Security and privacy

Bluetooth

The phone pairs with Windows like any Bluetooth keyboard, with Windows’ own pairing and code check. Only a PC you paired can receive its key presses.

Wi-Fi

• Encrypted. The phone and PcPad for Windows talk over TLS 1.2 or later.
• Pinned keys. Each side has its own certificate. When you pair, each remembers the other’s fingerprint and refuses anyone else from then on, even on the same network.
• QR code. Scanning the code on the PC’s Pair a phone page tells the phone exactly which PC to trust (its key’s fingerprint) and gives it a one-time secret to prove it was in front of the screen. Each code works for 2 minutes, for one phone, and only while the page is open.
• Code check. Without the QR code, pairing shows a 6-digit code on both screens. It is derived from both keys and fresh random values, so someone in the middle can’t make the codes match. Confirm only if they’re the same.
• Limits. One pairing at a time, two minutes to finish, and at most five failed attempts every ten minutes, QR or code.
• Paired phones only. Files, the PC screen and Reload are refused to any phone the PC hasn’t paired.

The PC screen

The PC asks every time before its screen is shared, and nothing is captured until someone clicks Allow. A bar on every page of PcPad for Windows shows who is watching, with Stop sharing. Only the main display is shared.

Your data

• Phone and PC talk directly on your network. There is no account, no server and no cloud.
• Files you send go only to the folder you chose on the PC.
• Reload reads the PC’s clipboard only while you’re using it, and puts it back right after.

Forgetting

Forget a device on either side and the other side forgets too the next time they connect. The PC can also Forget a phone in its Settings, which closes all its connections at once.