What happens to my chats when I switch phones?

Sign in with your email on your new phone and your full message history syncs automatically, nothing is lost.

Your history is available

Switching phones doesn't mean starting over. When you sign in on a new device, your app history follows you including all settings and preferences.

Your messages are backed up on Pigeon's servers as encrypted ciphertext — stored specifically for you, readable only by you and those in your chat.

Switching devices is easy and maintains the same level of security.

How to switch phones and sync your Pigeon data

Short version: On your new phone, open Pigeon and enter your email address. You'll receive a one-time code to verify it's you. After that, your existing device will deliver your keys and your full message history syncs from the server.

Technical version: Your encryption keys are generated on your device and stored in your device's secure storage (iOS Keychain). When you sign in to a new device, your existing device automatically re-delivers your chat keys, each encrypted specifically for your new device. No one at Pigeon can read your keys in transit. Only your new device's private key can unwrap them.

We can't use your keys to read your encrypted messages because we don't have access to your keys.

Signing out and back in on the same phone

If you sign out and back in on the same device, your history is already stored locally. Pigeon asks for your biometric or device password to unlock it with no re-download needed. Everything is exactly where you left it.