NetSfere User Guide

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User Guide

This guide is intended for all NetSfere users. If you are an administrator, you may want to take a look at the NetSfere Admin Guide to learn about configuring NetSfere for your organization.

This guide is available in the following additional languages:

Getting Started

Introduction to NetSfere

NetSfere is the leading cloud-based enterprise messaging service that provides all preferred means of communication - text, video, and voice in one secure and encrypted platform. NetSfere's uninterrupted, end-to-end encryption communication keeps data secure when communicating with internal employees and colleagues as well as external partners, vendors, and suppliers.

Since NetSfere is cloud-based, it stores the master copy of your message text and attachments in the cloud and only caches the most recent content on your devices. This saves valuable space on your device and makes it easy to upgrade to a new phone: just install NetSfere and all of your messages are at your fingertips!

NetSfere organizations

NeSfere groups its users into organizations. An organization has at least one administrator and potentially thousands of users who are members of the organization. Administrators have the ability to add and remove users as well as set various security policies for the organization. Users can exchange messages and attachments with other members of the organization. If the organization's security policy permits it, users can also communicate with external users or guests who are members of other NetSfere organizations.

NetSfere Groups

An administrator of a NetSfere organization can optionally classify its members into groups. These user groups may represent business units, departments, projects, locations, or any other means of grouping people. In addition to its name, each group may have an optional short name, description, and avatar for graphical on-screen representation.

Groups may also have one or more owners who have the ability to change the group's name and add or remove group members. An administrator must create the group and its first owner. Subsequently, the administrator or the group owner may add or remove group members and owners.

If you are not an administrator of your NetSfere organization, you are most likely to encounter groups in NetSfere's contact list or when editing conversation participants. When you choose a group as a participant in a conversation, NetSfere automatically expands the group into its individual members.

If you are a NetSfere administrator and wish to provision groups for your organization or wish to use group-based broadcast channels, see the NetSfere Admin Guide for more information.

Creating your organization

If your organization already has NetSfere, contact your NetSfere administrator and ask for an invitation. You'll receive an email with instructions on how to activate your account and become a member of this existing NetSfere organization.

If you want to create a new NetSfere organization and become its first administrator, do the following:

  1. Point your web browser at signup.netsfere.com.
  2. Complete and submit the signup page.
  3. Wait a few moments for NetSfere to send you an activation link.
  4. Follow the instructions to activate your account.

Activating your account

To activate your account, NetSfere sends a link (containing a temporary access code) to your email address and asks you to prove your identity by clicking or tapping the link. Next, NetSfere will ask you to create a password. This password secures your long-term encryption key and prevents anyone other than you and your intended recipients from accessing your message content.

Activate your account as follows:

  1. Click or tap the red button in the email from NetSfere.
  2. Choose a strong password and enter it twice.
  3. Click or tap Activate.

Be sure to remember your password or record it in a safe place. Because NetSfere is end-to-end encrypted, your password never leaves your device and NetSfere's support team is unable to recover it for you. You can reset a forgotten password, but if a colleague is not available to grant access to your previous message content, that message content is permanently lost.

Installing NetSfere

NetSfere is available as a free download for Apple devices such as iPhone and iPad as well as most Android devices:

NetSfere also runs on most modern desktop and mobile web browsers. Just point your browser at web.netsfere.com.

Logging in

Once you've activated your account, you can login to it from any NetSfere app:

  1. Launch your NetSfere app or point your web browser at web.netsfere.com.
  2. Enter the email address associated with your account.
  3. Enter the password associated with your account.
  4. Click or tap Login.

When you login, NetSfere downloads your latest message content to the device and then works continuously to synchronize it with your other NetSfere devices.

Resetting your password

If you can't remember your password, you can reset it. When you do so, NetSfere will send you a temporary access link by email. You must click or tap the link in the email and choose a new password to complete the reset process. If you do not complete the reset process within a short period of time, the password reset has no effect.

When you complete a password reset by clicking or tapping the link in the email, NetSfere will create new encryption keys for you and will automatically establish a new encryption pathway between you and your colleagues who use NetSfere.

