Frequently asked questions

PIING is a privacy-first messenger for iPhone, iPad and the web. Chat one-to-one or in groups, make voice and video calls, share Stories, see friends on the Friends Map, message people nearby over Bluetooth, and play mini apps together. No ads and no ad trackers.

Yes. Messaging, calls, groups, Stories, Friends Map, Ghost Mode and Mini Apps are all free. There is no subscription or paywall in the app today.

Smart replies, summaries, voice-message transcripts and translation can use AI. On iPhones with Apple Intelligence (iOS 26 or later) they run on your phone with Apple's own on-device features, so nothing leaves the phone, even in end-to-end encrypted chats. If your phone can't do it on-device, PIING asks your permission before it sends the text or audio to an AI service run by another company, and tells you which companies. Say no and nothing is sent. You can change this any time in Settings → AI. See the privacy policy for the full list.

iPhone and iPad from the App Store, and any modern web browser via web chat. On a Mac, use web chat for now. PIING is not on Android yet.

No. You can sign up with a username, email and password, or with Sign in with Apple. Adding a phone number is optional; it lets friends who have your number find you.

Download PIING from the App Store, open it and tap Sign Up. Pick a username, confirm you are 13 or older, and agree to the Terms.

Search for their username, scan their PIING QR code (Profile → My QR Code), or send them your link: piingapp.co.uk/u/yourusername. Opening that link sends you a friend request and opens a chat with you; if they don't have PIING yet it takes them to the App Store. You can also turn on contact discovery to find people from your address book.

Yes. Open a one-to-one chat and tap the phone or video icon at the top. If the app is in the background you get a call notification.

Text, photos, videos, voice messages, stickers, polls and your live location. You can reply to, react to and star messages, and set messages to disappear.

Open a chat, tap the name at the top, then Disappearing Messages, and choose how long messages last. New messages in that chat disappear after that time.

Games and tools built into PIING: open Settings, then Mini Apps. Morse Code works with no signal (translate, tap it out, or play it as sound, haptics or a flashing screen), plus Trivia, Tic-Tac-Toe, Would You Rather, Truth or Dare, This or That, Word Scramble, Rock Paper Scissors, Duck Shoot, Magic 8-Ball, a texting personality quiz, Mood Check-In, Dice, Coin Flip, a countdown timer and Radio.

Yes, in Settings → Profile. After a change you have to wait 30 days before changing it again, so choose carefully.

It's off by default. When you turn on sharing, your latest location is shown only to the friends you choose, and each update expires after 4 hours. Ghost Mode hides you from everyone instantly while keeping your settings.

Nearby lets PIING phones find each other over Bluetooth. You can message a contact while you have no signal: the message can hop through up to 5 other PIING phones to reach them, and is still queued to send normally once you're back online. Turn it on in Settings → Nearby.

One-to-one text messages in the PIING app are end-to-end encrypted: they are locked on your phone with post-quantum keys (ML-KEM-1024 with X25519) and a fresh key for every message, and only the other person's phone can open them. Not even PIING can read them. Messages with a lock icon are end-to-end encrypted; open a chat's Encryption screen to compare or scan the safety code. Photos, videos, voice messages, group chats, Stories, the web chat and messages to someone on an older app version are encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS). Passwords are stored only as a strong one-way hash. See Security for details.

No. There are no ads and no ad trackers, and we never sell or rent your personal data.

No. It's opt-in, and numbers and emails are hashed on your device; only the hashes are sent to find people already on PIING. See the Privacy Policy.

Open the chat, tap their name at the top, and choose Block or Report. Reports go to the PIING team for review.

You must be 13 or older to use PIING. See the Terms of Service.

On the sign-in screen tap "Forgot password?" and enter your email; we'll send you a reset link. If you can't reach that email, contact support@piingapp.co.uk.

On your iPhone open Settings → Notifications → PIING and make sure Allow Notifications is on with Lock Screen, Banners and Sounds enabled. Also check that a Focus (such as Do Not Disturb or Sleep) isn't silencing PIING. Then open PIING once so it can register your device again.

In the app go to Settings → Delete Account. Your account is removed permanently after 30 days; signing back in during that time cancels the deletion.

Email support@piingapp.co.uk or use the form on the Support page.