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Security & app lock

App lock

Under settings → security, require device owner authentication to unlock gates the whole app behind Face ID (with device-passcode fallback). You choose when it engages:

  • on launch, when enabled at all,
  • lock when backgrounded — turning this on also enables the owner-authentication requirement, so the setting can't be half-configured,
  • auto-lock after idle — never, 1, 5, or 15 minutes, or 1 hour.

While locked, Tessera also stops broadcasting handoff sessions, and an incoming continuation waits for Face ID.

The lock screen shows "— locked —"; tap to unlock with Face ID or the device passcode.

Locking is not cosmetic: it revokes every cached key-use authorization and cancels in-flight SSH handshakes. Even with app lock off, backgrounding the app always invalidates the 30-second key authorization bursts.

Keys

Private keys live in the iOS Keychain; P-256 Enclave keys never leave the Secure Enclave and can require biometrics per use. See keys, and for the full detail the public private-key security audit.

Host keys

Every server is pinned on first contact and re-verified on every connection; changed keys raise a loud warning. See host key verification.

Privacy

Tessera has no backend, no account, no analytics — connections go directly from your device to your machines. Cross-device features are just as direct: nearby setup is device-to-device on your LAN, and continuity never moves credentials. The privacy policy has the details.

Diagnostics

settings → diagnostics can write a local log (tessera-diagnostics.log, capped at 20 MB, redacted) to help with troubleshooting, with verbose diagnostics and scroll diagnostics toggles for deeper captures.

  • send to developer — opens a pre-addressed mail (dev@bambouville.com) with the log attached. Nothing goes anywhere until you review the message and tap send; without a mail account on the device, Tessera points you to export instead.
  • export log — sends it through the iOS share sheet, to a destination you choose.
  • upload log — sends it to one of your own servers through the Upload-to-host sheet.
  • refresh / clear.

The log never leaves the device automatically — every path above is you, explicitly, choosing to send it. Bug reports go to GitHub Issues.