Everything in GistUp
Private by default
Every chat, group, photo and voice note is end-to-end encrypted with the Signal Protocol, the same encryption trusted by Signal and WhatsApp. There is no setting to turn on.
What GistUp's servers can see
- Your phone number, name and username
- Who a message is for, when it was sent and its size, so it can be delivered
- Who is in each group, so group messages reach everyone
- Public Live Rooms, and the communities and groups admins choose to show in search
What they can never see
- What your messages say
- Your photos and voice notes
- Group names (unless an admin lists the group in search)
- Polls, votes, events and pinned messages
- Your profile photo and social links
- Your chat history or your backup
- Your contacts
Notifications only ever say "New message". The sender and the text stay sealed until you open GistUp.
Light on data
| What you send | Data used |
|---|---|
| Voice note, 1 minute | about 180 KB |
| Photo, Data saver on | resized to 1280 px, compressed |
| Photo, Data saver off | resized to 1600 px, higher quality |
| Text message | a few hundred bytes |
- Data saver is on from the start. On mobile data, photos and voice notes download only when you tap them; on Wi-Fi they download by themselves.
- Text-only mode hides every photo, voice note and video until you tap it.
- Data used this month shows what GistUp has sent and received, counted on your phone.
- Storage control keeps downloaded media under a limit you choose, from 250 MB to 2 GB, and never deletes photos you mark to keep.
Safe from scams and strangers
- Message requests: people you have not chatted with wait in a separate list and cannot see that you read their message.
- Scam warnings appear under messages that ask for your code, BVN, NIN, PIN or money, or that carry suspicious links. They are worked out on your phone.
- Block and report from any chat. Blocked people are not told, and their messages stop reaching you.
- Your number stays hidden. People find you by username, and by phone number only if you allow it.
- Registration lock: a 6-digit PIN so a stolen or swapped SIM can't take over your account.
- Safety codes: compare a 60-digit code with a contact to be sure nobody is in the middle, and get a warning if it changes.
Chats and groups
- Text, photos, videos, documents and voice notes, with ticks for sent, delivered and read.
- Delete for everyone within an hour of sending.
- Groups of up to 256 people, with admins who can add and remove members and rename the group.
- Messages wait safely when you are offline and send by themselves when you are back.
- Disappearing messages (24 hours, 7 days or 90 days), archive and mute any chat.
- Edit a message within 15 minutes, and see when someone is typing, online or when they were last seen (only between people who have both messaged each other, and you can hide it).
- Reply, react and forward: quote a message in your answer, react with an emoji, or forward to up to 5 chats.
- Voice notes play at 1x, 1.5x or 2x and carry on where you stopped.
- Search every chat and message on your phone, with filters for Unread, Groups, Communities and Favourites, and up to 3 pinned chats.
- Scheduled messages: write it now, send it later, up to 30 days ahead, even if your phone is off.
Your profile
- Profile photo and social links (Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Snapchat, website), encrypted and shown only to people you chat with.
- My code: a QR code and link that let people find you by username, never by phone number.
- Invite a friend by WhatsApp, SMS or any app.
- Dark mode, or follow your phone's setting.
- Five languages: English, Nigerian Pidgin, Yorùbá, Hausa and Igbo.
Communities
- Communities bring a church, mosque, school, estate or business together, with channels such as Announcements (only admins post) and General. Every channel is end-to-end encrypted.
- Join with an 8-character invite code, or find a community or group in GistUp search by name, category and city, and ask to join. Admins choose whether to be listed.
- Polls with up to 10 options, one answer or several, with names shown or hidden. Events with a day, time and place: tap Going and your phone reminds you on the day.
- Admin tools: approve new members, remove or block members, pin a message at the top of a channel, and handle members' reports.
- Verified badges: a blue tick shows that GistUp has checked a business, church, mosque, school, public figure or organisation is the real one.
Gist
- Share what's happening in a public gist: up to 500 characters and 4 photos.
- Like, comment, Regist to your followers, or quote with your own words. Follow people to see their gists, or browse Latest.
- You choose who can reply. Mute, block or report anyone; muted words hide gists you don't want to see.
- Gists are public. Your private chats stay end-to-end encrypted, and your phone number is never shown.
Live Rooms
- Public rooms on topics like Lagos traffic, football and jobs, moderated by GistUp. Messages disappear after 7 days.
- See who is here now and who is typing, react to messages, send free gifts like 🌹 that float up everyone's screen, and share pictures (blurred until tapped).
- To talk privately, send someone a message request. You can turn requests from rooms off.
Backups only you can open
Back up your chats once a day, on Wi-Fi, sealed with a 64-digit key that only you hold. Restore them on a new phone with that key. Without it, nobody can open the backup, including us.
Works on the phones people have
GistUp runs on Android 8.0 and newer, including older 32-bit phones.