Account & Profile
Vector Account, Profile, & Customizations
Create Account
To create an account, simply download the latest version of Vector Messenger and with one single click, hit "Create Account". Afterwards, you can visit the Profile tab to see what all features you would like to update and customize your preferences.
Edit Mode
To make and save changes to your profile, Edit Mode was introduced in v0.4.0 to help prevent accidental or unwanted changes. Click the Edit button in the top left of your profile to access the following fields: username, status, and biography (bio). Vector will let you know at the top of the screen if you have unsaved changes. To discard your changes, hit the Exit button in the top left. To save your changes, hit the Save button in the top right.
Username
Optional. Pick your Display Name that you would like others to reference you as. This is public to everyone that has you added and also shared in the same group chats. If you would like to remain anonymous, you do not have to create a Username or Display Name. A maximum of 32 characters are allowed.
Share Profile
There are two easy ways to share your contact information. The first is by sharing your npub (Nostr Public Key, your Vector ID), which is located at the bottom of your Profile. The simplest method is clicking the Share button at the top right, which generates a custom URL containing your npub. This makes it easy to share, and for users who already have Vector installed, they can simply click Accept Invite to connect with you.
The screenshot above is of the Contact Card (Public Share URL) for the user YuurinBee. The URL begins with vectorapp.io/profile/ and afterwards includes the user's npub. Anyone can view this link and if they don't have Vector already installed, they will be asked if they would like to install it after clicking Accept Invite. The Public Share URL for profiles currently displays the avatar, banner, username, status, and nPub of the user.
Always verify authenticity of links before clicking and opening.
Your Keys
Public Key
Vector Messenger's default account creation utilizes the Nostr network and gives you a network key that comes with a npub or Nostr Public Key, which is the equivalent of giving your username or mailing address to add contacts you would like to chat with. It helps users to identify that this is you and there are no two addresses or npubs that are the same. You can create as many accounts as you would like and you don't have to update them with any personal information, remaining fully anonymous.
Example: npub1hrujuc08r4zcdtn0u6ts7u7apldcjqgftz0z7stmaaz9hwaf9jxs66f3yh
Private Key
Additionally, with owning your own public key comes with the right to self-custody for your private key. Nostr provides each account with a Nostr Private Key or nsec and should not be shared with anyone. Sharing this with anyone and engaging in poor security practices is a way to increase the risk of having your account compromised. Do not store your private key or nsec digitally and especially not locally on any of your devices, on the cloud, or anywhere online. Lose this private key and you lose your entire account. Back it up safely and store it offline, somewhere only you know where. Do note share your Nostr Private Key nsec with anyone!
Example: nsec1qrp33g0qch228f4h03e4n0m4w4k3j5j7c0z7e9g5p9p9p9p9p9p9p9p9p9p9p9p9p9p9p9p
Your nsec can be found at the bottom of your Settings tab, under Export Account.
Multi-Account
As of v0.4.0, Multi-Account supported has been added. Each user can add up to a maximum of 5 accounts or profiles on their client. To use the Multi-Account feature, navigate to your Profile and at the top navigation bar, click the dropdown menu. This will allow you to simply add and remove profiles. By clicking Add Profile, you can choose to import an existing account or make a new one.
Switching Accounts
Before the release of v0.4.0, users had to manually logout in the Settings and then sign in with a different account in order to switch account. Switching accounts has been made much more simple and quick by going to Profile and clicking the dropdown menu. Each account has their own encryption method. For example, your main or personal account may have a PIN code and your test account may not have any encryption. This means that when you switch from your test account back to your personal account, you will be prompted to enter the correct PIN code in order to regain access to the account.
Add Profile
You can add a new or pre-existing profile from any account by visiting the Profile tab and clicking the dropdown menu at the top. Add Profile appears as the last option in the dropdown. Selecting it will take you to the main Login screen, where you will be prompted to either create a new account or log in to an existing one. Choose whichever option best fits your situation.
Remove Profile
To remove a profile from the Multi-Account feature, follow the same steps above to access the My Profiles dropdown menu, where you will see a trashcan icon. Click it once to activate Edit/Remove Mode; the icon will change color to let you know the mode is enabled. From there, click the trashcan icon next to the profile you would like to remove. Note that this only removes the profile from your client; it does not permanently delete the account.
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