In some cases you may have a conversation in which no other participants are available when you reset your password. For example, all participants in the conversation may be logged out of NetSfere or may be without internet access. In these cases, the existing message content in these conversations will be temporarily unreadable to you. Once one of the other participants becomes available, however, NetSfere will automatically re-establish the encryption pathway and you will regain access to this message content.

Follow these steps to reset your password:

  1. Click or tap Forgot? in the password field on the login screen of any NetSfere app.
  2. Enter the email address associated with your NetSfere account.
  3. Follow the instructions in the email.

If you don't receive a message from NetSfere within a few minutes of initiating a password reset, check your spam folder or contact our support team.

If you have several email addresses and can't remember which one is associated with your NetSfere account, you may be able to recover it by entering each of the possible addresses into NetSfere's password reset form. NetSfere ignores email addresses it doesn't recognize, but will send the password reset email to your valid email address.

To protect the privacy and security of our users, NetSfere's support team cannot tell you which email address is associated with your NetSfere account.

Conversations

NetSfere organizes messages you exchange with others into collections called conversations. Start a new conversation when you want to discuss a new subject with your colleagues. The person who creates a conversation is its owner and can edit its title and participants at any time.

Viewing conversations

  1. Click or tap on Conversations at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Scroll through the list to view your conversations.
  3. Click or tap on a conversation to view its messages.

Starting a conversation

  1. Click or tap on the New Conversation Button New Conversation Button
  2. Enter a title for the conversation or leave it blank to let NetSfere name it for you.
  3. Browse or search for members and groups in your NetSfere organization and select them to add them as participants.
  4. To include a guest who is not a member of your NetSfere organization, type an email address or use the address book button to select an email address from your address book.
  5. Click or tap Create to create the conversation.
  6. Type your first message and click or tap the Send Button to send it.

Sending a message

  1. Open the conversation in which you want to send the message.
  2. Type your message in the input field near the bottom of the screen.
  3. Click or tap the Send Button .

Replying to a message

When you reply to a message, NetSfere will include a quoted version of the initial portion of the original message. Clicking or tapping the quoted portion will show you the original.

  1. On an iPhone, iPad or Android device, long-press (tap-and-hold) the message to which you want to reply, then tap Reply.
  2. On a web browser, click or tap the Reply Button .
  3. Type your reply and send the message.

Sending an attachment

  1. Open the conversation in which you want to send the attachment.
  2. Click or tap the Add Attachment Button .
  3. Select the desired attachment to send it.

Viewing an attachment

To view an attachment in your browser:

  1. Click the attachment's thumbnail.
  2. NetSfere will display the attachment if it recognizes the file type.
  3. Click the Download Button to download a copy of the attachment.
  4. Click the Close Button to close the attachment.

To view an attachment in your mobile app:

  1. Tap the attachment's thumbnail to download the attachment.
  2. When the download completes, tap the thumbnail again to view the attachment.

Adding and removing participants

  1. Open a conversation for which you are the owner.
  2. Click or tap the conversation title (mobile app) or Info Button (web browser).
  3. Click or tap Details.
  4. Click or tap Add People .
  5. Click or tap people and groups in the list to add or remove them from the conversation.
  6. To include a guest who is not a member of your NetSfere organization, type an email address or use the address book button to select an email address from your device's address book.
  7. Click or tap Done.

Communicating with guests

Guests are NetSfere users who are members of another NetSfere organization. Although they are able to exchange messages with you, they are subject to the policies set by their own NetSfere organization rather than the policies set by your organization.

You can identify guests within NetSfere by looking for the "G" badge on their avatars. Additionally, conversations that include one or more guests as participants have a GUEST label next to their titles in NetSfere's conversation list.

If your NetSfere administrator has enabled communication with guests, you can add a guest to any conversation as follows:

  1. Create a new conversation or edit the participant list in an existing conversation.
  2. Click or tap the text field near the top to give it focus.
  3. Type the guest's email address. You can add multiple guests at once by separating their email addresses with a space or comma.
  4. Click or tap Next or Done.
  5. If your guest is not an existing NetSfere user, NetSfere will prompt you to include a custom message in the email invitation it sends. You may enter your own message or use the default.
  6. Send one or more messages in the conversation. If your guest is an existing NetSfere user, he will receive these messages in NetSfere within a few seconds. If the guest is not an existing NetSfere user, he will receive your messages once he receives the NetSfere invitation email and activates his account.

