Help / How To (2024)

Installing the Keyboard:

1. Installing PGP Everywhere on your iOS device
2. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard > PGP Everywhere.
3. Then Select PGP Everywhere and "Allow Full Access".

iOS will present a warning about the potential risks of allowing a keyboard full access. PGP Everywhere requires Full Access to be allowed so that the keyboard can access PGP Keys that are stored in the main app. PGP Everywhere never transmits these keys, nor does it transmit, gather, or store anything you type or any other user data.

Generate a Key Pair:

1. Open the PGP Everywhere app on your device
2. Select the Keychain Tab
3. Touch the "+" icon in the upper right corner
4. Touch "Generate New Key Pair".
5. Follow the prompts to create a new key pair.

iOS will present a warning about the potential risks of allowing a keyboard full access. PGP Everywhere requires Full Access to be allowed so that the keyboard can access PGP Keys that are stored in the main app. PGP Everywhere never transmits these keys, nor does it transmit, gather, or store anything you type or any other user data.

Add keys from Keyboard:

This method of adding keys is ideal for saving a public key that someone has sent to you without having to open the main app.

1. Open the PGP Everywhere keyboard on your device (tap the globe button in the regular keyboard)
2. Touch the key button
3. Touch "add key" in the menu that appears.
4. Follow the onscreen instructions:
1. Copy the PGP key(s) to your device's clipboard
2. Touch the "Add From Clipboard" button.

Add keys from Main App:

This method of adding keys is ideal for saving a public key that someone has sent to you.

1. Copy the PGP key in text form to your clipboard
2. Open the PGP Everywhere app on your device
3. Select the Keychain Tab
4. Touch the "+" icon in the upper right corner
5. Touch "Add From Clipboard".

Add keys from iTunes File Sharing:

Adding keys via iTunes File Sharing is more secure, and is ideal for importing private keys from your computer.

To transfer the keys from your computer to your phone:

1. Export key(s) from your computer's keychain manager to .txt or .asc file(s)
2. Connect your iOS device to your computer using the USB cable and open iTunes
3. Select your device in iTunes
4. Click Apps in the list on the left and scroll down to the bottom of the page
5. In this section, you'll see a list of File Sharing apps on your device. Select PGP Encrypt.
6. Drag and drop the .txt/.asc file(s) onto the Documents list to copy them to the app on your device.

To import the keys into the keychain on your device:

1. Open the PGP Everywhere app on your device
2. Select the Keychain Tab
3. Touch the "+" icon in the upper right corner
4. Touch "Add From iTunes File Sharing"
5. It is suggested that you allow the app to delete the .txt/.asc files after import. Doing this will not delete the keys you just imported from the keychain.

Add keys from Action Extension:

The Action Extension allows you to add Keys from *.asc files, *.txt files, and from text

To add keys from a file:

1. Press down on the file until the share menu appears or press a share button
2. Look for a PGP Everywhere icon in the bottom row of gray icons. If the PGP Everywhere icon is not there, select the icon labeled "More" with three dots and enable the PGP Everywhere Extension
3. Touch the PGP Everywhere icon in the bottom row of gray icons
4. If there are keys in the file, they will automaticly be found and added to your keychain.

To add keys from text:

1. Select the text that contains the key(s) you wish to add.
2. Press down on the selected text until the share menu appears or press a share button
3. Look for a PGP Everywhere icon in the bottom row of gray icons. If the PGP Everywhere icon is not there, select the icon labeled "More" with three dots and enable the PGP Everywhere Extension
4. Touch the PGP Everywhere icon in the bottom row of gray icons
5. If there are keys in the text you selected, they will automaticly be found and added to your keychain.

Send keys from Keyboard:

1. Open the PGP Everywhere Keyboard
2. Touch the key button between the Globe key and the Space bar
3. Touch "Send Key"
4. Select the key(s) you wish to send.
5. Touch the export button in the upper right corner

NOTE: It is not secure to send private keys.

Sign & Encrypt from Keyboard:

1. Touch and hold the globe button on the iOS Keyboard to select the PGP Everywhere keyboard
2. Enable the encryption switch in the upper left of the keyboard. This will allow you to type in the keyboard's text view.
3. Type or paste the text you wish to encrypt.
4. Touch the lock button in the upper right corner of the keyboard
5. Select the recipient's public key to encrypt for and/or the private key you wish to sign with
6. Touch the "Sign & Encrypt" button.
7. If you signed the message, you will be prompted for your passphrase. Enter your passphrase.
8. Done. Your encrypted text will be displayed in the text box you began typing in

Decrypt & Verify from Keyboard:

1. Copy to the PGP Message to the device's clip board
2. Open the PGP Everywhere Keyboard
3. Touch the Unlock Button in the upper right corner of the keyboard
4. Touch the "Decrypt & Verify" Button
5. Enter your passphrase when prompted

Decrypt & Verify from Action Extension:

The Action Extension allows you to decrypt and verify text from *.asc files, *.txt files, and from plain text. Note that only files containing text can be decrypted. Support for other encrypted files is coming soon.

