Frequently Asked Questions

Kithora is a private group app for families, travel groups, shared apartments, and close circles of friends. The app organizes shared life in a single, encrypted digital environment – your personal space for your group, without ads and without third parties being able to view your data. All content remains exclusively with you and your group. Kithora offers modules for shared finances, shopping lists, tasks, a group chronicle, travel planning, and recipes – all end-to-end encrypted and fully usable offline. The app was developed for people who want to organize their digital everyday lives together without compromising on privacy or data protection.

A Kora is a private group space within Kithora – similar to your group's own digital home. Each Kora has its own modules, members, settings, and encrypted data storage. You can run multiple Koras in parallel: one for your family, one for your travel group, one for your roommates. Koras are completely separate from each other – members, content, and settings are never shared between Koras. Each Kora starts with a template of your choice and can be customized individually.

When creating a Kora, you choose a template: Family, Couple, Shared Living, Travel Group, or Enterprise. The template sets the default modules and views – you can customize them at any time. For example, a Family Kora automatically activates Finances, Shopping List, and Tasks; a Travel Group Kora prioritizes Travel Steps and Timeline. The template also influences the default roles and permissions. You can add or disable any modules after creation.

After the initial setup, tap the plus symbol and choose a template for your new Kora. You can invite members via an invitation link or QR code. When inviting, you can set the role: Member (full access), Junior (restricted), Guide (extended travel rights), or Guest (read-only). The invitation link contains an encrypted access key – only those with the link can join. You can generate new invitation links at any time and deactivate existing ones.

Sub-groups are subgroups within a Kora. For example, in a travel group of 20 people, you could create "Team North" and "Team South" as sub-groups. All modules – Finances, Shopping List, Tasks, Chronicle, Steps – support sub-group filters, so each subgroup only sees the content relevant to them. Sub-groups can have their own members, their own roles, and their own content. Sub-groups are a Premium and Hero feature and are not available in the Free plan.

Kithora is designed for any kind of close, trusting group: families with children, couples, shared housing communities, groups of friends traveling together, sports teams, or small clubs. The app is intentionally designed for private groups – not for public communities or large organizations. Kithora works best when members know each other personally and trust each other. The encrypted architecture and radical privacy philosophy make the app particularly attractive to people who don't want to share their digital communication with big platforms.

Through the main menu – the Kora switcher – you can see all your Koras at a glance. A single tap instantly switches the active Kora. All data from the new Kora is immediately available – even offline, because content is stored locally on your device. The switch is seamless: you won't see any loading times as long as you've opened the Kora once before and your device has synchronized the data.

Kithora is fully available in 12 languages: German, English, Spanish, French, Indonesian, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, and Turkish. The app automatically detects your device's language and selects the appropriate one. You can manually change the language at any time in the settings. All translations are complete – there are no English fallback texts in the German version.

Kithora works completely without an internet connection. All data is stored locally on your device and is accessible at any time – even in airplane mode or with poor connection abroad. As soon as you are back online, the app automatically synchronizes all changes with the other members of your Kora – without conflicts, without manual merging, without data loss. The sync system recognizes parallel changes from multiple members and intelligently merges them.

In the settings area of your Kora, you'll find the "Leave Kora" option. After confirmation, your name, profile picture, and all personal details will be immediately and irrevocably anonymized – you will then appear as "Former Member" to other members. Your content contributions – expenses, completed tasks, timeline posts – will remain as anonymized entries to ensure group histories remain consistent. This procedure complies with GDPR requirements. Rejoining is only possible with a new invitation.

Yes. When you first open a Kora, an interactive tour guides you through all the available modules. Contextual hints explain each feature right at the right place – you see an explanation exactly when you use the feature for the first time. You can restart the tour at any time from the main menu if you want to have a feature explained again or show a new member how everything works.

Kithora uses end-to-end encryption for all content. This means: your messages, photos, expenses, and all other data are encrypted on your device before they leave it. Our servers only see encrypted data packets – we can never read your content. Only you and the members of your Kora have the cryptographic keys to decrypt it. Even in the event of a complete server failure or a data leak, all data would be worthless to outsiders.