Some NetSfere features work differently for guests than they do for other members of your NetSfere organization:

  • Conversations do not indicate when a guest begins typing a new message.
  • NetSfere does not show presence information for guests.
  • Guests cannot participate in your broadcasts.

Leaving a conversation

You can leave a conversation that no longer interests you. When you leave, NetSfere will remove the conversation and its content from your devices and will no longer notify you of new messages sent by its participants.

When you leave a conversation for which you are the owner, NetSfere will prompt you to choose a new owner from the remaining participants. If the conversation has only one remaining participant, that participant automatically becomes the owner.

If you wish to rejoin a conversation once you've left, you must ask the new owner to re-invite you (see Adding and removing participants).

Once all participants leave a conversation, NetSfere permanently destroys that conversation and its content.

  1. Locate the conversation you wish to leave.
  2. On an iPhone or iPad, swipe left on the conversation.
  3. On a web browser or Android device, click or tap the More Button .
  4. Click or tap Leave .

Setting a favorite

You can make important conversations easier to find by marking them as "favorites". Favorite conversations have a Star on them in the conversation list. When you mark a conversation as a favorite on one of your devices, NetSfere automatically marks it as a favorite on your other devices as well.

  1. Locate the conversation you wish to mark as a favorite.
  2. On an iPhone or iPad, swipe left on the conversation.
  3. On a web browser or Android device, click or tap the More Button .
  4. Click or tap Favorite .
  5. To remove a conversation from your favorites, click or tap Unfavorite.

See Filtering your conversation list to learn how to quickly find your favorite conversations.

Muting a conversation

You can mute a conversation to block it from emitting an audible alert tone when someone sends a new message. When you mute a conversation on one of your devices, NetSfere automatically mutes it on your other devices as well.

  1. Locate the conversation you wish to mute.
  2. On an iPhone or iPad, swipe left on the conversation.
  3. On a web browser or Android device, click or tap the More Button
  4. Click or tap Mute
  5. To unmute a conversation, click or tap Unmute

Filtering your conversation list

NetSfere provides a control near the top of the conversation list for filtering the content visible in the list. In a web browser or on an iPhone or iPad, this control is located in a horizontal bar at the top of the conversation list. On an Android device, this control is located in the menu near the top of the conversation list.

  1. Click or tap All to show all conversations.
  2. Click or tap Unread to show conversations that have unread messages.
  3. Click or tap Favorite to show conversations that you've marked as favorites.

Searching your conversation list

NetSfere provides a control near the top of the conversation list for searching conversation titles and names of participants. When you enter text into this field, NetSfere shows you only conversations whose title contains the text or whose participant list contains a user whose name contains the text.

  1. Click or tap Search text field.
  2. Enter some text to begin the search.
  3. To stop the search, click or tap Cancel.

Exporting messages to email

Users with the NetSfere Enterprise service plan can export a single message, several messages or an entire conversation to email.

Exporting messages to email is only supported on an iPhone, iPad or Android device. You cannot export messages from a web browser.

Use care when exporting NetSfere messages to email. Such messages are not protected by NetSfere's strong, end-to-end encryption and may be observed by unauthorized people.

To export all messages in a conversation:

  1. Locate the conversation that contains the messages you wish to export to email.
  2. On an iPhone or iPad, swipe right on the conversation.
  3. On an Android device, tap the More Button and then Email .
  4. Select NetSfere users from the list or enter email addresses manually by typing them.
  5. Tap the Send Button .

To export a subset of the messages in a conversation:

  1. Open the conversation that contains the messages you wish to export to email.
  2. Long-press the chat bubble for one of the messages you wish to export.
  3. On an iPhone or iPad, tap Export, select any additional messages to export by tapping them, then tap Email.
  4. On an Android device, tap any additional messages you wish to export, then tap the More Button in the upper right and choose Email.
  5. Select NetSfere users from the list or enter email addresses manually by typing them.
  6. Tap the Send Button .

