Lok is an app created by an ex-Facebook engineer to solve a simple, yet persistent issue in social networking apps today: data security and privacy. Our permanently-free app enables you to intuitively and safely connect with those you care most about in a focused way. Unlock day-to-day productivity enhancements with innovative features such as location-based notifications including to-do lists, events, chats, and albums.
Lok does all of the above with best-in-class security and privacy: the app encrypts all your texts and media using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm and a password that only you possess.
Tech giants are peeking into everyone’s privacy. The world needs an app that lets people communicate with their loved ones privately and securely on their own terms.
Lok does this by encrypting all the texts and media within each social circle with a circle-specific password, which makes that communication chain impossible to access without the password. This eliminates the possibility of anyone else outside of your approved group peeking into your data – even the folks on the Lok team.
Hate annoying app notifications that add zero value to your day?
We have none of those – so make sure to enable the recommended notifications when prompted to unlock all of our functionality!
Click “CREATE AN ACCOUNT” at the bottom and you will be guided step-by-step to create your account using your cell phone. Please be aware that if you don’t receive the verification code, please check if you blocked the sender (650) 409-9686. Contact us support@k8sllc.com if you have problems.
Use the bottom-right button to go to the settings page, where you can modify your name, email, profile picture, etc.
We support two types of social circles: “Circles” for friends and activities, and “Families” for families. Currently, they have the same functionalities but in the future this may change.
Every normal user can create up to 5 circles / families. VIP users can create more than 100.
Use the bottom-right button to create a circle / family. During creation, there are two ways to provide the password. You can either provide a strong password by yourself, or use the “Generate strong password” button to generate a new one on your phone (ONLY ON YOUR PHONE). When a new password is generated, please make sure to save it in a secure location since we cannot recover it if you lose.
We NEVER store your circle password! We store a random secret and the encrypted value using your circle password and the AES algorithm, and will use them for password validation. Hypothetically, if a hacker compromises our whole database and cloud files, they still won’t see your circle contents, including all texts and images, until
In the circle / family, you can use the menu to display or export a QR code. Other members would have to scan this QR code to join your circle / family.
Use the bottom-right button to scan and join the family. You will be prompted to verify the password. If the verification passes, the circle creator will receive a push notification. They can then approve the joining request.
In the settings menu, you can export locally-cached passwords if you have provided them after logging in. Note this will only be available after you entered the circle passwords.
Note for all features: on the top-right of every page, we provide an encryption toggle that allows you to see how your data is stored on the server.
Jointly manage tasks with a synchronized to-do list for your circle.
Tap the top-right “+” icon.
Tap the to-do item.
tap the button on the left of a to-do item.
left swipe on a to-do item, then tap delete.
press and hold a to-do item, then drag.
Coordinate circle-specific events with a shared events list. Not a hassle to use, as events are automatically synchronized to your device. On iOS it is synchronized to the “Home” calendar on your iCloud account. You can update images for an event, which will be encrypted. You can add locations to events.
Tap the top-right “+” icon and follow the prompts. You can set event titles, start/end dates and times, make the event a recurrence, and insert a description.
On the main Events page, tap the event you want to edit and navigate through the prompts. View past events: on the main Events page, tap “Past”.
Tap the upcoming event (either “unread” or “pending”), and tap the “Accept” button. The accepted event will then show “Accepted” in your upcoming event list.
Tap the upcoming event (either “unread” or “pending”), and tap the “Decline” button. The declined event will then show “Declined” in your upcoming event list.
Chat with your family or circle mates: enter text into the “Type your message” field and hit the blue send button. This will be sent to all members of your family or circle.
Tap the “+” button on the top-right of the page to get a QR code to share.
Long-press the message and select Edit.
Long-press the message and select Delete.
Long-press the message and select Copy.
Everyone loves a photobook.
Tap the upper right “+” button to create an album and use the “Add Photos” and “Upload” buttons on the bottom of the screen to add content.
Long-press an album.
Long-press the images, select, and then click the move button to select the destination.
Long-press the images, select, and then click the delete button.
Keep track of who does what in your circles.
Manage additional Circle or Family features on this page, such as members, share your QR code, delete the Circle/Family, or update the Circle/Family name.
We cache images to local storage for faster image loading. Use this item to clear your local cache to save local space. It won’t affect the locally-cached passwords.
The password you input for each circle / family is stored locally. Use this feature to copy them to clipboard or export to images.
We support American English, Chinese (simplified and traditional), and Japanese.
System / Light / Dark
It is possible to use an asymmetric encryption. However, there are 3 challenges:
All the contents in our app are backed up in the cloud. If you lose your cell phone, you can still use the original personal phone number and password to login. You will need to type in the circle / family passwords to unlock them and their contents.
All the contents in our app are backed up in the cloud. If you lose your cell phone, you can still use the original personal phone number and password to login. You will need to type in the circle / family passwords to unlock them and their contents.