Your data primarily resides on your device and is synchronized with your Kora members' devices through our encrypted sync infrastructure. No server stores your content in plain text. The synchronization occurs over end-to-end encrypted channels – even the sync infrastructure itself cannot decrypt the data packets. This means: Your photos, expenses, tasks, and messages are only stored in plain text on your Kora members' devices.

No. Kithora servers only see encrypted data packets. We don't have a master key that could decrypt all content – that's technically impossible. Your Kora key is stored exclusively on your device and is never transmitted unencrypted or stored on our servers. This zero-knowledge architecture isn't an add-on feature; it's built into the app's fundamental structure from the very beginning.

During initial setup, Kithora generates a personal recovery phrase – a sequence of words that acts as the master key to your account and all your Koras. Keep it safe, for example in a password manager or on paper in a secure location. If you lose your device, you can fully restore all your Koras and content on a new device using this phrase. Without this phrase, recovery is impossible – Kithora itself cannot provide you with replacement access, as we do not know the keys.

When you leave a Kora, your name, profile picture, and all personal details are immediately anonymized. You will then appear as "Former Member". Your contributions – expenses, completed tasks, timeline posts – remain anonymized to keep group histories consistent. This approach complies with GDPR requirements. Additionally, you will immediately lose access to all encrypted content within the Kora, as your device key for that Kora will become invalid.

No. Kithora does not contain any advertising, behavioral tracking, or sharing of user data with third parties for advertising purposes. This is not an afterthought – the entire architecture is designed to structurally exclude tracking. Kithora is funded solely through subscriptions, not through advertising or data trading. You pay with money, not with your data.

Install Kithora on your new device and enter your recovery phrase. The app will then automatically restore access to all your Koras and sync all content. An encrypted local copy remains on your old device – without your recovery phrase, it's inaccessible to anyone. As an additional security measure, you can revoke access for a compromised device as an admin.

Media is end-to-end encrypted like all other content before it leaves your device. Photos and videos are only visible to members of the respective Kora. Our sync infrastructure also cannot decrypt or view the media files. Uploads are encrypted, storage is encrypted, and downloads are only decrypted on your device. Premium and Hero members can download photos and videos from the timeline locally to their device.

In the Chronicle, the principle of mutual trust applies: every member can delete any post – not just their own. This might sound risky at first, but it makes sense for close, trusting groups. Kithora is intended for people who know and trust each other personally. The principle promotes shared responsibility over rigid hierarchies. Admins have full access to all content anyway. For groups with less trust, we recommend assigning guest roles to new members.

Invitation links contain a unique encrypted access key. Only those who have the link can join the Kora. As an admin, you can set the role someone has when joining via a specific link at any time. Additionally, you can deactivate existing links if you've accidentally shared them or want to limit the circle of invitees. Share links only through secure channels and only with people you trust.

Tap the plus symbol in the Finance module and enter the amount, title, and category. Then select who paid and how the amount should be split. You can set the payer, all participants, and the split mode. After saving, the expense will immediately appear for all members of the Kora and will be included in the automatic debt calculation. Optionally, you can add a date, a note, and a receipt scan.

Kithora offers four split modes: Evenly divides the amount among all participants. Percentage allows you to set a percentage for each person. Selective enables you to involve only specific people – the rest contribute nothing. Custom allows for freely configurable amounts per person. You choose the mode for each expense individually. The system prevents inconsistent splits – the sum of all shares must always equal the total amount.

After each new expense, Kithora automatically calculates who owes whom how much – and optimizes the necessary transfers to a minimum. Instead of five individual payments between members, the app might suggest only two optimized settlement payments. The overview shows each person's current balance: how much they are owed or owe. Once a settlement has taken place, you enter it as a transfer, and the debts are updated.

The Live Split is an interactive real-time split for restaurant bills or shared purchases. You create a session, add all items with prices and quantities, and assign them to people. Extras like tips, service charges, or taxes can be distributed evenly or proportionally. All participants can join in real-time and select their items themselves. You can access the Live Split directly from the Finance module or from an AI receipt scan. The Live Split is a premium feature.