NetSfere LIVE Broadcasts

You can use NetSfere LIVE broadcasts to send a one-way video and audio stream to the other participants in any conversation or channel. Although the video stream is one-way, other participants in the conversation or channel can respond with text messages. These appear in the video stream as you broadcast.

In a conversation, any participant can start a NetSfere LIVE broadcast to the other participants, but only one NetSfere LIVE broadcast can be in progress at a time.

In a channel, only write-enabled participants can start a NetSfere LIVE broadcast to the other channel participants. As with conversations, only one NetSfere LIVE broadcast can be in progress in a channel at a time.

Starting a broadcast

Follow these steps to start a NetSfere LIVE broadcast in a conversation or channel:

  1. Click or tap on the conversation or channel.
  2. Click or tap on the broadcast button .
  3. Click or tap on the Broadcast LIVE.
  4. If your device prompts you for permission to use your camera, grant permission.
  5. Wait a few moments for NetSfere to establish the audio and video paths and for your colleagues to join. NetSfere will notify you as others begin viewing your broadcast.

Ending a broadcast

Follow these steps to end a NetSfere LIVE broadcast for which you are the presenter:

  1. Click or tap anywhere in the video display to reveal the broadcast controls.
  2. Click or tap Stop.

Text messages sent by you and other participants during the broadcast remain as part of the conversation or channel even after the broadcast has ended.

Viewing a broadcast

Follow these steps to view a NetSfere LIVE broadcast in a conversation or channel:

  1. Click or tap on the conversation or channel.
  2. Click or tap on the broadcast button .
  3. Click or tap on the View LIVE Broadcast.
  4. If the presenter has not yet started the broadcast, NetSfere will display a "Waiting for presenter..." message.
  5. Once the broadcast begins, you may send text messages to other participants in the conversation or channel.
  6. To leave the broadcast, click or tap the video display, then click or tap Leave.

If you have a notification indicating that a broadcast has started, you can view the broadcast simply by clicking or tapping on the notification.

Voice Calls

You can use NetSfere HD Voice to make high-quality, encrypted voice calls to another NetSfere user or a group of NetSfere users on your mobile device, personal computer or web browser. These users may be other members of your NetSfere organization or guests that belong to other NetSfere organizations.

When you receive a NetSfere call, NetSfere will ring all of your devices. When you answer the call on one of these devices, the other devices will stop ringing.

Granting microphone access

When you first login to NetSfere after installing it or when you make or receive your first NetSfere call, your device may prompt you to grant access to its microphone and related hardware. NetSfere HD Voice does not work unless you grant access.

If you have previously denied NetSfere's access to your device's microphone, you can grant access as described below.

To grant access on a web browser:

  1. Open your web browser's preferences or settings.
  2. Locate the controls for microphone access.
  3. Grant permission for NetSfere to use your device's microphone.

If you're unsure about how to access your web browser's permissions, use a web search to find instructions.

To grant access on an iPhone or iPad:

  1. Tap on your device's Settings app to launch it.
  2. Locate and tap on NetSfere.
  3. Tap the Microphone control to enable microphone access.

To grant access on an Android device:

  1. Tap on your device's Settings app to launch it.
  2. Tap on Apps.
  3. Locate and tap on NetSfere.
  4. Tap on Permissions.
  5. Tap the Microphone and Phone controls to enable them.

Making a call

Follow these steps to call a user in your NetSfere contact list:

  1. Click or tap on Contacts .
  2. Scroll through your list of NetSfere contacts and click or tap the person you wish to call.
  3. Click or tap on the call button .
  4. If your device prompts you to grant permission to use its microphone, grant permission.

Follow these steps to call one or more NetSfere users within a NetSfere conversation:

  1. Click or tap on Conversations and open the desired conversation.
  2. Click or tap the call button near the top of the screen.
  3. Click or tap conversation participants to include or exclude them from the call. Participants who are excluded will still receive a notification message that a call has started and may join the call at any time, but NetSfere will not emit a call ring tone on their devices when starting the call.
  4. Click or tap the Call button to start the call.

Follow these steps to repeat a previous call that appears in your NetSfere call history:

  1. Click or tap on Calls at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Scroll through the list to find the call you wish to repeat.
  3. Click or tap the call button to the right of the desired call.

