Frequently asked questions

PIING is a privacy-first messenger for iPhone, iPad and the web. Chat one-to-one or in groups, make voice and video calls, share Stories, see friends on the Friends Map, message people nearby over Bluetooth, and play mini apps together. No ads and no ad trackers.

Yes. Messaging, calls, groups, Stories, Friends Map, Ghost Mode and Mini Apps are all free. There is no subscription or paywall in the app today.

Smart replies, summaries, voice-message transcripts and translation can use AI. On iPhones with Apple Intelligence (iOS 26 or later) they run on your phone with Apple's own on-device features, so nothing leaves the phone, even in end-to-end encrypted chats. If your phone can't do it on-device, PIING asks your permission before it sends the text or audio to an AI service run by another company, and tells you which companies. Say no and nothing is sent. You can change this any time in Settings → AI. See the privacy policy for the full list.

iPhone and iPad from the App Store, and any modern web browser via web chat. On a Mac, use web chat for now. PIING is not on Android yet.

No. You can sign up with a username, email and password, or with Sign in with Apple. Adding a phone number is optional; it lets friends who have your number find you.

Download PIING from the App Store, open it and tap Sign Up. Pick a username, confirm you are 13 or older, and agree to the Terms.

Search for their username, scan their PIING QR code (Profile → My QR Code), or send them your link: piingapp.co.uk/u/yourusername. Opening that link sends you a friend request and opens a chat with you; if they don't have PIING yet it takes them to the App Store. You can also turn on contact discovery to find people from your address book.

Yes. Open a one-to-one chat and tap the phone or video icon at the top. If the app is in the background you get a call notification.

Text, photos, videos, voice messages, stickers, polls and your live location. You can reply to, react to and star messages, and set messages to disappear.

Open a chat, tap the name at the top, then Disappearing Messages, and choose how long messages last. New messages in that chat disappear after that time.

Games and tools built into PIING: open Settings, then Mini Apps. Morse Code works with no signal (translate, tap it out, or play it as sound, haptics or a flashing screen), plus Trivia, Tic-Tac-Toe, Would You Rather, Truth or Dare, This or That, Word Scramble, Rock Paper Scissors, Duck Shoot, Magic 8-Ball, a texting personality quiz, Mood Check-In, Dice, Coin Flip, a countdown timer and Radio.

Yes, in Settings → Profile. After a change you have to wait 30 days before changing it again, so choose carefully.

It's off by default. When you turn on sharing, your latest location is shown only to the friends you choose, and each update expires after 4 hours. Ghost Mode hides you from everyone instantly while keeping your settings.

Nearby lets PIING phones find each other over Bluetooth. You can message a contact while you have no signal: the message can hop through up to 5 other PIING phones to reach them, and is still queued to send normally once you're back online. Turn it on in Settings → Nearby.

One-to-one chats in the PIING app (text, photos, videos, voice messages and files) are end-to-end encrypted when both people use a current version of the app: they are locked on your phone with post-quantum keys (ML-KEM-1024 with X25519) and a fresh key for every message, and only the other person's phone can open them. Not even PIING can read them. Look for the lock; open a chat's Encryption screen to compare or scan the safety code. Group chats, Stories, the web chat and media sent from or to an older app version are encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS). Passwords are stored only as a strong one-way hash. See Security for details.

No. There are no ads and no ad trackers, and we never sell or rent your personal data.

No. It's opt-in, and numbers and emails are hashed on your device; only the hashes are sent to find people already on PIING. See the Privacy Policy.

Open the chat, tap their name at the top, and choose Block or Report. Reports go to the PIING team for review.

You must be 13 or older to use PIING. See the Terms of Service.

On the sign-in screen tap "Forgot password?" and enter your email; we'll send you a reset link. If you can't reach that email, contact support@piingapp.co.uk.

On your iPhone open Settings → Notifications → PIING and make sure Allow Notifications is on with Lock Screen, Banners and Sounds enabled. Also check that a Focus (such as Do Not Disturb or Sleep) isn't silencing PIING. Then open PIING once so it can register your device again.

In the app go to Settings → Delete Account. Your account is removed permanently after 30 days; signing back in during that time cancels the deletion.

