts once you accept. No directory means nobody else can find you.
Can the server read my messages?
No. Messages are encrypted on your device and only the recipient's device can decrypt them. The server relays ciphertext, purges delivered messages within about an hour, and keeps encrypted attachments for at most thirty days.
What if I lose or replace my phone?
Keys live only on your devices, so history can't be recovered from the server — that's by design. Use a passphrase-encrypted backup, or transfer directly from your old iPhone, to bring your chats along.
Are calls encrypted too?
Yes. Voice and video calls are end-to-end encrypted and show up in the native iPhone call screen. Calls connect peer-to-peer when possible; otherwise Cove's relay forwards the encrypted stream — and it can't decrypt what it forwards. Details in our Privacy Policy.
Is voice transcription private?
It's off until you ask. When you tap to transcribe a voice note, that one recording is sent to OpenAI to be turned into text — a per-request step that isn't end-to-end encrypted, which is why it only happens when you choose it. Cove's servers keep neither the audio nor the transcript; the text lives only in the encrypted database on your device. Full details in our Privacy Policy.
Make private the default.
Invite the people you trust, and talk like no one's watching — because no one is.
Download on theApp Store Available for iPhone