Receiving a call

  1. Wait for your device to ring.
  2. If your device prompts you to grant permission to use its microphone, grant permission.
  3. Click or tap Accept to answer the call.
  4. Click or tap Decline to decline the call.

Viewing call history

NetSfere automatically remembers all incoming and outgoing calls and synchronizes these across all of your devices. Follow these instructions to view the list:

  1. Click or tap on Calls at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Scroll through the list to view calls made or received across all of your devices.
  3. Use the search field and the All/Missed filter to help find the calls that interest you.
  4. To make another call to a person listed in your call history, click or tap on the call button for the call.

Group calls

If you start a call in a NetSfere conversation that has more than two participants, you have the option to include one or more of the participants in the call. All participants in the conversation will receive a notification that a call has started, but NetSfere will ring only those participants you've selected. Conversation participants who were not selected for the call may still join the call by clicking or tapping the Calls button in the conversation.

Resolving audio/video issues

If you experience poor audio or video when making calls with NetSfere HD Voice or when broadcasting or viewing a NetSfere LIVE broadcast, here are some steps you can take to resolve the issue.

On a web browser

NetSfere uses industry-standard WebRTC communication protocols for enabling real-time, peer-to-peer audio and video transmission between users. Some web browsers provide better support for WebRTC than others and support for WebRTC generally improves with each new version. Here are some steps you can take to get the best experience on web browser:

  • Update your web browser to the newest version available.
  • Switch to the Chrome browser. Chrome provides the best support for WebRTC.
  • Use a different wireless network or move to an area where you have a stronger wireless signal.
  • Use a hard-wired network connection.
  • Ask your network administrator to open the firewall ports used by WebRTC.
  • Ask the person with whom you're communicating to take these steps as well.

On a mobile device

Here are some steps you can take to improve audio or video on your iPhone, iPad or Android device:

  • Use a different wireless network or move to an area where you have a stronger wireless signal.
  • Use high-speed cellular data service from your cellular provider.
  • Verify you've enabled microphone access for NetSfere.
  • Ask the person with whom you're communicating to take these steps as well.

NetSfere SecureMeet

SecureMeet extends NetSfere’s enterprise communication platform to allow employees to engage internally or externally in a secure collaborative environment without sacrificing productivity or compliance requirements. SecureMeet's HD voice and video meeting capabilities provide a secure means to communicate in an ad-hoc or scheduled manner. Its single-click joining process provides a frictionless experience while ensuring security and privacy and requiring no additional desktop software.

Using NetSfere SecureMeet

SecureMeet is an excellent way to easily and quickly communicate with external users over a voice or video meeting. The single-click joining process does not require external users to create a NetSfere account and connects directly from the web browser. For a more permanent and ongoing communication with external users like partners, vendors, and suppliers use the Guest Users communication option.

SecureMeet, like all other NetSfere communication, originates from a NetSfere conversation. When SecureMeet is enabled for your NetSfere organization all conversations automatically get a unique SecureMeet link. Furthermore, this SecureMeet link is unique for each user within the conversation. This approach prevents a user from using or accidentally resetting someone else's link. When a new conversation is created, it too gets an automatically generated SecureMeet link.

If you are the meeting originator or host you can create a new conversation or use an existing conversation for SecureMeet. Simply share the SecureMeet link from the conversation with your intended attendees and at the selected time start your SecureMeet call.

To share the SecureMeet link use one of the following options:

  1. Click Send Email or tap Share Link and choose your preferred email provider or application. The SecureMeet link, conversation title, and other relevant information will be automatically copied to the email body.
  2. Click Schedule and choose your preferred calendar. The SecureMeet link, conversation title, and other relevant information will be automatically copied to the meeting invite.
  3. Click Copy Link and paste or share the link via any application of your choice.

To start the SecureMeet call:

  1. Go to the conversation from where you copied/shared the SecureMeet link.
  2. Click the SecureMeet SecureMeet icon.
  3. Under the Start SecureMeet Now section choose the voice or video call option to start the SecureMeet session.

