Features
Via is beginning with the essentials: one-to-one conversations, groups and image sharing. Every message and image is end-to-end encrypted, meaning only the people in the conversation can access its contents.
We designed Via to store as little data as possible. Messages remain on our server only while they are waiting to be delivered. Once a message reaches the recipient’s device, it is deleted from the server. If it cannot be delivered, it is automatically deleted after 30 days. What we keep is only the metadata needed to run the service — account and device identifiers, delivery information, and the limited technical records groups require.
Your phone number is stored as a hash: a one-way code that cannot be read back as a number. Those hashes are what Via uses for operations such as contact discovery. The number itself only reaches our backend when you request a one-time code to sign in. We do not keep phone numbers in plain text, and we do not want to. Deleting your account takes a few clicks, and it removes your account, your profile and your keys. Two things outlive it: messages you have already sent stay queued until the recipient’s phone collects them, and a few records, such as an abuse report, keep the retention periods set out in our Privacy Policy.
For now, your conversation history is stored only on your phone. This gives you greater control over your data, but it also comes with an important limitation: there is currently no cloud backup. If you lose your phone or delete your account, your conversations cannot be recovered. We want to be completely transparent about this from the beginning.
Via will also initially support only one device per account. There will be no web or desktop version at launch, and conversations cannot yet be synchronised across multiple devices.
This is only the beginning. If people find value in Via and there is demand for the product, we will continue developing it. We plan to introduce secure multi-device support, desktop and web access, voice and video calls, additional file-sharing options and other features requested by the people using Via.
We are starting with a simple messenger that does the essentials well, collects as little data as possible and keeps private conversations private. From there, we hope to build Via together with the people who believe in what we are trying to create.