Naisho, the questions people ask us

Whoever runs the community buys the licence for the number of people they need. Users pay for the app only once. No subscriptions, no ads.

Because we don't sell a service, we sell software. Your community runs the service, on a computer of its own. Updates come with the licence of whoever runs it; nobody makes money from your data, because your data doesn't pass through us.

You need a computer that stays on, even an old one. It runs the Outpost, the program that acts as the community's switchboard: you copy it over and start it with a double click. It works on Windows and Linux.

For a family or a small group, a home computer is enough. For an association or a company of up to 100 people, a dedicated mini-PC is the better choice. Beyond 100 people, you use several Outposts. The licence sets the maximum number.

Messages wait and go out as soon as it's back on. If you switch it off at night, they arrive in the morning. The app shows you how long it's been unresponsive.

If you backed up the Outpost, for example to a USB stick, you get it running again on another computer and nobody needs to be invited again. Without a backup you have to recreate the community and invite everyone again.

Only the people who receive them. Whoever runs the community sees who's there, who writes to whom and when, but not what you write to each other. Company video meetings are the exception: they go through the company's computer, which sees them. GiBSeS sees nothing.

No. Messages, photos, voice notes and files open only on the recipient's phone. Whoever runs the group sees what a group admin sees: who's there, in which rooms, who writes to whom and when people connect. Not what you write to each other.

No. We have no servers, accounts or copies of your data, and the app never contacts us. We don't have your messages, so we can neither read them nor hand them over.

Web, Android, iPhone, Windows, Linux and Mac. You can belong to several communities from the same app, and each one knows you separately.

Not in the same way, and that's a choice. On common apps, notifications go through Google and Apple, who therefore know when someone writes to you. Naisho avoids them: you can go without notifications, or have the app check for new messages at regular intervals, from every fifteen minutes to every four hours. With the app open, messages arrive immediately.

Voice calls, yes: for everyone, up to about 10 people. Video meetings are designed for businesses and have two modes. “Protected” runs inside the Naisho network: a simpler picture, and nobody sees where you're connecting from. “High quality” gives a better picture, and participants become identifiable only to your community. In both cases the video goes through the company's computer, which sees it.

Whoever runs the group starts the Outpost and creates the invites. The best way is to show the QR code in person, at the next dinner or meeting; alternatively you send a link that works only once. Everyone downloads the app, scans the QR code and chooses how to appear. Old chats stay where they are.

Not if you made a backup. It's a file protected by your password, which you can save to a USB stick or a folder, even automatically. It contains contacts and chat text, but not photos or files. Messages that arrived after the last backup can't be recovered.

No, and be wary of anyone who promises that. Naisho keeps what you write locked and doesn't reveal where you're connecting from. But whoever runs the community knows who you are, because they invited you, and sees when you connect. And every message carries your signature: whoever receives it can prove you wrote it.