Changelog

Version 1.2

Encrypted connections

• Every connection is encrypted with TLS, device to device. Kinzo has no server — devices talk straight to each other — so encrypting that one link is end to end, and there is nothing in the middle that could hold a copy.
• Each device has its own key, remembered when you pair. Every later connection must present the same key. Only the device you paired with can reconnect; anything presenting a different key is refused and reported.
• A device cannot wear another device’s name. A device’s identity is bound to its key, so one that announces itself as a device you trust is turned away unless it actually holds that device’s key.
• A six-digit verification code when pairing. Both screens show the same number, worked out from both devices’ keys. Matching numbers mean nothing is sitting in between.
• Removing a device forgets its key too, so a phone that has been reset or had Kinzo reinstalled can simply pair again.
• Both devices need 1.2. An encrypted Kinzo does not talk to an older, unencrypted one; if you try, it tells you that device needs Kinzo 1.2 or newer.

QR code pairing

• Show the code on one device, scan it with the other. Double-tap the This device card on the Available tab, or tap its QR button, for a full-screen code. On the other phone: Available → Connect by IP → Scan QR code.
• The code carries every address the device has, and Kinzo tries them in turn — so it works when a router blocks automatic discovery, and across networks where the two devices can reach each other but cannot see each other.
• Scanning checks the key before it connects. If the device that answers is not the one whose code you scanned, nothing is connected.
• Kinzo now asks for the camera permission — for scanning codes, and before taking a photo or video from the chat. Nothing else about what the app can access has changed.

Profile pictures

• A picture per device, set in Settings → Profile picture and shown wherever a name is: the Trusted list, the Chats list and the chat header.
• Shared only with devices you have paired with. Devices that merely see you on the network get no picture. Removing a device deletes its picture from your phone and yours from theirs.
• A picture is sent once and again only when it changes, and a newly paired device shows its picture straight away.

Finding devices

• Devices that leave drop off the list. A phone that went out of range, into flight mode or flat used to stay under Available for good, and tapping Pair on it simply failed. Kinzo now checks quiet entries and removes the ones that no longer answer.
• Scan this network. Some routers filter the announcements devices use to find each other. Kinzo can now look for other Kinzo devices directly — when you refresh, from the Scan this network button, and once at startup if nothing else turned anything up. It never runs on a timer, and never on a metered network.
• Failures explain themselves. When nothing is found, the Available tab shows which network this device is on — “This device is on 192.168.1.x” — and asks you to compare it with the other phone’s. Different numbers mean the two are on separate networks, usually a Wi-Fi extender or a guest network.

Also

• The app bar now carries the Kinzo mark and wordmark, with this device’s name beneath it.

Version 1.1

Added

• Privacy → Advertise my device as. Choose the name other devices see. Your phone’s real name is shown beside it for comparison and is never sent unless you keep it.
• Your own names for trusted devices. Trusted tab → ⋮ → Rename. The name stays on your phone and is used in the Trusted list, Chats, the chat header and notifications; the name the device shares still shows in small print.
• A second way of finding devices, for mesh systems and ISP routers that filter the first. Results from both are merged into one list, so a device appears once however it was found.
• A new app icon.

Fixed

• A device could briefly vanish from other phones’ lists each time Kinzo came to the foreground, because it announced itself again from scratch. It now re-announces only when its name or network actually changes.
• Discovery now retries by itself. If looking for devices failed to start, it stayed off until you tapped refresh. It now tries again on its own, a little less often each time.

Version 1.0

Finding and pairing

• Automatic discovery. Devices running Kinzo on the same Wi-Fi appear under Available on their own.
• Pairing by request. Tap Pair and the other user chooses Accept or Decline — in the app, or from a notification if it is in the background. Only trusted devices can exchange messages, and a device can be removed again at any time.
• Connect by IP for networks where devices cannot see each other automatically.
• Three tabs: Trusted (paired devices and whether each is connected), Available (Kinzo devices found on the network) and Chats.

Messaging

• Text, with ✓ sent and ✓✓ delivered receipts.
• Photos, videos and audio files from the attach sheet — Photo, Video, Camera, Record and Audio — sent in pieces with a progress bar.
• Voice notes recorded in the chat.
• An offline queue. A message sent while the other device is away is delivered as soon as it reconnects, and is never delivered twice.
• A zoomable viewer for photos and video, with share and save.

Background and settings

• Receive in background — an optional service that keeps Kinzo reachable while the app is closed, switchable off in Settings.
• Notifications for new messages and pair requests.
• A first-run prompt for the name your device goes by.