Frequently asked questions

Yes. Chats, calls, groups, public rooms and apps cost nothing, and there are no subscriptions. Only a few money features have a fee, and each one is listed under Fees.

• See all fees

No. We will never sell your information, or anything about who you talk to and what about. A few services help us run Banga and get only what their job needs: the SMS provider gets your phone number to send sign-in codes, push notifications carry no message text, and a question you send to an AI helper is answered by our AI provider. This website uses analytics cookies only if you accept them.

No. Anyone can read public rooms on this website. To post, react or comment, get the app and sign in.

Yes. Sign in on this website with your phone number while Web Access is on in the app; it is on for new accounts. Some things work only in the phone app: sending and withdrawing money, paying payment requests, converting, push notifications and web apps, which open in a new tab. Keys for encrypted chats are kept in the browser, so use your phone for sensitive conversations.

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Enter your phone number and the one-time code we send you by SMS. A code is valid for 5 minutes, and there are no passwords to remember. You can add two-factor authentication for extra protection.

Turn on Two-Factor Authentication in the app's settings and scan the QR code with an authenticator app. From then on, signing in asks for the authenticator's code after the SMS code. After 5 wrong codes the device is locked for 60 minutes.

Open Settings, then Devices, in the app, or open your account page on this website. You can remove any device except the one you are using. A removed device is signed out and has to sign in again with an SMS code.

Turn off Web Access in the app's settings. While it is off, nobody can sign in to your account on this website. Only the phone app can turn it back on.

They can no longer send you connection requests or start new chats or groups with you. Rooms you already share are not affected, so leave those rooms if you no longer want to see their messages. You can unblock people under Settings, Blocked users.

Use the Report link on a public room's page on this website, or write to us through the contact form and include the room and the message. To report an app, open its page in Banga and choose Report app.

• Contact us

Deleting an account is not yet available in the app. Send us a request through the contact form and we will confirm it with you before deleting the account. Withdraw or send any crypto balance first.

• Contact us

Public groups can be found in search, read by anyone on this website and indexed by search engines. Private groups and direct chats are only visible to their members.

Banga News is the announcements room every member is part of. Only Banga posts there, in your language where a translation exists. It cannot be muted or left, has no reactions or comments, and does not send a push for each post.

When a group reaches 7 members, only its creator and admin can post, which keeps very large groups readable. The admin can open posting again, but the next member to join closes it again while the group is that large.

In a private group, the members see each other. In a public group, everyone else sees only its creator and admin, not the full member list. Phone numbers and email addresses are never shown.

In chats that are not end-to-end encrypted, such as public groups: up to 25 MB per photo, 50 MB per audio file, 250 MB per video and 100 MB per other file, 10 files at a time. In end-to-end encrypted chats, up to 100 MB per file and 10 files per message. Videos are converted so they play on every device.

You get a push for new messages unless the room is muted or Do Not Disturb is on. Public rooms you join start muted. In very large groups you are notified of the first new post only, and not again until you open the group. Pushes never contain the message text.

Yes. Direct chats and private groups are end-to-end encrypted: messages, photos and files are locked on your device, and only the people in the chat can read them, not Banga. Public groups are meant to be read widely, so they are encrypted in transit and on our servers but not end to end. Calls are encrypted with DTLS-SRTP.

We can see who is in a chat, when messages are sent and roughly how large they are, because we need that to deliver them. We cannot see what the messages, photos or files say. A question you send to an AI helper is the exception: it goes to our servers to be answered.

It keeps the keys to your encrypted chats, locked with a passphrase of at least 10 characters that only you know, so a new phone can read your old messages. Set it up under Settings, Encrypted chat backup. We cannot open the backup or reset the passphrase: if you forget it, nobody can recover the backup.

Open the chat's details and choose Verify encryption. Compare the 60-digit safety number with the other person, or scan their QR code when you meet. If the number changes later, for example because they got a new phone, Banga tells you so you can verify again.

When you sign in on a new device, your other devices share the keys with it. If you have no other device, restore the keys from the encrypted chat backup with your passphrase. You and your contacts are told when a new device is added to an account.

