theSHFT is a small team. Email us and a person reads it, usually the same day.
Include your username and what you were doing when it happened. Never send us your recovery phrase or your PIN. We will never ask for either.
Use your 12 words to restore your account and set a new PIN. If you lose the PIN and the 12 words, the account can't be recovered. We can't do it for you, because we don't have them.
It's a Pro feature. You set a second PIN, and if you ever type it in, the app silently wipes everything and deletes your account. Then it looks like a fresh install. There's no undo, so only set one if you mean it.
Only your contacts, and only for 24 hours.
Not yet. theSHFT is coming to Android soon. For now it's on iPhone.
Your account lives on your 12 word recovery phrase, not on our servers. Install theSHFT, choose to restore, and enter the phrase to get your account back.
Without the phrase we cannot restore your account. That is not a policy we can make an exception to. We never hold your keys, so there is nothing on our side to recover from.
The PIN unlocks the app on your device and is not stored anywhere we can reach. Restore from your recovery phrase and set a new one. Face ID or Touch ID can unlock the app alongside your PIN if you turn it on in Settings.
Settings › Export My Data builds an export of everything our servers hold for your account, including the messages you sent, exactly as they are stored, and hands it to you on your device. For encrypted chats that means ciphertext: the export shows what we hold without exposing what was said.
Settings › Delete Account removes your account and its server side data. Deletion asks for your PIN, which is how we confirm the request is really yours. Accounts have no email address on file, so if you cannot reach that screen, email us from any address and we will walk you through proving the account is yours.
No. Direct messages, group chats, voice notes, photos, video, and calls are end to end encrypted on your device before they leave it. We route them and cannot open them.
Community posts and Stories work differently. They are encrypted in transit and at rest, but the service can read them so that reports can be reviewed and moderation can work. Voice Rooms are live audio that we do not record.
We do see routing data: which accounts exchange messages and when, plus display names such as usernames, group titles and your contact list. Content, names inside conversations and media are opaque to us.
Never. theSHFT does not ask for access to your address book. Contacts are people who approved you inside the app, by username or QR code, and nothing else.
Transcribe on a voice note turns it into text on your phone using the speech recognition built into iOS. The audio is not uploaded and the text is not stored by us. iOS asks for speech recognition permission the first time you use it.
Released September 8, 2026. Messages send instantly and show up the first time. The disappearing timer now belongs to the chat: change it or turn it off and the other side follows. Reactions, edits, deletes, contact requests and story posts queue up offline and send themselves later. Calls connect reliably, stories no longer crash, and photos stay on screen when a call starts. The full list is on the What's New section of the homepage.
Every chat starts with a 10 second timer. Change it per chat, or turn it off, and the change applies to both of you. In a direct chat the countdown starts when the message is read. In a group it runs separately for each member from the moment they read it, so nobody loses a message because someone else opened it first. A group message that nobody has read in 72 hours is removed anyway.
Free accounts get 10 and 30 second timers. Pro unlocks every option from 5 seconds to 24 hours.
Undo Send is off by default, so messages go out the moment you tap send. Turn it on in Settings › Privacy › Undo send and each send waits five seconds with an Undo button; tap it and the message never leaves your device. Either way, Delete for Me removes a sent message from your phone only. The other side keeps what they already received, exactly as with any messenger.
Turn on Settings › Privacy › Calls from contacts only. From then on only people in your contacts can ring your phone. Missed calls still show in the conversation so you can see who tried.
Link previews are built on your phone from the page you pasted. The other person is never asked to fetch anything. A wallpaper you set for a chat is only on your device; nobody else sees it.
Unlimited call length when everyone on the call has Pro, video calls, hosting Voice Rooms, timers from 5 seconds to 24 hours, unlimited groups of up to 100 members, and the Duress PIN. Pro is $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, billed through the App Store.
Open the upgrade screen and tap Restore purchases while signed in to the same Apple ID that bought it. Pro follows your Apple ID, so a new phone or a restored account picks it up the same way.
Manage Subscription on the upgrade screen opens your App Store subscriptions, where you can switch plans or cancel. Apple handles billing and refunds directly; we cannot issue one from our side.
Settings › Report a Bug sends us the details, or email us with your device model, iOS version, the app version from Settings, and what you were doing. A screenshot helps. Bug reports go straight to the person who can fix them.
Report it in the app from the message, post, Story, or profile, or email us. Reporting a Story also blocks that person. Reports about child safety are reviewed as a priority.
Takedown requests follow our DMCA policy.
Stories, Communities, Voice Rooms
Who can see my Story?
Only contacts you have approved, and only for 24 hours. Stories are never public or searchable. Swipe between people, hold to pause, and use Mute stories on anyone you would rather not see. You can save your own Story to Photos before it expires.
My post was removed or I was banned from a community
Communities are moderated by the people who run them. If you think a decision was wrong, open the notice and tap Appeal this decision. An app admin outside that community reviews it, and you see the outcome and any reply in the app. Approved appeals restore the post or lift the ban right away.
Communities are written with a caret, like ^encryption-talk. The official ^theshft community is where the team posts announcements.
How do Voice Rooms work?
Voice Rooms are live audio inside a community. Anyone can join and listen. Raise a hand to ask to speak and the host brings you on stage. Hosting a room is a Pro feature. Leave quietly whenever you want; nobody is announced on the way out.
Do I have to join a community to vote?
No. Any signed in user can vote on any post from the feed or inside the community. Posting, replying, polls and reactions need membership.
I just joined and cannot post
New members can post five minutes after joining. The community screen shows the countdown. Voting works right away.