Calls without translation
Between two phones that support it, each call gets its own key, sent to the other phone through your encrypted chat. The media server relays audio and video it cannot decrypt, and a lock on the call screen shows that the call is end-to-end encrypted.
Calls use WebRTC. Depending on the connection, media travels through AiThao infrastructure or an external media service. The route can change when the network is unavailable. This does not change the distinction between transport encryption and end-to-end encryption.
Transport encryption is not the same thing
All call media is encrypted in transit, as WebRTC requires. On its own that would still let the media server read the call. What makes a call end-to-end encrypted is the per-call key that the server never has.
Calls with translation
Translation on a call starts only when both people agree. To translate, the call’s key is given to AiThao’s translation worker so it can hear the call. From that moment the call is not end-to-end encrypted, and the lock on the call screen disappears.
Decoded audio goes to a translation provider; video is never sent to it. The key is kept for the call, at most about an hour.
Group calls with translation
Group calls are encrypted in transit; a call with translation is not end-to-end encrypted. With a speaker’s consent, their speech is sent to a cloud translation provider. Video is not sent for translation.
What is kept about a call
- Calls are not recorded.
- Calls are not recorded. The call log — who, when and how long — stays until you remove the entry or delete your account. Removing your entry does not remove the other participant’s; the shared record is deleted once no participant keeps it.
- Call summaries: in a translated call, either person can ask for a summary, and the other sees that it is on. The written transcript goes to a cloud AI provider; AiThao does not retain the transcript on the server. The summary is temporarily kept in memory so repeated requests within 6 hours can reuse the result. You can refuse summaries of calls with you in Settings.
Questions
How do I know if a call is end-to-end encrypted?
Look for the lock on the call screen. It is there on a call without translation between phones that support it, and it goes when translation is turned on.
Are calls recorded?
Calls are not recorded. The call log — who, when and how long — stays until you remove the entry or delete your account. Removing your entry does not remove the other participant’s; the shared record is deleted once no participant keeps it.