Verify a contact

Compare together

1. Open the safety number

   Open the contact's details from the chat and select the security card. Each person opens the safety number for the other.

2. Compare the whole value

   Compare in person, scan the verification QR, or read the full number over a channel whose authenticity you already trust. An invitation QR adds a contact; the verification QR checks the resulting identity-key pair.

3. Mark the contact verified

   When the values match, mark the contact verified. Auris clears that verification if the identity keys change. Lockdown requires verified contacts before sending.

Why this step matters

Encryption connects keys. Comparing safety numbers adds your own check that those are the intended person's keys. This is especially useful at first contact, when the directory is introducing a key bundle you have not verified before.

If the values differ, stop and confirm how you connected. Compare again through a trusted channel before marking the contact verified.

When a safety number changes

A replacement device, identity reset or key substitution can change the value. A fingerprint-format update can also require re-verification. The number alone cannot establish which event occurred.

Check with your contact, compare the new full value and verify again. Treat a missing previously advertised post-quantum signing key as a change that needs attention too.

What you have checked

The current number covers both people's X25519, Ed25519 and ML-DSA identity keys. It checks a key relationship, rather than the condition of either phone. Device security remains important after verification.

How safety numbers and authentication work →

Understand the session badge

The hybrid-session badge indicates that post-quantum key material contributed to the session. The verified-contact state records your safety-number check. Together, they help you distinguish the session's cryptography from your confirmation of the contact.