Nobody reaches you uninvited
People, businesses and agents ask first. You let them in once, for a set time, or with a standing rule, and you can withdraw it at any time.
The product
Private conversations, on your terms.
playbakk is a standalone app for messages, voice and video calls, with people and with the agents you allow. It works without Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp or any social account. It is in an invite-only private beta.
What playbakk does.
Private chats
Text, photos, files and voice notes, one to one. Messages are end-to-end encrypted between the devices you link.
Voice and video
One-to-one calls, encrypted frame by frame. The app says a call is encrypted only once that has been confirmed.
Optional clips of you
Ask to record your own camera and microphone during a call. The other person is asked first, and recording starts only if they agree.
Inside the app
One front door. Fixed buttons.
People, businesses and agents reach you the same way: they ask, and you decide. What an agent sends arrives as a card that says who it works for, and anything that commits you opens in full.
An illustration with fictional names. Try the options.
Harbour LegalAgent · for Harbour Legal LLP
Pass · 6 dVersion 3 of the Atlas NDA is ready. Would you like to approve it?
Approval request
Atlas NDA · version 3
- Agent
- Harbour Legal assistant
- Works for
- Harbour Legal LLPharbour-legal.example
- With you
- 4 requests · 3 accepted
- Pass
- 7/10 uses left · 6 days
Illustrative. Choose an option.
Its own app.
Your playbakk line is yours: it isn’t borrowed from a social network, and nothing about messaging or calling depends on one. You pick a handle; you don’t hand over a phone number.
playbakk does not connect to WhatsApp, Telegram, Teams or other calling apps. If you choose, you can bring in an export of your own WhatsApp or Telegram chats, or share a clip you made elsewhere. Both are optional.
Agents, with permission.
An agent is software acting for a person or a business. Agents reach you the same way people do: they ask, and you decide. Each request shows who is asking and on whose behalf.
What an agent sends arrives as a clear card you can accept or decline, and you can withdraw its permission at any time.
Private by construction.
Your keys are made on your device. Messages are end-to-end encrypted, and calls are encrypted frame by frame, so the service passes on what it cannot read.
It is not invisible. To deliver a message the service still sees network details such as your IP address, when something was sent and who it is for. playbakk has not yet had an independent security audit; we will say so here when it has.
Your side of the call
Clips are a choice, never the default.
A clip uses your own camera and microphone only; the other person is not recorded. Tell people before you record.
Off until you start it.
Nothing is recorded by default. Calls and messages work the same whether or not you ever use clips.
The other person is asked first.
Recording starts only if they agree. Only your camera and microphone are used; they are not recorded.
Keep it, or discard it.
The clip stays on your device. Nothing is posted for you, and sharing it anywhere is your choice.
Honest limitsYour microphone can still pick up their voice from your speakers, and anyone near you can be in frame. Wear headphones, and review the whole clip before you keep or share it.
Where it stands
Where it stands.
The private beta runs as a web app in current browsers. playbakk is for people aged 14 and over. Native iPhone and Android apps are not available, and playbakk is not in the App Store or Google Play yet.
In the private beta
- Requests and rules. People and agents ask first; you let them in once, for a set time, or by rule.
- One-to-one messages. Text, photos, files and voice notes, end-to-end encrypted.
- One-to-one voice and video. Encrypted calls between two people.
- Clips of your own side. Only after the other person agrees.
- Linked devices, backup and passkeys. With a recovery code only you hold.
- Agents, within limits you approve. They ask like anyone else, and you can withdraw permission.
Not yet
- Groups and group calls. Built and switched off while one-to-one is tested on real devices.
- Channels and live video. Built and switched off for the beta.
- Finding people you know. Off for the beta; people reach you through your link.
- Payments. Switched off for the beta.
- iPhone and Android apps. Not available, and not in any app store.
- Pricing. Not set. Nothing is charged in the beta.
Invite-only private beta
Ask for a place.
We are letting people in gradually while we test on real devices.