Tap the scan button in the Finances module and take a photo of a receipt. The AI automatically recognizes all items with their description, price, and quantity, and transfers them into a structured list. You can correct the recognition, merge, or delete items. Afterward, you can create a group expense directly or start a live split. The scan also works with screenshots or PDF receipts. Illegible or damaged receipts are often still recognized. Premium and Hero offer access to more powerful AI models.

Kithora includes 20 predefined categories: Groceries, Restaurants, Transport, Accommodation, Entertainment, Health, Clothing, Education, Gifts, Household, Travel, Subscriptions, Insurance, Communication, Leisure, Children, Pets, Alcohol, Adults, and Miscellaneous. For junior members, the Alcohol and Adults categories can be completely hidden. Each category has its own icon for quick visual identification.

In the financial settings of your Kora, you can set a monthly budget for each category. The app will then show you the current spending in relation to the budget – with a progress bar and a warning if you exceed the budget. The budget overview helps you and your group recognize spending patterns and manage them effectively. Budgets are a premium feature and are not available in the free plan.

When creating an expense, activate the "Recurring" option and select the interval: weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. Kithora will automatically create all due repetitions the next time you open the app – even if you haven't opened the app for a while. Recurring expenses are marked with a special icon in the expense list and can be edited or stopped at any time.

You can record expenses with a future date – for example, a rent payment on the 1st of next month or a planned joint purchase. The expense will only appear in the overview from its scheduled date. This way, you can plan expenses without them immediately showing up in the debt calculation. Future expenses are marked with a clock icon in the list, so you can recognize them at a glance.

In the Kora settings, you set a base currency, for example, Euros. Expenses in other currencies are automatically converted using a configurable exchange rate and displayed uniformly in the base currency in the overview. You can manually enter the exchange rate or use the current rate. This way, you always keep an overview of group finances, even on international trips with mixed currencies.

In addition to classic expenses, Kithora also supports income – for example, refunds from third parties or reimbursements from insurance – and transfers for direct debt settlements between members. Both transaction types are included in the overall balance and are displayed in the expense overview with their own icon. Transfers automatically reduce the outstanding debt of the involved individuals.

You can filter expenses by time period using the filter function in the Finance module: today, this week, this month, this year, or the entire period. Additionally, you can filter by category, person, and transaction type. The full-text search quickly finds individual expenses even in long lists. Filtered views automatically show the updated debt calculation only for the visible entries.

The leaderboard shows a fun ranking of spending within a Kora – who spent the most during the selected period? The view is transparent and encourages mindful spending. The leaderboard is an optional gamification feature and can be activated or deactivated by the admin per Kora. It can be filtered by period and category.

Tap the plus icon in the shopping list module, enter the item name, and optionally add the quantity, unit (pieces, kg, g, l, ml, pack), category, tags, and a note. The item will appear immediately for all members of the Kora. You can also add multiple items quickly one after another by entering the next item directly after saving.

The library stores frequently purchased items for quick access. If you need milk every week, you can add it to the library – including all details like quantity and category. The next time you shop, just tap on the library entry and the item is instantly on your list. The library is managed per Kora and grows with your shopping habits.

In the settings area of the shopping list, you can create, edit, and delete your own categories. This allows you to sort the list according to your shopping routes in the supermarket: for example, fruits & vegetables, refrigerated section, frozen food, drugstore, baked goods. Categories help you find items quickly and work through the list in a structured way in the store.

Tap the scan button and take a photo of a handwritten or printed shopping list. The AI automatically recognizes all items and transfers them as structured entries to your digital shopping list. You can review and adjust the recognized items before adding them. Even poorly legible handwriting or crumpled notes are often recognized correctly. Premium and Hero offer access to more accurate AI models.

Yes. In the recipe module, you can add individual or all ingredients from a recipe to your shopping list with a single tap. Quantities and units are automatically carried over. This saves you from manually writing them down and reduces errors. If you're shopping for a recipe you've cooked before, all the ingredients will be on the list in seconds.

