Support
Answers to the common questions, and how to reach a person.
Contact
Email jb@lot23.com. Include your iPhone model, your iOS version and what you were doing. Please don't send private messages or keys. Replies usually take a few days.
Common questions
What does Kiwi need to run?
An iPhone with iOS 26 or later. Bluetooth chat needs Bluetooth switched on and permission granted. Public rooms need an internet connection.
I can't see anyone nearby
- Check Settings → Kiwi → Bluetooth is allowed, and Bluetooth is on.
- The other person needs Kiwi open on their phone, close enough for Bluetooth (a few tens of metres, further when others relay).
- Nearby chat only shows people who are physically close. For anyone else, join a public room from the room name at the top.
What is the difference between Nearby and a public room?
Nearby uses Bluetooth between phones and works with no internet. Public rooms are for places (a neighbourhood, a city, a region) and are carried over the internet, so anyone who joins that room can read them. Private messages are end-to-end encrypted.
How do I read a busy room?
Use the reading level pill at the top of the chat: Mentions only shows just you and people you trust, Filtered folds repeats and shows a summary when a room is moving fast, and Everything shows it all. Scroll up and the list holds still; new messages wait behind the “jump to latest” button. Nothing is ever deleted.
How do I mute, hide or block someone?
Tap their picture or name for their profile, then choose Mute or Hide. Muting lasts a set time (an hour, a day, a week or a month); hidden people stay hidden until you bring them back from the room's people list. You can also block people from the people list. This all happens on your phone; they are not told.
How do I report something?
Kiwi has no central moderators, because it has no servers. To report a message, press and hold it and choose Report: that opens an email to us with the room, time and text filled in. For anything illegal or dangerous you can also email jb@lot23.com with what you saw, the room and the time, and use the Mute and Block tools straight away. In an emergency, call your local emergency number. See the community rules.
Messages in another language aren't translating
Translation runs on your phone using Apple's Translation. The first time you meet a new language, iOS asks to download its language pack; until you accept, those messages stay as written. You can turn auto-translate off in Settings.
How do I change the app icon?
Open Settings (the gear at the top right), find “app icon”, and choose a background and a colour for the bird. iOS will ask you to confirm the change.
How do I erase everything?
Open Settings and use panic wipe. It erases messages, keys and your identity from the phone and cannot be undone.
Where did my old messages go?
Kiwi keeps recent messages on your phone only. There is no cloud copy, so we cannot restore anything that has been cleared, erased or wiped.