Frequently asked questions

Windows, Android and macOS are available now; HarmonyOS (HarmonyOS 5 / NEXT) uses the same Android build, and the next question covers how it installs. The iOS version is in development and expected in January 2027. The desktop and mobile clients use the same account, and messages stay in sync between them.

The HarmonyOS download is the Android build, and HarmonyOS 5 and later no longer runs Android apps directly: you first install 卓易通 (Droitong) from Huawei App Gallery and install the package inside that compatibility environment. Whether an app installs is up to 卓易通, not something we can promise.

In short: (1) install 卓易通 from Huawei App Gallery; (2) get the package onto the phone — download it in the phone browser, or download it on a computer and send it to yourself over WeChat or QQ; (3) open Files → Recent and tap it, renaming the file first if it ends in .apk.1; (4) approve the unknown-source or risk prompt once you have checked the file, then open the app from 卓易通.

HarmonyOS 4 and earlier (and EMUI) install Android packages directly; if the system blocks it, open Settings → Security → More security settings → Install apps from external sources and allow the app doing the installing (usually Files). Huawei's own guide, "Installing apps on HarmonyOS 5 and later", describes the same procedure; the download page links to it.

The Windows build installs into your own user folder. The installer needs no administrator rights and does not modify system directories.

To remove it, use "Me → About Gracelink → Uninstall Gracelink" in the client, or uninstall Gracelink through Windows "Settings → Apps".

The current version is shown under "Me → Settings → Help and About", where the client will also tell you when a newer version exists and lets you check manually. The installer offered here is the same one the client's updater uses, so there is nothing to compare by hand.

That is the system's standard protection for apps that do not come from an app store. Allow the browser or file manager you are using to install the app when prompted; you can turn that permission off again once the installation is done.

That is macOS protecting you from software that is not signed with an Apple developer certificate — not a corrupt file and not the wrong download. Approve it once with these three steps and the system remembers it: (1) open the dmg and drag Gracelink into Applications; (2) double-click it and click Done when the warning appears; (3) open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll to Security, click Open Anyway and enter your login password.

On macOS 15 and later the old right-click → Open shortcut no longer bypasses this check — only the third step works. The Open Anyway button appears in Settings for about an hour after you first try to open the app.

Choose "Register" on the sign-in page and fill in a phone number or email address (depending on which registration method the service enables), a nickname, the verification code you receive, and a password of 6 to 16 characters. Verification codes have a limited validity and a limit on how often they can be sent, so enter yours promptly.

The client does not offer self-service password recovery. Please ask your administrator, or email support@gracelink.cc and we will help you reset it.

If you can still sign in, you can change it yourself under "Me → Settings → Account Security → Change Password". Your current password is required; accounts verified by email can use an email verification code instead.

Choose the QR sign-in option on the desktop sign-in page and scan the code on screen with the "Scan" feature of a mobile client that is already signed in. Make sure the code comes from the official client, and do not scan codes from unknown sources.

Yes. Add another account under "Me → Settings → Switch Account" and switch by tapping your avatar. Each account keeps its own sign-in state, messages and settings. Removing an account from the device only deletes that account's local credentials and data — not the account itself.

Go to "Me → Settings → Account Security → Delete Account" and confirm with your password. Closure is irreversible: you can no longer sign in with that account, and its data is erased. The same phone number or email address can register again afterwards, but the original account's content and relationships are not restored.

Files already downloaded to your device, and anything you saved to your album or download folder yourself, are not deleted — please deal with them before closing the account.

Within the time window set on the server you can press and hold your own message to recall it; in a group, the owner and admins can also recall other members' messages. After a recall, a notice is left in the recipient's chat. Messages that represent a call cannot be recalled.

Text, emoji, images, video, files and voice messages, all of which can be quoted, forwarded, recalled or deleted individually. A received voice message can be converted to text in one tap, and images are compressed on your device before they are sent — iPhone HEIC files and photo orientation are handled along the way.

The menu you get when you open an image or a file lets you save it to your album or to your download folder. On Android 9 and earlier, saving to the album requires storage permission.

Chat history is kept both on your device (the user data directory on Windows, the app's own container on macOS, the app's private storage on Android) and on our servers: the local copy allows offline reading and fast loading, and the server copy provides sync between devices and history.

Sign in on a new device with the same account and your conversations and history are synced back. Files you saved to your album or download folder yourself, and anything that exists only on the old device, do not come along.

Open the group and then the group settings from the top right. The owner can appoint or remove admins, publish announcements, mute the whole group or an individual member, and generate the group QR code; both the owner and admins can add or remove members. A muted member can still read history but cannot post.

In a one-to-one chat, tap the voice or video icon at the top right. In a group, tap the call entry point to start a multi-party call; other members are invited to join, and during the call you can see who is speaking and mute or unmute yourself at any time.

Calls support screen sharing, either your whole screen or a single window. Sharing the whole screen also sends your computer's audio, including the other party's voice, so headphones are recommended; sharing a single window sends only that application's audio.

Check in this order: (1) does the system allow microphone access (Windows: Settings → Privacy → Microphone; Android: app permissions)? (2) are you muted on the call screen? (3) has the audio been routed to the earpiece or a Bluetooth headset — try switching audio device; (4) is another application holding the microphone? (5) try another network connection.

Yes. The mobile client stays online in the background and delivers new messages and incoming calls as notifications. If your phone's power saving restricts background activity, the client will tell you which settings to open — notifications, background activity and auto-start. Enable those and calls and messages will not be cut off.

Incoming calls and group-call invitations are valid only for a short period (about a minute) and are withdrawn after that. Ringing any later would usually mean the caller has already hung up, so the client stops. Please answer from the notification while it is shown, or open the client and join the call directly.

It is the music channel inside Discover: hot songs, recommended playlists and artists, with a player. While music plays the notification shows the cover art and playback controls, and playback continues when the app goes to the background or the screen locks.

Media collects articles from a number of sources. Articles open in the in-app browser and their content is the responsibility of the source; when an article takes you to a site outside Gracelink, that site's own terms and privacy policy apply.

This content is fetched over the network, so it can be slow on a poor connection. If it still will not open on a good connection, the content may be temporarily unavailable — try again later, and tell us the specific item through in-app feedback.

Yes. Messages, files and call data are processed by our servers (call media is handled by a dedicated relay service) in order to deliver messages, keep devices in sync and show history. We do not use chat content for advertising and we do not sell it to third parties. Section 10 of the Privacy Policy describes how communication and the data on your device are protected.

On Windows it is stored in the current user's data directory (under %APPDATA%); on Android it is in the app's private storage; on macOS it is inside the app's own container (~/Library/Containers/cc.gracelink.im/). Uninstalling does not delete this data automatically: on Windows, remove that directory yourself after uninstalling if you want it gone; on macOS, remove the container as well; on Android, uninstalling through the system removes the app data too.

In this order: sign out → uninstall the client → delete the local user data directory (on Windows, the folder under %APPDATA%; on macOS, ~/Library/Containers/cc.gracelink.im/; on Android, uninstalling the app is enough). If you also want the data on our side removed, close your account in the client first — closure cannot be undone, so please be sure.

Seven: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, Japanese, Spanish, French and German. Switch under "Me → Settings → Appearance → Language"; the client remembers your choice.

Open "Me → Settings → Help and About → Help Centre" in the client for usage notes, or email support@gracelink.cc. Including the client version, your system version and the steps that reproduce the problem helps us find it faster.

The iOS version is still in development and is currently expected in January 2027. If that changes we will update this page. Once released it will also be added to the client's update manifest.