Decrypt & Verify a message from a file:

1. Press down on the file until the share menu appears or press a share button
2. Look for a PGP Everywhere icon in the bottom row of gray icons. If the PGP Everywhere icon is not there, select the icon labeled "More" with three dots and enable the PGP Everywhere Extension
3. Touch the PGP Everywhere icon in the bottom row of gray icons
4. If there is an encrypted message in the file, it will automaticly be found and unboxed. Enter your passphrase when prompted.

Decrypt & Verify a message from text:

1. Select the text that contains the message you wish to unbox.
2. Press down on the selected text until the share menu appears or press a share button
3. Look for a PGP Everywhere icon in the bottom row of gray icons. If the PGP Everywhere icon is not there, select the icon labeled "More" with three dots and enable the PGP Everywhere Extension
4. Touch the PGP Everywhere icon in the bottom row of gray icons
5. If there is an encrypted message in the text you selected, it will automaticly be found and unboxed. Enter your passphrase when prompted.

Enable Touch ID / Passcode for Passphrase:

PGP Everywhere allows you to use Touch ID (or your passcode if you do not have Touch ID enabled) to sign and decrypt messages instead of entering your key's passphrase each time. This feature is ideal for applications like sms, instant messaging, or any circ*mstance in which typing a long passphrase would make encryption cumbersome and impractical. This feature is enabled on a key-by-key basis on private keys.

1. Open the PGP Everywhere app on your device
2. Select the Keychain tab
3. Find the private key for which you wish to enable Touch ID, and flip the switch next to it.
4. Follow the prompts and enter your passphrase

Security Note:

Using this feature stores an encrypted copy of your passphrase in Apple's "Secure Enclave", a dedicated chip that handles Touch ID and other encryption on the device. Passphrases are stored using the attribute kSecAttrAccessibleWhenPasscodeSetThisDeviceOnly. This means several things. First is that passphrases can only be stored when there is a passcode set on the device. Second is that if the passcode is removed from the device, then the stored passphrases will be automatically deleted. Third is that stored passphrases are not included in backups of the device, are never sent to iCloud, and never leave the device. This feature is intended for convenience, but is inherently less secure simply because of the fact that your passphrase is stored somewhere. However, to gain access to your passphrase, an attacker would have to 1) acquire your device, 2) unlock your device, and 3) jailbreak your device to gain access to the keychain.

Add & Download Key from Keyserver

1. Open the PGP Everywhere app on your device
2. Select the Keychain Tab
3. Touch the "+" icon in the upper right corner
4. Touch "Search Keyserver".
5. Entry your query and touch "Search"
6. Select they key(s) you want from the search results and touch the "+" icon in the upper right corner.

Upload Key to Keyserver

1. Open the PGP Everywhere app on your device
2. Select the Keychain Tab
3. Touch the public key you wish to upload
4. Scroll to the bottom of the page that appears and touch "Upload to keyserver"
5. Done

Change Keyserver

1. Open the PGP Everywhere app on your device
2. Select the Settings Tab
3. Touch the displayed keyserver URL
4. Either select one of the presented options or select "Other..." to add your own

• NOTE: If you add your own keyserver, make sure to use either http:// or https:// and not hkp:// or hkps://

Change Keyboard Language / Layout:

1. Open the PGP Everywhere Keyboard
2. Hold down the space bar and then select "Change Language"
3. Select your desired language, and then your desired keyboard layout.
4. Touch "Done"

Export Keychain via iTunes File Sharing:

Exporting your keychain via iTunes File Sharing is a secure way to transfer private keys to your computer.

1. Export keychain to a file:

1. Open the PGP Everywhere app on your device
2. Select the Keychain Tab
3. Touch the "+" icon in the upper right corner
4. Touch "Export Keychain to iTunes"

2. Transfer the keys from your phone to your computer:

1. Connect your iOS device to your computer using the USB cable and open iTunes
2. Select your device in iTunes
3. Click Apps in the list on the left and scroll down to the bottom of the page
4. In this section, you'll see a list of File Sharing apps on your device. Select PGP Encrypt.
5. Drag and drop the .txt/.asc file(s) from the Documents list in iTunes to the desired location on your comouter