Tap an item to mark it as done. Kithora shows you who checked off the item and when. Checked-off items are visually separated but remain visible. You can remove all completed items at once or reset the entire list for a new shopping trip. Checking off items is instantly visible to all Kora members – perfect for shared shopping with divided tasks.

You can sort the list by category, creation date, or alphabetically. Sorting by category is especially handy – it arranges items according to your configured categories, which you can set up based on your usual grocery store layout: first produce, then refrigerated items, then frozen goods. This saves you time while shopping and prevents you from backtracking.

Tags are freely configurable labels – for example, "Organic," "Offer," "Urgent," or "For Birthday." You can create them per Kora and assign any number of tags to each item. Using the filter function, you can find all items with a specific tag at a glance. Tags complement categories with a flexible second sorting level.

Tap the plus icon in the tasks module. Enter a title and optionally a description. You can set a priority (Low, Medium, High), choose a due date, and assign the task to a member. Optional subtasks can be added directly. The task will immediately appear in the feed of all Kora members and is available offline.

"My Day" shows all tasks you've explicitly marked for today – similar to a daily focus list. You decide which tasks should be completed today, regardless of due dates. The selection resets daily, so you reprioritize each morning. "My Day" is your personal view – other members see their own list.

When creating or editing a task, tap "Add reminder" and select the date and time. Kithora will send you a push notification at the set time – even if the app is running in the background. For recurring tasks, the reminder will automatically reset for the next due date. Reminders work offline and will be delivered once you're back online.

You can mark tasks as recurring: daily, weekly, monthly, or at custom intervals. After completion, the task will automatically reactivate for the next due date, including subtasks which will be reset. Recurring tasks are marked with a repeat icon in the list. Recurring tasks are a premium feature.

On-Demand Tasks are quickly repeatable actions with a cooldown period. For example: "Feed the dog" – you complete it, and after 8 hours, the task becomes available again. Kithora shows a live countdown until the next availability. Each completion earns points in the optional gamification system. On-Demand Tasks are ideal for routine tasks with fixed intervals.

You can add as many subtasks as you want within any task. Subtasks have their own completion statuses and can be checked off individually. The parent task is only considered complete when you explicitly mark it as such – regardless of whether all subtasks are done. For recurring tasks, all subtasks will be automatically reset when the task is reactivated.

Every completed task earns points. The number of points varies depending on the task type and priority – high-priority tasks give more points. All members of a Kora can see the points overview, which encourages playful motivation, especially in families. The total score of all members and individual progress are visible. Gamification can be turned on or off by the admin for each Kora.

When creating or editing a task, tap "Assign" and select from the members of your Kora. The assigned person will receive a push notification. In the task filter, you can filter all tasks by assigned member – this way, you can see at a glance who has what to do. A task can only be assigned to one person at a time.

Yes. Take a photo of a handwritten to-do list, a blackboard, a whiteboard, or text, and the AI will automatically extract the individual tasks. The recognized tasks are displayed as a preview – you can check, edit, or remove individual ones before saving. This allows you to quickly transfer analog to-do lists to Kithora.

The Chronicle is your Kora's shared feed – a private look back at everything the group has experienced. You'll see posts and photos from members, as well as automatic entries, for example, when someone completes a task, creates an expense, or joins the Kora. Everything is end-to-end encrypted and only visible to Kora members. The Chronicle isn't a social feed for the public – it's your private group memory.

Tap the plus symbol in the timeline module. You can write text and attach multiple photos or videos at the same time. The upload progress will be displayed. The post will appear immediately in the feed of all members – and it will be synchronized in real-time, even if other members are abroad with a poor connection.

Kithora automatically creates entries in the timeline when important events happen: a member joins or leaves the Kora, an expense is created, a task is completed. This automatically creates a complete group history without manual effort. Automatic entries are visually distinguishable from manual posts. In the admin settings, you can configure which events automatically appear in the timeline.