If you are the meeting attendee, simply click on the SecureMeet link and follow the steps to join the session. You will be asked to provide your name, email address, and optionally your organization or company name. If your meeting host has implemented security controls you will also be asked to provide your phone number for multi-factor authentication or MFA. Note: If you are an existing NetSfere user you will be asked to use your app to join the call (if you have not already been called/rung).

Supported browsers include Google Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge Chromium. Joining a SecureMeet session via a mobile device requires the NetSfere mobile app.

Sharing SecureMeet link with participants

SecureMeet link can be shared with a participant in three ways; copy and direct share, share through calendar invite and share through email.

  1. Click Send Email or tap Share Link and choose your preferred email provider or application. The SecureMeet link, conversation title, and other relevant information will be automatically copied to the email body.
  2. Click Schedule and choose your preferred calendar. The SecureMeet link, conversation title, and other relevant information will be automatically copied to the meeting invite.
  3. Click Copy Link and paste or share the link via any application of your choice.

MFA for SecureMeet

NetSfere enables MFA by default for all SecureMeet conversations. To disable MFA, click on the edit icon next to “MFA security for SecureMeet”. Doing so will open up the settings page. In the settings page toggle off the MFA via SMS to disable MFA for SecureMeet.

Starting SecureMeet audio/video calls

To start the SecureMeet call:

  1. Go to the conversation from where you copied/shared the SecureMeet link.
  2. Click the SecureMeet SecureMeet icon.
  3. Under the Start SecureMeet Now section choose the voice or video call option to start the SecureMeet session.

SecureMeet Firewall Configuration

SecureMeet is designed to work with and without firewalls. For best results the following IP and port should be opened.

Open TCP port 443 for the following domain(s):

  • *.netsfere.com

Open TCP port 443 and UDP ports 3478 & 443 for each of the following IPs:

  • 34.200.177.143
  • 34.200.129.149
  • 52.57.145.215
  • 18.197.251.98

Contacts

Contacts are other NetSfere users with whom you've previously exchanged messages. These users may be members of your NetSfere organization or members of another NetSfere organization.

Viewing contacts

  1. Click or tap on Contacts at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Scroll through the list to view your contacts.
  3. Click or tap a contact to view the contact's profile and a list of conversations that involve the contact.

Setting a favorite

You can make important contacts easier to find by marking them as "favorites". Favorite contacts appear first in your contacts list. When you mark a contact as a favorite on one of your devices, NetSfere automatically marks it as a favorite on your other devices as well.

  1. Locate the contact you wish to mark as a favorite.
  2. On an iPhone or iPad, swipe left on the contact.
  3. On a web browser or Android device, click or tap the More Button .
  4. Click or tap Favorite .
  5. To remove a contact from your favorites, click or tap Unfavorite.

Enabling repeating notifications

You can enable repeating notifications for an important contact to help ensure that you never miss a message from that person. When you receive a new message from this contact, NetSfere will emit its new message alert tone continuously (approximately once per minute) until you've read the message.

When you enable repeating notifications for a contact on one of your devices, NetSfere automatically does the same on your other devices as well.

  1. Locate the contact for which you wish to enable repeating notifications.
  2. On an iPhone or iPad, swipe left on the contact.
  3. On a web browser or Android device, click or tap the More Button .
  4. Click or tap Repeat Notification.
  5. To disable repeat notifications, click or tap Single Notification.

Filtering your contact list

NetSfere provides a control near the top of the contact list for filtering the content visible in the list. In a web browser or on an iPhone or iPad, this control is located in a horizontal bar at the top of the contact list. On an Android device, this control is located in the menu near the top of the contact list.

  1. Click or tap All to show all contacts.
  2. Click or tap Groups to show Groups defined by your NetSfere administrator.
  3. Click or tap Guest to show contacts that are guests in your NetSfere organization.

Searching your contact list

NetSfere provides a control near the top of the contact list for searching for contacts.

  1. Click or tap Search text field.
  2. Enter some text to begin the search.
  3. To stop the search, click or tap Cancel.

Checking presence

NetSfere displays a small badge on contact avatars throughout the app to indicate whether the contact is online, away or offline. These avatar badges have the following meaning:

  • Green - The contact is online (actively using NetSfere).
  • Yellow - The contact is away (logged in but not actively using NetSfere).
  • No Badge - The contact is offline (not logged into NetSfere).

