Getting started

Profiles

A profile is a separate identity: its own keys, its own contacts, its own conversations. Two profiles on one phone share nothing unless you choose to see their conversations in one list (Settings › Merge profiles). Nobody you talk to can tell that two profiles share a phone.

Create one from Settings › Profiles. A new profile can start as a copy of an existing one — settings only. Keys, contacts, messages and verification are never copied, because a profile that shared them would not be a separate identity.

Your card

Your card is the name and picture contacts see, and it is sent to them directly, sealed, when you pair. It is never uploaded anywhere. Change it under Contacts › This is me.

Your first contact

There are two ways to reach somebody:

1. In person — scan each other's QR code, or read out the confirmation code. See Pairing.
2. By a number or address they have verified — leave a request at their number or email; they see it the next time their phone checks, and accept it with a name of their choosing. Until they accept, the request waits; nothing tells you whether the number is even in use. See Being found.

Channel never reads your phone's address book and never uploads contacts. Every contact in Channel is one you typed or paired with.

English is the reference text; any translation is a convenience. Help is stored on this phone and never contacts anyone.