AWS Wickr FAQs

AWS Wickr is an end-to-end encrypted messaging and collaboration service that helps organizations collaborate securely through one-to-one and group messaging, voice and video calling, file sharing, screen sharing, and more. 

AWS WickrGov is an end-to-end encrypted messaging and collaboration service that is available in AWS GovCloud (US-West). Users of AWS WickrGov can also federate with other AWS WickrGov users outside their network.

Wickr Enterprise is a self-hosted, end-to-end encrypted messaging and collaboration service with features designed to protect your communications while retaining data on-premises to help meet internal, legal, and regulatory requirements. Administrators can enable federation to allow members to communicate with users outside your organization’s deployment.

AWS Wickr is available for the following operating systems:

• Windows 10 and above
• macOS, version 10.13 and above
• iOS, version 13.0 and above
• Android, version 8.0 and above
• Linux, Ubuntu, and snap package

If you have an AWS account, log in to the AWS Management Console to create an AWS Wickr network. You can then invite users and manage your network in the AWS Wickr Admin Console.

AWS WickrGov requires an active AWS GovCloud (US) account. To sign up for an AWS GovCloud (US) account, you need to be an individual or entity that meets the requirement of AWS GovCloud (US). Requirements include:

• The account holder must be a U.S. entity incorporated to do business in the United States and is based on U.S. soil.
• The account holder must be a U.S. Person defined as a U.S. Citizen or active Green Card holder.
• The account holder must be able to handle International Traffic and Arms Regulation (ITAR) export controlled data.
• In addition, AWS uses automated controls to prevent the creation of fraudulent accounts. This may cause new account creations to be denied. If you believe your request was denied in error, please contact AWS Customer Support for additional assistance in account creation.

To download AWS Wickr, see Download AWS Wickr. If you’re looking to download other Wickr products, such as our on-premise offering, click here.

To download the app for AWS WickrGov, see Download AWS WickrGov.

To learn more about AWS Wickr, you can access the AWS Wickr User Guide.

To learn more about AWS Wickr guest users, see the AWS Wickr User Guide.

You can create as many Wickr networks as you need across all AWS member accounts of an AWS Organization.

Wickr offers two on-premises, self-hosted options, Wickr Enterprise and Wickr RAM.

Contact us to get started.

To download the app for Wickr Enterprise, see Download Wickr Enterprise.

To create a group conversation, use the notepad or pen in the rooms tab. After you have added your desired contacts, select create to start the new group and add new usernames to your contacts list.

You can select a message and then select the star message option to star it. You can quickly access selected messages, images, and files from the search bar by clicking the star icon to view and search your starred items.

From a privacy standpoint, traditional messaging systems are “receiver based”; the recipient decides how long messages live, and how they are shared. AWS Wickr puts control in the hands of the sender. AWS Wickr gives you confidence that your private messages won’t turn up on a lost or stolen phone, become stranded on an internet blog, or resurrect themselves when a social media site you previously used gets hacked.

Most likely the message has expired. Each user that sends a message can decide how long the message will be saved by setting an expiration timer. Additionally, senders can set a burn-on-read timer that starts to count down after a message is unlocked or read.

Once an expiration timer runs out, the message will automatically delete, regardless of remaining burn-on-read time or whether you've opened the message.

Administrators can enable or disable read receipts in the AWS Wickr Admin Console. For instructions, see here.

Once this setting is turned on, read receipts will appear in one-on-one conversations. A single check mark will appear for sent messages, and a solid circle with a check mark will appear for read messages.

You are able to see statuses with a green dot next to someone’s name and avatar indicating they are active. This is called the presence option, which allows you to see if other users are currently online or if idle, and the last time they were active.

Pressing the phone icon in the upper right of an AWS Wickr room, group, or direct message screen will bring up the “start call” menu.

Yes, you can call both in-network and out-of-network users in AWS Wickr, AWS WickrGov, and Wickr Enterprise.

No, calls cannot be recorded natively within AWS Wickr.

No. Messages are end-to-end encrypted and readable only on end-user devices.    

We are committed to limiting our collection and storage of customer information to what is necessary to provide service in accordance with applicable data protection and privacy laws. We may store your content on our servers (up to the data expiration timer setting) in order to deliver it to logged-out users. Refer to our privacy notice for more details.

AWS has the following information about AWS Wickr end-user accounts:

• AWS Wickr network and AWS customer account affiliation
• AWS Wickr ID (email address)
• First and last name, if provided by their network administrator
• Phone number, if provided by their network administrator
• Date of account creation
• Device information, to include the following (per device):
  • Date of install
  • Type of device on which the account was used (E.g., iOS, Android)
  • Date of last use
  • Last application version installed
  • Apple or Google push token, if applicable
• Number of sent/received messages
• Avatar image (if user elected to provide one)
• Limited records of recent account activity (E.g., setting changes, adding or suspending devices. Does not include in-app activity, message content, routing or delivery information)

AWS has the following information about on AWS Wickr* network administrator accounts:

• Administrator AWS ID
• AWS Wickr network and AWS customer account affiliation
• Payment-related information
• Network-wide settings including limited records of recent changes to network settings (e.g. enabling or disabling features)

* The configuration of each AWS Wickr network varies depending on the enterprise needs, and this might further limit the information available to Wickr. 

Refer to our privacy notice for more details. 

Refer to our service terms for more information.

Effective July 1, 2024, Wickr Information Request metrics will be included with AWS metrics, and published as part of the Amazon Information Request Reports.