Broadcasts

Broadcasts are special conversations that let you broadcast messages to your entire NetSfere organization. They automatically include every member of your organization and only users you designate can send messages in them. Other users can read the messages sent in a channel but cannot respond.

You must be a NetSfere administrator to create or destroy a channel. See the NetSfere Admin Guide for information on how to manage broadcasts.

Viewing broadcasts

  1. Click or tap on Broadcasts at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Scroll through the list to view your broadcasts.
  3. Click or tap on a channel to view its messages.

Sending a message

If your NetSfere administrator has designated you as a write-enabled participant for a channel, you can send new messages in the channel from any of your NetSfere devices.

  1. Open the channel in which you want to send the message.
  2. Type your message in the input field near the bottom of the screen.
  3. Click or tap the Send Button .

Filtering your broadcast list

NetSfere provides a control near the top of the broadcast list for filtering the content visible in the list. In a web browser or on an iPhone or iPad, this control is located in a horizontal bar at the top of the conversation list. On an Android device, this control is located in the menu near the top of the conversation list.

  1. Click or tap All to show all broadcasts.
  2. Click or tap Unread to show broadcasts that have unread messages.

Searching your broadcasts list

NetSfere provides a control near the top of the broadcasts list for searching conversation titles and names of write-enabled channel participants. When you enter text into this field, NetSfere shows you only broadcasts whose title contains the text or whose write-enabled participant list contains a user whose name contains the text.

  1. Click or tap Search text field.
  2. Enter some text to begin the search.
  3. To stop the search, click or tap Cancel.

Documents

Documents provides a single location to view all attachments that you have sent or received in your NetSfere conversations. On the Desktop and Web Apps it can be accessed from the main (left) navigation bar by clicking the Documents Documents Tab icon and on the mobile apps by tapping the Documents Documents Tab icon on the bottom navigation bar. Additionally, Documents is also available inside conversations to list attachments specific to that conversation.

Documents are ordered chronologically with the most recent documents first. A small cache of the most recent documents is available on your device and more are dynamically fetched from the server as you scroll. Search and filter options make it easier to locate specific items.

Searching for Documents

Documents can be searched by the document name or the sender's name. To search by the document name, select the File Name search by option and enter the name to search. To search by sender's name, select the Sender search by option and enter the name to search. Documents matching the search criteria will be displayed.

Applying filters to search for Documents

To further narrow the search results, Documents can be filtered by type. Common file types like PDFs, Text, Presentations, Images, Videos, etc. are available. Select one or more of the desired file types to dynamically update the search results.

Documents View Layout

The Documents screen shows the attachments in a grid layout. To change to a list view, click on the view layout icon next to the search bar. When filtering documents the view may automatically change to a list view to provide full attachment details.

Downloading Documents

Documents can be downloaded as follows:

  1. Click on Select, to enable selecting multiple documents.
  2. Select the documents you wish to download and click on Save.

Note: The mobile apps allow selecting documents for download only if they are cached on the device. It may be necessary to scroll and/or open the document once before downloading.

Settings

The Settings area provides controls that enable you to change NetSfere's behavior. In most cases, NetSfere automatically synchronizes changes you make to your settings across all of your NetSfere devices.

Viewing settings

  1. On an iPhone or iPad, tap on Settings at the bottom of the screen.
  2. On an Android device, tap the Three Bars Button in the upper left and then Settings .
  3. On a web browser, click or tap your avatar in the upper right.

Changing your profile

Your profile is the information NetSfere keeps about you and displays to others when they view you in their contact list. You can change the information in your profile as follows:

  1. On an iPhone or iPad, navigate to Settings , then tap on the image at the top of the screen.
  2. On an Android device, tap the Three Bars Button in the upper left, then tap on the image at the top of the screen.
  3. On a web browser, click or tap your avatar in the upper right.
  4. To change your avatar image, click or tap on the existing image and then choose a new image. Use the on-screen controls to move and scale the image before cropping it.
  5. To view your public key fingerprint, click or tap on Public Key Fingerprint. NetSfere uses this value to provide end-to-end encryption for your message content.