Email support@piingapp.co.uk or use the form on the Support page.

The Orange Tick shows an account PIING has verified as the real person or business it says it is. It is given by the PIING team; it cannot be bought or requested in the app.

Open the chat, tap the name, then Encryption. Compare the 60 digits with the other person, or scan their code in person. If they match, tap Mark as verified.

Yes, and it is on by default: Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen security. App Lock (Face ID) also hides PIING and locks it.

Settings > Privacy & Security > App Lock. You can also lock single chats: tap the name in a chat, then Lock chat.

Settings > Privacy & Security: Read receipts, Last seen and Online are all there. Ghost mode hides you more completely.

Select text while typing and tap Format: Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, Monospace or Spoiler. Or type *bold*, _italic_, ~strike~ or ||spoiler||. A spoiler stays hidden until the other person taps it.

Touch and hold your message, then Edit or Delete. Delete for everyone removes it from both phones.

Touch and hold the message, tap Remind me and pick In 1 hour, Tonight, Tomorrow morning or This weekend. A notification brings you back to the chat.

In a chat tap +, then Poll. Turn on Quiz to set a right answer (tap the circle next to it) and an optional explanation people see after answering.

Admins open the group, tap the name, then Group settings: approve new members, only admins can send, who can mention everyone and Slow mode (members can send one message per period).

Channels are one-to-many updates: the owner posts and followers read and react. Find them in the Updates tab. Channels are public, so they are not end-to-end encrypted.

Yes. During a one-to-one call tap Games: noughts and crosses opens for both of you. Tap the AR button to play on a real table.

Make sure PIING notifications are allowed (iPhone Settings > PIING > Notifications) and Focus is not silencing them. Install PIING from the App Store or TestFlight, not a developer build. Then restart PIING once.

Calls adapt to your connection. Try Wi-Fi, turn off Low Data Mode, and keep PIING open on screen. If it keeps happening, use Talk to a person below and we will look at the call diagnostics.

Settings > Privacy & Security > Calls > Protect IP Address in Calls: every call goes through our server, so the other person never sees your IP address.

Settings > Nearby > Nearby turns on > Always. Your phone then passes on encrypted messages for people near you who have no signal. It cannot read them.

Settings > Nearby > Send SOS. Every PIING phone in Bluetooth range (and the ones they pass it to) is alerted with your name, an optional message and your location, even with no internet. In a real emergency call 999 or 112 first if you can.

PIING checks links on your phone for scam tricks: look-alike company names, fake characters, short links that hide where they go and unsafe sites. Only open it if you trust the sender, and never enter passwords or codes from a message link.

Settings > Privacy & Security > Filter objectionable content (on by default). Offensive words from other people are masked on your phone.

Settings > Privacy & Security > Vault: private photos, videos, files, notes and crypto recovery phrases, encrypted on your iPhone with a key in the Secure Enclave and opened with Face ID. They never leave your phone, so delete nothing you cannot replace, and keep your own backup of recovery phrases.

Turn on iCloud backup (Settings > Chat Backup) before you switch, then sign in on the new iPhone and restore. Your messages are encrypted before they reach iCloud.

Yes. Mac with Apple silicon: install PIING from the Mac App Store. Any Mac or Windows PC: download the desktop app at piingapp.co.uk/download. Or open piingapp.co.uk in a browser and scan the QR code with your phone.

Yes. The Watch app installs with PIING. In the car, PIING appears on CarPlay with your chats, calls and favourites; Siri reads messages if you turn on Settings > Privacy & Security > Siri can read my messages.

Yes: Settings > Business Profile to set up your business, and Settings > Business Tools for the catalog, quick replies, away messages, labels and plans.

Check you are online. Messages that could not send show a red mark: tap it to retry. In a group with Slow mode, PIING tells you when you can send again. With no signal, Nearby can carry it over Bluetooth.

Your phone does not have the key for that message yet, usually after a reinstall or a new phone. Ask the other person to send it again; new messages will open normally.

Settings > Storage and Data shows what PIING keeps on your iPhone and lets you choose what downloads automatically. Delete large media from inside a chat, or a whole chat from the chat list.