CIPHERPIGEONQuestions, answered.
How the cipher works, what leaves your device (nothing), and what CipherPigeon is not.
- 01
What exactly does CipherPigeon do?
- It converts any message into a portable VS//PACKET of plain text using a hybrid autokey cipher. You share the packet through any app you already use, and only someone with your passphrase can turn it back into readable text.
- 02
What is a hybrid autokey cipher?
- Each character is shifted by your passphrase combined with the ciphertext produced before it. Because the key keeps evolving as the message is encrypted, repeated words never produce repeated output — which defeats the frequency analysis that breaks simple substitution ciphers.
- 03
Does CipherPigeon need an internet connection?
- No. Everything runs on your device. You can encrypt and decrypt in airplane mode — there are no network calls, no servers and no cloud sync.
- 04
Do I need an account?
- No accounts, no sign-up, no email address. Install the app and start using it.
- 05
Where are my messages and keys stored?
- Nowhere. Your key, input and output live only in memory while the app is open, and the purge button wipes all three instantly. Nothing is written to disk.
- 06
Can I use the cipher on this website?
- The section on the home page is a read-only preview with a fixed sample message. Real encryption only happens inside the iOS and Android apps, on your device.
- 07
How do I share the key with the other person?
- Out of band — in person is best. Never send the passphrase through the same channel as the packet, otherwise anyone reading that channel has both halves.
- 08
What happens if I lose the key?
- The packet stays unreadable. There is no recovery, no backdoor and no reset — that is the point.
- 09
Is CipherPigeon free?
- Yes. It is free on both iOS and Android, with no ads, no telemetry and no in-app purchases.
- 10
Is this a replacement for Signal or PGP?
- No. CipherPigeon is a lightweight, channel-agnostic cipher for short messages you want to move through untrusted apps. For full end-to-end messaging with forward secrecy, use a dedicated secure messenger.