How it works

When you first open Walkie Link, your browser creates a personal code. The code is tied to secret keys that stay only on your device.

To talk to someone, you swap codes. Our server helps your devices find each other: once connected, messages and files usually travel directly between you, encrypted.

Some networks (often mobile or office ones) don't allow a direct connection: then chat messages and short voice messages (up to 30 seconds, within daily limits) go through our server, encrypted so that only you can read and listen to them (in groups, only the members). The server sees who is talking to whom, when and how much you write, but not the content (from the amount of data it can guess that a voice message went through, but it cannot listen to it). Files never go through our server: sending them, like longer voice messages, needs a direct connection, which the app keeps looking for on its own. The conversation header always shows which kind of connection you're using (in groups, the member list does). You can turn off going through our server in Settings. Voice messages are recorded on your device only when you press the microphone button; over a direct connection they travel straight between the devices, like files.

Walkie Link does not make you anonymous: to connect directly, the two devices exchange their IP addresses, so the other person can see yours (and from it, for example, your provider and your approximate area). Only talk to people you trust.

To be sure you are talking to the right person, compare the verification words in person or over the phone.

In groups (up to 8 people) each device connects directly to the other members; anyone with the invitation link can join until the admin removes them. If two members can't connect to each other, messages arrive through another member of the group; if nobody connects them, they go through our server, encrypted so that only the members can read them (short voice messages too). A group voice message may also reach you from another member who already received it, over their own connection: your device checks that it is identical to the one recorded by whoever sent it. Files, however, never go through our server: they can only be downloaded over a direct connection with whoever shared them. When you open the app your groups reconnect by themselves, so the members online see your code and your IP address. Groups are not included in the backup: after a restore you need a new invitation.

Every version of the app has a fingerprint: a code that changes if even a single character of the app changes. Our server shows the fingerprint of the version it is serving at walkielink.app/.well-known/walkielink-build.json. For every release we rebuild the app from its source code in a way that always gives an identical result: anyone with the source code can do the same, get the same fingerprint and compare it with the one shown by the server. Once installed, your version of the app stays the same: a new version only takes over when you choose “Update” or after you have closed every window of the app.

There are no accounts: if you clear your browser data without a backup, your code is lost.