Frequently asked questions
Short, direct answers. Each links to the page that expands it.
Can the server read my messages?
Section titled “Can the server read my messages?”No. The rendezvous server is structurally blind. Message contents, private keys, and unsealed signaling never reach it in readable form: it sees only opaque tags and sealed payloads it cannot open. This is enforced by the wire format, not by a logging policy. See the blindness invariant.
Does ORP have forward secrecy?
Section titled “Does ORP have forward secrecy?”No. The inner message layer is static and does not rekey per message, so a future key compromise can expose past sealed payloads. This is a stated trade-off. See no forward secrecy.
Is the board really stateless?
Section titled “Is the board really stateless?”The board exposes a single stateful channel and holds only the routing state it needs to broker a meeting. It does not hold readable contents or keys. See the single stateful channel.
How is this different from Signal’s model?
Section titled “How is this different from Signal’s model?”ORP targets the rendezvous and signaling layer. It makes the server structurally unable to read signaling, keys, or contents as an invariant of the wire format. It does not provide forward secrecy and it does not hide the social graph, and it says so. It is signaling infrastructure, not a full messenger. See the comparison page.
Can the server see who I talk to?
Section titled “Can the server see who I talk to?”The board can observe that two endpoints rendezvous, the visible social graph (SPEC §9.4). It cannot read what they exchange. ORP does not claim full anonymity. See the social graph is visible.
What happens if a key is compromised?
Section titled “What happens if a key is compromised?”Because there is no forward secrecy, a compromised key can expose past sealed payloads encrypted under it. A key is bound to one target, so the exposure is scoped to that target, not a directory. Identity rotation limits how long an identity key lives.
Do I need to run TURN?
Section titled “Do I need to run TURN?”Only if you want relay-only operation so peers do not learn each other’s network addresses. TURN is optional. See optional TURN for relay-only.
What do I have to build for production?
Section titled “What do I have to build for production?”A WebSocket RendezvousBroker adapter and a real WebRTCEndpoint, and
optionally TURN. See the production-transport gap.
Source: SPEC §1, §7, §8, §9.3, §9.4, §10; README. TODO: confirm section numbers and answers against the repo (see OPEN-QUESTIONS.md).