Your administrator may have configured one or more additional fields that you may be able to edit. If these fields are present, click or tap on them to discover whether they are editable and to change their values.

Updating your netsfere.me link

NetSfere automatically generates a netsfere.me link when it creates your account. This link enables others to quickly and easily contact you while protecting your communication with the strongest end-to-end encryption available.

You can place your netsfere.me link in your email signature or even on your business card. When someone follows your link, NetSfere will automatically set up a conversation where you and your guest can securely exchange messages and attachments.

All netsfere.me links have the form netsfere.me/<name>, where <name> is a unique string of letters and numbers not already claimed by any other NetSfere user. You can change your netsfere.me link as follows:

  1. On an iPhone or iPad, navigate to Settings , then tap on Pencil Button at the bottom of the screen.
  2. On an Android device, tap the Three Bars Button in the upper left, then tap your profile picture and finally tap the Pencil Button .
  3. On a web browser, click or tap your avatar in the upper right, then click or tap the netsfere.me text field.
  4. Type the new value for your netsfere.me link.
  5. Click or tap Update button.

Your netsfere.me link must be unique. If you enter a value that is already in use by another user, NetSfere will display an error message.

Changing your password

Your NetSfere password protects your long-term private encryption key. To ensure your message content remains accessible only to you and the other participants in your conversations, be sure to choose a strong password.

Characteristics of strong passwords include:

  • A length of least 8 characters
  • A mix of upper and lower case characters
  • Several numbers and punctuation characters

Follow these steps to change your password:

  1. On an iPhone or iPad, navigate to Settings and then tap Change Password.
  2. On an Android device, tap the Three Bars Button in the upper left, then tap Settings followed by Change Password.
  3. On a web browser, click or tap your avatar in the upper right, then click or tap Change Password.
  4. Enter your current password and then type your new password twice and click or tap Change Password.

Since NetSfere employs uninterrupted, end-to-end encryption to secure your message content, your password (and the long-term private key it protects) never leaves your device. If you forget your password, it is therefore impossible for NetSfere's support team to recover it for you. Instead, you must reset your password.

Setting quick replies

Quick replies are short strings of text that you can quickly send to a colleague. For example, if you're in an important meeting when you receive a message, you may want to quickly reply with "In a meeting, will get back to you" without having to type the full message.

NetSfere provides 25 quick reply "slots". Each slot initially contains default text, but you can change this text whenever you wish. Any changes you make are automatically synchronized among all of your NetSfere devices.

Follow these steps to view or change your quick replies:

  1. On an iPhone or iPad, navigate to Settings and then tap Quick Replies.
  2. On an Android device, tap the Three Bars Button in the upper left, then tap Settings followed by Quick Replies.
  3. On a web browser, click or tap your avatar in the upper right, then click or tap Quick Replies.
  4. Scroll through the list of quick replies to view them.
  5. Click or tap a quick reply to change its text.

Reloading all data

The NetSfere app continuously synchronizes encrypted message content and related data across all of your connected devices. This process can be affected by the condition, speed, and availability of your network connection. In most cases, NetSfere can restart the sync and recover from any errors. However, if an unrecoverable error is encountered your device may have missing messages or incorrect metadata. A manual reload of your NetSfere account from the server may help:

  1. On an iPhone or iPad, navigate to Settings and then tap Reload All Data.
  2. On an Android device, tap the Three Bars Button in the upper left, then tap Settings followed by Reload All Data.
  3. On a web browser running on a laptop or desktop computer, hold down your SHIFT key and click the browser's reload button.
  4. On a web browser running on mobile device, tap the browser's reload button.

Logging out

When you logout, NetSfere removes all message content from your device and displays the login screen. To logout, do the following:

  1. On an iPhone or iPad, navigate to Settings and then tap Logout.
  2. On an Android device, tap the Three Bars Button in the upper left, then tap Settings followed by Logout.
  3. On a web browser, click or tap your avatar in the upper right, then click or tap Logout.

Abuse

The NetSfere team is always working to provide a secure and reliable messaging environment. By logging into NetSfere, you agree to NetSfere's Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Acceptable Use Policy.

Reporting Abuse

If you believe someone is using NetSfere inappropriately, please let us know.