Posts are automatically removed from the timeline after 90 days. This keeps the feed tidy and reduces storage needs on your device. Photos and videos in these posts will also be deleted. If you want to keep important content long-term, save photos locally on your device. Premium and Hero members can download media directly from the timeline.

All photos and videos from the timeline are gathered in a separate gallery view. You can see all group media at a glance in a grid layout and open individual photos or videos in full screen. The gallery automatically displays all media from timeline posts – you don't need to add anything manually.

Yes. You can write a comment under each timeline post. All members will see comments in real-time. Comments, like posts, can be deleted by any member (Radical Trust principle). Push notifications will inform the post's author about new comments.

Yes – in the timeline, any member can delete any post, not just their own. This is intentionally designed that way: Kithora is made for close, trusting groups. The principle promotes shared responsibility and prevents complicated rights structures. In practice, members rarely delete others' content – mutual trust works. Admins always retain full access. If you manage a group with less trust, assign the guest role to new members.

You can filter the feed by post type (manual posts, automatic events), by member, and by sub-group. You can also configure how posts are grouped: no grouping, by 5, 10, 15, or 30 minutes, by hours, days, or weeks. This helps you quickly find content from a specific trip or from a specific person.

Travel Steps are the collaborative planning tool for group trips. You create stages – one Step for the flight, one for the hotel, one for the activity – each with a date, time, location, and optional media. All Steps together form your group's complete travel itinerary. All members can see the plan in real-time, add to Steps, and start polls. The Steps are end-to-end encrypted and available offline.

The step categories are freely configurable. Typical categories include: Transport, Accommodation, Activity, Restaurant, Meeting Point, Sightseeing, Leisure, Shopping. You can create your own categories for your group and customize existing ones. Categories help to quickly identify the step type in the overview and to filter the itinerary.

Enter a location name and optionally a full address. The location will appear in the step as a clickable link – tapping it will open Apple Maps or Google Maps directly with the entered address. This way, all group members can find their way without leaving the app. Coordinates can also be entered manually.

You can create a poll within a Step – for example, "Where to tomorrow evening: Restaurant A or B?" or "Departure at 8 or 10 AM?". All members can vote in real-time. The result is immediately displayed as a bar chart and updates live. Polls help make group decisions democratically and without lengthy chat discussions.

Yes. Tap the scan button and take a photo of an itinerary, a booking PDF, a printed schedule, or a handwritten agenda. The AI will automatically extract all steps with locations, times, and descriptions, creating travel steps from them. You can adjust the recognized steps before saving. This feature saves a lot of time, especially for complexly booked trips.

Yes. Photos and videos can be attached directly to a step – for example, a photo of the hotel, a map of the area, or a screenshot of the booking confirmation. The media is end-to-end encrypted and only visible to Kora members. When you open the step, you'll see all media in a gallery view.

In the step editing dialog, you can link recipes and shopping list items. This way, when you're planning the step 'Campfire by the Lake', you'll know exactly which ingredients you need – and you can add them to your shopping list with a single tap. The link will appear in the step as a clickable card.

Steps can be arranged in the desired order by dragging and dropping. Press and hold a Step, then drag it to the desired position. The new order will be immediately synchronized for all members. You can also have Steps automatically sorted by date and time.

In the recipe section, tap the plus icon and enter the title, optional description, servings, preparation time, ingredients with quantities and units, and preparation steps. The recipe will be immediately visible to all Kora members and synchronized. You can add a title photo and edit the recipe at any time.

In every recipe, you'll find an "Add to Shopping List" button. You can add individual ingredients or all of them at once. Quantities and units are automatically transferred. This saves you manual typing and lets you start shopping right away. If you're cooking for multiple people, you can adjust the number of portions, and the quantities will be automatically scaled up.

Yes. Take a photo of a recipe from a cookbook, magazine, or screen – or paste in copied text. The AI will automatically recognize ingredients with quantities and units, as well as all preparation steps, and create a structured recipe in Kithora. You can review and edit the recognized recipe before saving. Premium and Hero offer access to more accurate AI models.

