Question 1

What is Naven?

Accepted Answer

Naven is a free social platform where you can message, voice call and video call people anywhere in the world, join communities, and share photos. It brings direct messages, group chats, channels and calls together in one app, with safety designed in for every age.

Question 2

Is Naven free to use?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Messaging, group chats, communities, voice calls and video calls on Naven are all free.

Question 3

Can I make video and voice calls on Naven?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can start a voice or video call from any conversation on Naven, directly in your browser or on your phone, without installing a separate app. The other person's device rings, and they can accept or decline.

Question 4

Is Naven safe for children?

Accepted Answer

Naven is built for all ages. Every message is screened before it sends for ten things: spam and scams, malware and malicious links, harassment and bullying, hate speech, credible threats of violence, sexual exploitation, illegal transactions, doxxing, content that encourages self-harm, and graphic violence. Slurs, strong language and display names are screened too, and the member who wrote the message is told which rule it met. Self-harm is the exception: a message from somebody who is struggling is delivered to their friend, and help is offered alongside it rather than instead of it. Disagreements and insults are not screened, because a messaging app that edits how friends argue is not protecting anyone. Accounts carry separate protection levels for under-13, teen and adult members, under-13 accounts may message and a guardian is asked to confirm the account only if the safety screen is tripped repeatedly, and there is no public directory that exposes members to strangers.

Question 5

How do I add someone on Naven?

Accepted Answer

You start a conversation using the other person's email address. If they are not on Naven yet, they receive an email invitation and your message is waiting for them as soon as they join.

Question 6

Who made Naven?

Accepted Answer

Naven is designed and built by Shervin Shapoury, an independent developer. He is responsible for the design, the code, the infrastructure and the support, and can be reached at shervin@shapoury.com.

Question 7

Do I need a phone number to use Naven?

Accepted Answer

No. You can sign in to Naven with Google, with an email address and password, or as a guest. Unlike WhatsApp and Telegram, Naven never requires a phone number, and there is no public username directory.

Question 8

Is Naven end-to-end encrypted?

Accepted Answer

No, and Naven says so plainly. Naven screens every message against an age-aware safety model before it sends, and content that never reaches a server cannot be screened — so pre-send screening and end-to-end encryption cannot both be true. Naven is transport-encrypted throughout, publishes no member directory, and does not profile or sell message content. If end-to-end encryption matters more to you than screening, use Signal or iMessage for those conversations.

Question 9

How do Naven's AI news channels work?

Accepted Answer

Naven's newsroom reads established publisher feeds every five minutes. A briefing is only published once at least five independent publishers are reporting the same story, and every publisher is listed underneath the briefing. A story that reads as breaking news is published on the next five-minute check rather than waiting.

Question 10

How is Naven different from WhatsApp, Instagram or Discord?

Accepted Answer

Naven combines what those apps split apart: private messaging and calls like WhatsApp, communities and channels like Discord or Reddit, and photo sharing like Instagram — in one free platform. It adds age-aware safety screening throughout, and there is no public member directory or algorithmic feed.

Naven is built by Shervin Shapoury

What Naven is

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