TL;DR
This guide helps you get the most out of your Blackphone and its pre-installed Silent Circle apps for secure communication. We’ll cover app setup, best practices, and troubleshooting common issues.
1. Initial Setup & Account Creation
- Silent Phone: When you first turn on your Blackphone, it will prompt you to create a Silent Circle account. This is essential for making secure calls and sending encrypted messages. Use a strong password!
- Silent Text: The same account credentials used for Silent Phone also work for Silent Text. Ensure both apps are linked to the same account.
- Account Verification: Check your email after creating the account. You’ll receive a verification link – click it to activate your account fully.
2. Using Silent Phone
- Making Calls: Open Silent Phone and select a contact from your address book. If they are also using Silent Phone, the call will be end-to-end encrypted.
- Adding Contacts: If a contact isn’t in your list, you can add them manually. Note that they *must* also be using Silent Phone for secure calls to work.
- Call Logs: Silent Phone does not store call logs on its servers. Call history is only kept locally on your device.
3. Using Silent Text
- Sending Messages: Open Silent Text, select a contact, and type your message. The message will be encrypted before sending.
- Disappearing Messages: A key feature of Silent Text is disappearing messages. You can set a timer for each conversation to automatically delete messages after a specified period (e.g., 24 hours, 7 days). Configure this in the conversation settings.
- Read Receipts: Read receipts are enabled by default. You can disable them per contact if you prefer more privacy.
4. Security Best Practices
- Keep Your Apps Updated: Regularly update Silent Phone and Silent Text to benefit from the latest security patches and features. Check the Blackphone app store for updates.
- Strong Passwords: Use strong, unique passwords for your Silent Circle account. Consider using a password manager.
- Device Security: Protect your Blackphone with a strong PIN or biometric lock (fingerprint).
- Verify Contacts: When communicating with important contacts, verify their Silent Circle key fingerprint out-of-band (e.g., in person) to ensure you’re talking to the correct person and not an imposter.
- Be Aware of Phishing: Be cautious of suspicious links or messages asking for your account credentials.
5. Troubleshooting Common Issues
- Call Quality Problems: Poor call quality can be caused by a weak network connection. Try moving to an area with better signal strength.
- Messages Not Sending/Receiving: Check your internet connection and ensure both you and the recipient have working Silent Circle accounts.
- Account Login Issues: Double-check your username and password. If you’ve forgotten your password, use the “Forgot Password” option on the Silent Circle website.
- App Crashing: Try clearing the app cache and data (Settings > Apps > Silent Phone/Silent Text > Storage > Clear Cache/Clear Data). Note that clearing data will require you to log in again.
6. Advanced Settings & Privacy
Explore the advanced settings within each app for further customization of your privacy preferences.
- Silent Phone: Check options related to call recording (if enabled) and network settings.
- Silent Text: Review message retention policies, read receipt controls, and notification settings.