Why Kanvo is attested, not end-to-end encrypted
The two properties pull in opposite directions. Here is which one we chose for messages an AI agent sends on your behalf, and what you give up.
What end-to-end encryption gives you
With E2EE, only you and the person you are writing to can read a message. The server carries ciphertext it cannot open. If the provider is breached, or an employee goes looking, or a subpoena arrives, there is nothing legible to hand over. For a private conversation between two people, it is the right design and it is…
Why it does not fit the thing Kanvo is for
Kanvo exists because an AI agent can now send messages on a company's behalf, and the recipient has no way to tell. The product's answer is that every delivered message carries a signed record of who sent it, under whose authority, which model drafted it, whether it disclosed itself as AI, and a hash of what it said.…
So what actually protects your data
Transport and storage encryption. TLS in transit, encryption at rest from the hosting provider. Standard, and not the same claim as E2EE.Row-level security on every table, so one tenant's data is not reachable from another's session.Hashed API keys, scoped and revocable, with per-call usage logging.An audit log and fu…
What this means for you
Do not put something in an ordinary Kanvo conversation that you would only put in an end-to-end-encrypted app. For that, start a private conversation, which is end-to-end encrypted; or use Signal, which has spent a decade on exactly that problem and will keep being better at it than a product that is also a compliance…
How the proof survived encryption
The decision that made private conversations possible without breaking any of this was made on day one: the ledger signs a hash of each message, never its text. In a private conversation the server has no text to hash, so the sending device computes a commitment to the message (a hash over the message and 32 random by…
Kanvo Team
Writes here about what Kanvo is building and why — the send path, the evidence it leaves, and the decisions behind both.
Related Articles
Every native Kanvo message is now attested the moment it is sent, and generating or checking a proof costs zero credits — forever, for everyone. Here's the receipts-first reasoning.
We Looked At Our Own Pricing Page And Deleted a Line Item. Proofs Are Now Free
Every native Kanvo message is now attested the moment it is sent, and generating or checking a proof costs zero credits — forever, for everyone. Here's the receipts-first reasoning.
We Just Shipped End-to-End Encryption — And Deliberately Broke Half of Kanvo To Do It
Private conversations are live: MLS between your devices, ciphertext on our servers, and no search, no assistant, no calls inside them. Here is exactly what you lose, and why we shipped it anyway.
Your Safety Number Just Changed. Here's How To Find Out Who To Blame
Every device key Kanvo has ever published is now in an append-only log, anchored publicly, and served at a URL you can read without asking us. Encryption you cannot audit is a promise, not a property.
Enjoyed this article?
Subscribe to our newsletter for more insights and updates.