You can access recipes through the main menu of your Kora. They are part of the Kora Stack and available to all members. You can also go directly to a recipe by tapping on a linked recipe from your shopping list or by accessing an attached recipe via a trip step.

Yes. When planning a trip step – for example, "BBQ night at Lake Garda" – you can link a recipe from your Kora. All members will see the recipe directly in the step as a clickable card and can add ingredients to the shopping list with a tap. This way, trip planning and shopping flow seamlessly into each other.

Free allows your own Kora with core features – perfect for getting to know the app. Premium removes all limits: unlimited own Koras, sub-groups, HD media uploads, advanced AI models, category budgets, live split, media downloads, recurring tasks, and more. Hero offers everything from Premium plus the ability to sponsor a Kora for all members – they can then benefit from Premium features without needing a subscription themselves.

With Free, you can run your own Kora. If you leave your own Kora and want to create a new one, there's a 30-day cooldown. This rule prevents Free users from creating and leaving Koras indefinitely. With Premium or Hero, the cooldown is removed – you can create new Koras anytime. The Smart Swap shows you the remaining cooldown in the app.

Exclusively for Premium and Hero: unlimited custom Koras, sub-groups within a Kora, HD media uploads in the timeline, advanced AI scans with more powerful models for better recognition accuracy, category budgets in the finance module, live split for restaurant bills, media downloads from the timeline to your device, and recurring tasks. Free users have access to all core modules with basic functionality.

With Hero you can sponsor a Kora – as a one-time purchase for 30 or 365 days. For the entire duration of your sponsorship, all members of that Kora benefit from premium features, even if they do not have a paid account themselves. This is ideal for family groups where one person takes over the sponsoring so that all family members can use premium. The sponsorship ends automatically after the chosen period – there is no subscription, no automatic renewal.

Premium and Hero are in-app purchases that you can complete directly in the Kithora app through the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android). You pay through your existing store account. Kithora itself does not store any payment data – the processing is fully handled by Apple or Google. Premium starts immediately as a subscription. The Hero sponsorship is active right away and runs for 30 or 365 days.

Subscriptions are managed through the App Store or Google Play. You can access subscription management directly from Kithora settings under "My Subscription" or through your smartphone's settings. After cancellation, the subscription will continue until the end of the already paid period – you will not lose any paid time.

After expiration, you'll automatically switch to Free. Existing content in your Koras will remain fully intact. You won't be able to use new premium-exclusive features – for example, new sub-groups won't be created. However, existing sub-groups and their content will remain visible and accessible. Your data will not be lost.

Kithora offers five integrated AI scanners: the Receipt Scan (photo of a receipt becomes expense items), the Itinerary Scan (photo or text becomes travel steps), the Recipe Scan (photo of a recipe becomes a structured entry), the Task Scan (text or photo of a to-do list becomes tasks), and the Shopping List Scan (photo becomes a shopping list). All scanners are directly integrated into their respective modules and can be used without separate setup.

Enter a text – for example, a copied email booking confirmation – or take a photo of a printed itinerary, a booking document, or a handwritten agenda. The AI recognizes stages, locations, times, and descriptions, and automatically creates travel steps in Kithora. You can edit the recognized steps before saving. This saves a lot of manual effort, especially for complex group trips.

Take a photo of a recipe from a cookbook, magazine, or screen, or paste the text. The AI recognizes ingredients with quantities and units, as well as all preparation steps, and creates a structured recipe in your Kora. You can review and adjust the recognized recipe before saving it. This feature also works with recipes in foreign languages.

During the AI scan, the photo or entered text is transmitted via an encrypted channel to our AI infrastructure for analysis. The image is used solely for analysis and is not stored afterward. Personal group content, member data, contacts, and Kora content are never forwarded to the AI infrastructure. Only the respective scan object (photo or text) is transmitted.

The basic functions of all five AI scanners are available to all users, including in the Free plan. Premium and Hero subscribers have access to more powerful AI models with better recognition accuracy. This makes a noticeable difference with illegible handwriting, poor lighting conditions, complex multilingual documents, or detailed receipts with many items.