Setting up encrypted chat (and what happens if you lose your password)
Chat is end-to-end encrypted from the first message. You unlock it with your password on each device, and nobody else holds a copy of the key.
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On DomBound chat is end-to-end encrypted from day one. It is not a mode you switch on: it is how it works. The practical consequence is that your password does two jobs — it identifies you and it decrypts your messages — and nobody else holds a copy of that key.
The first time
Opening Messages you will see «Encrypted chat» with the note Set up your encryption: enter your password.
- Type your account password.
- Press «Activate».
That generates and stores your keys on that device. From then on chat works normally.
On every new device
The key does not travel. On your phone, on your computer and in every browser you use, the first time you will see Type your password to unlock encrypted chat on this device and the «Unlock» button.
If the message you get says log in again, sign out and back in: your keys are prepared as you enter.
The warning worth taking seriously
If you lose your password, your encrypted messages cannot be recovered.
That is not legal boilerplate. Recovering your account by email gives you back access — profile, bonds, tasks, reputation — but not the history encrypted with the previous password. If a back door existed to return it to you, it would exist to read it too.
Keep it in a password manager. It is the most boring advice in this help centre and the one people thank us for most.
What falls outside the encryption
- The minimum metadata that makes the app work: who you talk to and when.
- Whatever you choose to share by other routes: a check published to the wall, a task submission, a review.
- A conversation you attach to an abuse report yourself, and only the date range you authorise. It is your decision, case by case, and the rest stays encrypted.
Frequently asked questions
Can you read my messages at DomBound?
No. Encryption is end-to-end: keys are derived from your password on your device and the server only stores ciphertext. Neither the team nor an administrator can read it.
I lost my password. Can the history be recovered?
No. You can recover account access by email, but messages encrypted with the previous password cannot be decrypted. It is not a limitation we can bypass: it is what makes the encryption real.
Why does it ask again on my phone if I already did it on my computer?
Because the key does not travel between devices. Each device unlocks encryption on its own with your password.
I write to someone and I'm told they have no keys yet.
That person has never opened chat. Their keys are prepared the first time they enter; until then they cannot be written to with encryption.
Did not find your answer?
Write to us from Support inside the app, or to hola@dombound.com. We reply, and we add whatever is missing here.
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