NOSTR AFRICA · CUSTOMER GUIDE

Getting started with Nostr Africa Chat

Kinfolk: a private, invitation-only chat space for your family, team or community.

chat.nostr.africa · Updated October 2026

Nostr Africa Chat (Kinfolk) is a private chat space. Each person signs in with a passkey on their own device, new members join only by invitation and approval, and conversations are organised in rooms. Messages are stored encrypted; full end-to-end encryption is coming soon.

In short

1About passkeys

A passkey replaces a password. When you sign in, your phone or computer asks for your fingerprint, face, device PIN or security key. Chat does not receive or store your fingerprint or face: it only receives a secure proof from your device. Everyone should create their own passkey; never share one.

2Create your access

1. On your own device, open chat.nostr.africa.
2. Choose Create access, enter your name (and optionally your email), then Create passkey access.
3. Confirm with your fingerprint, face, PIN or security key when your device asks.
4. Next time, use Sign in with a passkey.

First administrator only: after signing in, you see the form Create private family home. Give your space a name (and an optional description) and create it. You become its administrator.

3Invite people

Administrators and council members can invite people at chat.nostr.africa/membership:

1. Under Invite someone, enter the person's name and email.
2. Choose their group: Nuclear family, Extended family or Trusted family friend.
3. Click Create invitation and copy the private code. It is shown only once.
4. Send the code to the person privately. It is not emailed automatically. Never post it in a public group.

4Join with an invitation

1. The invited person first creates their own passkey at chat.nostr.africa (step 2).
2. They open chat.nostr.africa/membership, paste the code under Accept your invitation and click Request access.
3. A council member opens the same page and clicks Acknowledge next to the request.
4. When enough acknowledgements are given, the new member becomes active.

5Chat

1. Open chat.nostr.africa/chat. Pick a room from Family rooms on the left. A lock icon marks a restricted room.
2. Type in the Private message field and press Send.
3. To share a photo or document, click the paperclip. JPG, PNG, WEBP and PDF files under 6 MB are accepted.
4. Use the round refresh icon next to “Private relay” to sync messages.

On a shared device, always sign out with the arrow icon in the top-right corner.

6Troubleshooting