Every account has Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDBG wallets. Wallets are not available where such transactions are against the law. This is a test service of Banga: Bitcoin and Ethereum run on test networks, so balances here have no real value. The live service is https://banga.chat.

No. Wallets, sending and receiving crypto, payment requests, conversions and payments to apps are not available where such transactions are against the law, and you must not use them there. Check the rules that apply where you live before you use them.

USDBG is the dollar token of Banga: one USDBG counts as one US dollar. It exists only inside Banga, not on a blockchain, so it has no deposit address and cannot be withdrawn. You receive it from other members, from apps or by converting. This is a test service of Banga: Bitcoin and Ethereum run on test networks, so balances here have no real value. The live service is https://banga.chat.

Open the wallet and choose Receive to see its deposit address, then send coins to that address from another wallet. Bitcoin is credited after 3 confirmations on the network, and Ethereum once its block is final on the network, about 15 minutes.

In a chat, send a payment from one of your wallets, or create a payment request for one or more people, with an optional note and a QR code. A request is paid in full, in its currency, and you can cancel it until someone has paid. Sending and paying work in the phone app only.

Up to $1,000 at once, and $2,500 in 24 hours for withdrawals and payments to other members together. Above $100, sending needs biometric confirmation on that device. Limits can be raised for an account on request.

In the app, open Settings, Sending limits and tap Request higher limits. Choose the limits, or no limit, and for how long, and confirm with biometrics. Support answers, usually within a working day, and you get a notification either way. The waiting period after a device change and biometric confirmation still apply.

Open the wallet, choose Withdraw, and enter the address and the amount. Check the network fee before you confirm: the recipient gets the full amount and the fee is added on top. Withdrawing works in the phone app only.

Open a wallet, choose Convert, then pick the currency to receive. The quote shows the rate and the fee before you confirm, and the price holds for 20 seconds. A conversion must be worth between 5 and 10,000 US dollars, and you can convert up to 5,000 US dollars in any 24 hours. Converting works in the phone app only.

When an app asks for a payment, Banga shows its own confirmation sheet with the amount, which the app cannot change or skip. You pay exactly that amount in USDBG, and only apps you allowed to request payments can ask. The payment appears in your wallet history, and a refund comes back to the same wallet.

Yes. Turn on Biometric Confirmation for Payments in the app's settings. From then on, sending, withdrawing, converting and paying apps from that device need your fingerprint or face. It is set per device and is not available in a browser.

No. Sending money to other members and paying payment requests is free.

You pay only the blockchain's network fee, which goes to the network, not to Banga. It is added on top of the amount and shown before you confirm. The Bitcoin fee follows the network's current rate and never exceeds 50 satoshis per virtual byte; the Ethereum fee follows the network's gas price.

Each quote shows one fee before you confirm, and it is taken from the amount you receive. The quoted rate includes a small margin. Nothing else is charged.

No. You pay exactly the amount on the confirmation sheet. The app pays Banga a platform fee of 3% out of what it receives.

No. Chatting, calls, groups, public rooms, apps and receiving crypto are free, and there are no subscriptions.

The API reference documents the REST API that the Banga apps use. Every call needs a signed-in member's token, and there are no API keys for third parties. To build something for Banga members, use the app platform described in the developer documentation.

• API reference
• API access

Apps add slash commands with forms, interactive cards, web pages that open inside Banga, and bots that post into rooms. You host the app; Banga installs it, asks members for permission and delivers its cards. Register apps in the developer console, which needs a sign-in on this website. Listing an app in the public directory needs approval.

• Getting started
• Developer console

Use the stage service at https://stage.banga.chat. It runs Bitcoin and Ethereum on test networks, so you can try commands, web apps and payments without real money. Apps you list publicly there are approved at once, without waiting for a review.

• Open the stage service

Apps can charge members in USDBG, and each payment is confirmed by the member on their own device. Banga keeps 3% of every charge and your app wallet receives the rest. A refund returns the full amount, and the fee is not returned. Paying members out needs approval from a site administrator.

• Payments for developers

Calls are rate limited per member and per app, and payments have limits per charge and per day that an administrator can raise for an app. The current values and the error codes are listed in the developer documentation.

• Limits and errors