One-time secret link versus encrypted chat

Match the feature to delivery or conversation

Use a one-time SecretLink when one prepared recipient needs one focused message or file. The first valid retrieval atomically consumes the encrypted payload so later requests cannot retrieve it from Strumio. A recipient may send one encrypted reply only when the sender enabled that narrower option.

Use temporary encrypted chat when two people or a signed-in group need back-and-forth text and shared context. Account-free rooms support two participants and text only; signed-in creators can use groups of up to 20, encrypted attachments, and Dead Drops. Neither feature is a permanent workspace or verified identity directory.

Control invitations and participant identity

Treat the complete invitation or its locally generated QR code as a sensitive bearer capability. Send it directly, avoid public and analytics-enabled channels, and ask recipients not to forward it. An optional password is useful only when strong and sent separately from the invitation.

A display name does not prove identity. Verify members using a known phone number, authenticated workplace account, or another established method before disclosing sensitive information. Review who should be in the room and restart with new access if an invitation was posted or sent to the wrong destination.

Set an expiration and understand history access

Choose the shortest room lifetime that supports participants' schedules; rooms cannot continue indefinitely and expire after at most seven days. The creator can end a room sooner. Ending or expiration rejects later room use and starts cleanup of server-side records and encrypted attachments through the implemented lifecycle.

Temporary availability is not retroactive deletion. Any participant can copy text, photograph a screen, record a session, or save a decrypted file. New authorized participants can access active encrypted history, so do not assume that a statement made before someone joined remains hidden from them.

Share files and Dead Drops deliberately

Standard attachments are encrypted in the sender's browser before upload and remain available while their room lifecycle allows. A Dead Drop adds a successful-claim limit. Its final allowed claim locks later access and queues the stored ciphertext for deletion, which reduces future retrieval from Strumio.

Claim limits do not stop an allowed recipient from saving or redistributing plaintext. Explain expected filenames and sizes, be cautious with active content, and use revocable credentials inside files when control after download matters. Account-free temporary rooms do not support attachments or Dead Drops.

Know the difference between Panic Close and End

Panic Close revokes only the current participant session and clears that room's in-memory and session data on the current device. It gives one person a fast exit but does not close the group. The creator's End control is what makes the room unavailable to every participant.

Neither action erases information already copied or downloaded. Close discussions promptly, rotate credentials shared during an incident, preserve required records in an approved location, and do not depend on a temporary room as the only source of decisions that must remain available.

Related guidance

• Review atomic first retrieval
• Review account-free chat
• Compare full chat controls
• Browse all secure sharing guides