Past transparency reports:

2024: January 1-June 30

2023: July 1-December 31

2023: January 1-June 30

2022: July 1-December 31

2022: January 1-June 30

2021: July 1-December 31

2021: January 1-June 30

2020: July 1-December 31

2020: January 1-June 30

2019: July 1-December 31

2019: January 1-June 30

2018: July 1-December 31

2018: January 1-June 30

2017: July 1-December 31

2017: January 1-June 30

2016: July 1-December 31

2016: January 1-June 30

2015: July 1-September 29

2015: March 26-June 30

2014/2015: October 1-March 25

2014: April 1-October 1

2013/2014: December 31-April 1

2013: January 1-December 31

2013: January 1-August 1

2012/2013: June 26- February 25

By default, AWS Wickr networks can communicate with anyone using AWS Wickr.

Administrators can deactivate federation to outside AWS Wickr networks from within the group settings for security.

Network IDs can be allow-listed to restrict who your teams can communicate with.

By default, data retention is not enabled in Wickr. The Wickr Administrator for your network will need to create and enable the data retention feature to allow content sent from your Wickr network to be retained for auditory and regulatory purposes. After the data retention feature is enabled, users within your Wickr network will see a notification in the app informing them of the recording of their sent content. Incoming federated content (messages, files, metadata, etc sent from contacts outside of your Wickr network) will not be recorded. Wickr never has access to the recorded content; all data is held and managed by the customer. The customers systems administrator will need to ensure that the retained content is stored securely in accordance with regulations/policies affecting their business communications.

Yes, data retention can retain all conversations in the network. This includes direct message conversations and conversations in Groups or Rooms between in-network (internal) members and those with other teams (external) with whom your network is federated.

AWS Wickr is available in the following regions: AWS Asia Pacific (Malaysia, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo), AWS Canada (Central), AWS Europe (Frankfurt, London, Stockholm, Zurich), AWS US East (Northern Virginia), and GovCloud US West (AWS WickrGov). These Regions are where data is processed and stored.

AWS WickrGov is available in the AWS GovCloud US West (Oregon) Region.

Administrators can read more about AWS Wickr bots, including setup, existing bots, and customizing bots. 

In the AWS Wickr Admin Console, you can manage the plan and users. Based on the selected plan and number of users on a prorated basis, you get billed for each month. You can find your AWS Wickr bills on the AWS Management Console billing page.

AWS Wickr network admins can fill out this form to submit a request to migrate their existing Wickr Pro networks to AWS Wickr. We will need your AWS account ID and Wickr Pro network ID to connect your AWS and Wickr accounts. We will contact you after your network is successfully migrated from Wickr Pro to AWS Wickr.

For more details, visit our migration guide.

If you do not yet have an AWS account, fill out the form on the sign-up page. To learn more about creating an AWS account, click here.

Wickr Pro will be discontinued on January 31, 2024. If you do not migrate your Wickr Pro network to AWS Wickr by that date, your network and the data it contains will be deleted. To migrate to AWS Wickr click here to get started by filling out the migration form.

Migrations will begin March 1, 2023. It may take up to two-weeks to complete the migration. We will contact you once your network has been successfully migrated to AWS Wickr.

With AWS Wickr you benefit from new features, including integration with the AWS Management Console to create and manage the networks and enhanced onboarding for user sign-ins. AWS Wickr data retention retains information for compliance, legal hold, and audit purposes. 

We have updated the existing Wickr Pro mobile and desktop applications to AWS Wickr to provide a streamlined migration experience. This change should not cause loss of any data for Wickr Pro users. This application update is only one part of migration; Wickr network admins must fill out the migration form to complete the process.

Wickr Pro admins access the AWS Wickr Admin Console from the admin controls button in Wickr desktop applications, which will not be available in AWS Wickr. AWS Wickr will use AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) to control who can be authenticated (signed in) and authorized (have permissions) to use the AWS Wickr Admin Console. AWS Wickr customers can assign the AWS Wickr Full Access policy to their admins in the AWS Management Console, and then admins can use the AWS Wickr page in the AWS Management Console to access the Wickr Admin Console.

AWS Wickr is integrated with AWS Billing so you can easily understand your spending, view and pay invoices, manage billing preferences, and more. As part of the migration, we will stop billing in the Wickr Admin Console and transition to AWS Billing, so you can view and manage your bills in the AWS Billing Dashboard. You can now take advantage of different payment methods—such as paying by invoice—from your bank account, and more.

Wickr Pro customers will no longer have access to Wickr Support after migrating to AWS Wickr. AWS Basic Support is included for all AWS customers at no extra cost, which includes billing assistance. To get technical support and other support features, you can review different AWS Support plans and upgrade to meet your business needs.

AWS Wickr does not offer an always free plan, but a three-month free trial is available; learn more at the AWS Wickr Pricing page. If you are a Wickr Pro Basic (always free) customer, you will need to upgrade to a paid plan in the Wickr Admin Console before submitting the migration form.

Wickr Pro and Wickr Pro Basic (always free) will be discontinued on January 31, 2024. If you do not migrate your Wickr Pro or Wickr Pro Basic plan to AWS Wickr by that date, your network and the data it contains will be deleted. To migrate to AWS Wickr, click here to get started by filling out the migration form.

To get technical support and other support features, you can review our AWS Support plans.

There are various contact methods for AWS Wickr support.