Client setup

Requirements

1. Install the app

Install from the official stores. Store builds are signed by Livotov Labs and verified by the platform before installation.

2. First launch

Opening Keylane for the first time generates your Keylane ID on the device. There is no signup screen, no phone number prompt, and no email verification.

1. Key generation. The app generates your identity and prekey material locally. This happens once and takes a moment.
2. Your PIN. Four to ten digits, and it is not a screen lock — it is the input from which your keys are derived, so nothing on the device can be read without it. Use all ten digits; the reason is in client security. There is no reset, because there is nothing on a server to reset it against.
3. Display name. Choose the label your contacts will see. It is not verified and not unique — it does not have to be your real name.
4. Permissions. Keylane asks for notification permission so you can be told about incoming messages. Camera and photo access are requested only when you first use them.

You now have a working identity. Nothing about you has been sent to any server.

3. Add your first contact

Two people need each other’s public identity before they can exchange messages. From the contacts screen:

1. Open your own invite code — Keylane shows a QR code and a shareable link.
2. If you are together, have the other person scan your code directly. This is the most secure option, because nothing sits between the two screens.
3. If you are apart, send the link over any channel you have. Understand that the security of the introduction is the security of that channel.
4. Accept the resulting connection request. Both devices perform a PQXDH handshake and the conversation is ready.

Verifying a contact

For anyone whose authenticity actually matters, compare safety numbers through a second channel — in person, or over a call where you would recognise the voice. Encryption proves a message came from a specific key; only verification proves the key belongs to the right person.

4. Notifications

Keylane never sends message content or sender information through Apple or Google push infrastructure. The push payload is a generic wake-up signal; your device then fetches the encrypted message directly from the relay. See client security for the detail.

Worth configuring:

• Lock screen previews. Off means the notification says a message arrived without showing content or sender. Recommended if your phone is ever visible to others.
• Notification style. Choose between a visible alert, a silent notification, or none per conversation.
• Battery optimization (Android). Some manufacturers aggressively kill background connections. If delivery is delayed, exempt Keylane from battery optimization in system settings.

5. Privacy settings worth reviewing

Keylane defaults to the private option and lets you relax it per contact, rather than the reverse.

• Read receipts — per contact. Off by default.
• Typing indicators — per contact. Off by default.
• Presence and last seen — per contact. Off by default.
• Privacy screen — blurs app content in the app switcher. On by default.
• Lock when Keylane goes to the background — off by default, and the setting that most changes what a seized device gives up. Turning it on means re-entering your PIN when you come back, which is the whole point.
• Biometric unlock — a fingerprint or face check in place of typing your PIN. Convenient, and a trade: see why it is a trade.
• History expiry — local messages and their attachments deleted after a window you choose. 30 days by default.

Troubleshooting

Messages arrive late or only when I open the app

Almost always battery optimization on Android. Exempt Keylane in system settings. On iOS, confirm Background App Refresh is enabled for Keylane.

A contact’s safety number changed

This means their identity key changed — usually because they reinstalled or created a new identity after losing a device. It can also mean someone is impersonating them. Verify through another channel before continuing a sensitive conversation.

I lost my device

The identity was only on that device, so it cannot be recovered. See loss and recovery — the outcome is not good, and the page explains why, along with what protects the data still sitting on the lost phone.

Something else

Contact support. If it is a security issue, use the disclosure process instead so it reaches the right people.