Question 1

Do I need a SIM card, phone number, or email to register?

Accepted Answer

No. VeilMesh does not require any personal identifiers to function. Your identity is a raw cryptographic public key generated securely on your device. You can add friends by scanning their QR code or pasting their unique Veil ID.

Question 2

Is VeilMesh completely free to use?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The application and all local offline communications are 100% free with zero advertisements. The project is driven by developer enthusiasm and public-good principles.

Question 3

How do I download and install the official apps?

Accepted Answer

Our official client applications for iOS and Android are available for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store respectively. You can also find direct download links on our homepage and in the site footer.

Question 4

Can the developers of VeilMesh read my messages?

Accepted Answer

No. All conversations are secured using state-of-the-art End-to-End Encryption (E2EE). The messaging core implements the Double Ratchet Algorithm for 1-on-1 chats and Messaging Layer Security (MLS) for group chats. The servers acting as blind relays have zero capability to inspect or decrypt your payloads.

Question 5

What metadata does the relay server collect?

Accepted Answer

None. By utilizing Sealed Sender technology, the sender's identity wrapper is encrypted using the recipient's public key. The relay server only processes opaque transport packets. It knows which hash destination to forward a packet to, but has zero knowledge of who sent it, when they created it, or what it contains.

Question 6

Where are my private keys stored?

Accepted Answer

Your private cryptographic keys (Ed25519 for signing and X25519 for key agreements) are generated and stored exclusively within your device's hardware-backed cryptographic chips—the Secure Enclave on iOS or Keymaster/Keystore on Android. They never leave the physical silicon of your device.

Question 7

What happens if I lose my phone? Can I recover my chats?

Accepted Answer

No. VeilMesh does not store your chats or keys on central servers. If you lose your device, your data is gone forever. To prevent this, regularly export password-protected database backups and save your Veil ID backup seed phrase in a secure location.

Question 8

How do group chats work and are they secure?

Accepted Answer

Group chats use the Messaging Layer Security (MLS, RFC 9420) protocol. Instead of encrypting messages individually for each recipient, MLS creates a shared group key. Group membership updates are end-to-end encrypted, and keys are regularly rotated for Post-Compromise Security.

Question 9

What happens if a government or law enforcement agency requests data from your relay servers?

Accepted Answer

Because VeilMesh operates on a zero-knowledge architecture, we do not store chat logs, IP logs, metadata mapping, or identity profiles. If we receive a legal subpoena or government request, we have zero data to provide. In the case of real-time server surveillance, an observer would only see encrypted, anonymous binary packets passing through, with no ability to read their contents or identify the senders.

Question 10

How far does the offline connection reach?

Accepted Answer

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) covers a radius of 10 to 30 meters depending on physical obstacles like concrete walls or metal compartments. Wi-Fi Direct can reach up to 100 meters. Because VeilMesh uses multi-hop routing, messages can hop through intermediate devices, extending the network range far beyond a single connection.

Question 11

Does running a mesh network drain my battery?

Accepted Answer

We have optimized background scheduling in the Rust Core to minimize active radio usage. Instead of scanning constantly, the app transitions into low-power states when locked, and utilizes optimized Apple APNs/Firebase Cloud Messaging VoIP push events to wake the signaling pump only when incoming packets are available.

Question 12

What happens if a node routing my message is malicious?

Accepted Answer

Nothing. Because all messages are fully encrypted end-to-end, intermediate nodes in the mesh can only see ciphertext (encrypted data). If a node attempts to modify the packet, the recipient's device will immediately detect a verification failure and discard it. Spam is dropped instantly using O(1) Proof-of-Work checks.

Question 13

Why do incoming calls sometimes fail to arrive when the app is closed?

Accepted Answer

When the app is in the background, operating systems restrict CPU resources to save battery. VeilMesh uses secure VoIP push notifications to wake the application, decrypt the local database, and run the signaling pump to receive calls. Make sure Background App Refresh is enabled for VeilMesh.

Question 14

What if a government or internet provider blocks the relay servers?

Accepted Answer

If the internet is completely unavailable, VeilMesh operates offline in local mesh mode. If internet access is available but our relays are censored, the core engine uses built-in traffic obfuscation protocols (like TLS tunneling and Shadowsocks wrappers) to bypass provider blocks.

Frequently Asked Questions