Gruveo Security Explained

We at Gruveo take our users’ privacy and security very seriously. In this blog post, we’d like to share some details on the technology behind Gruveo and the security and privacy measures we have in place.

The Gruveo Technology

Gruveo uses WebRTC for all video and voice calls made using its platform. WebRTC is a free, open technology that enables web browsers with Real-Time Communications (RTC) capabilities.

Gruveo uses the browser’s implementation of the WebRTC engine and operates it via the high-level JavaScript APIs exposed by the browser. As such, Gruveo has no way of compromising the internal workings of WebRTC, including its security stack.

Is WebRTC Secure?

WebRTC is often described by the industry professionals as the most secure VoIP solution out there.

WebRTC specification requires that all transferred data – audio, video and custom application payloads – must be encrypted end to end while in transit. This is achieved by employing the following protocols:

• Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) is used to negotiate the secret keys for encrypting media data and for secure transport of application data via SCTP.
• Secure Real-Time Transport (SRTP) is used to transport audio and video streams.
• Secure Real-time Control Transport Protocol (SRTCP) is used for delivery of sender and receiver statistics and control information for an SRTP flow.
• Stream Control Transport Protocol (SCTP) is used to transport application data on top of the established DTLS tunnel.

DTLS is a privacy protocol that is very similar to TLS (SSL), but with a minimal number of modifications to make it compatible with the UDP transport used by WebRTC. DTLS enables a secure data channel between peers that cannot be tampered with. No eavesdropping or message forgery can occur on a DTLS encrypted connection.

SRTP is a secure variant of the standardized format for delivery of real-time data, such as audio and video over IP networks. SRTP media cannot be decrypted by a third party thus ensuring that IP communications across the Internet remain private. In other words, SRTP ensures that WebRTC voice and video traffic will not be heard or seen by unauthorized parties.

Finally, WebRTC is a peer-to-peer technology where calls are established directly between the peers’ devices for lower latency and added security. In some situations, a peer-to-peer call cannot be established and the call data has to travel through the Gruveo’s servers. However, DTLS and SRTP ensure that the call contents cannot be decrypted on the server even in such a scenario.

Text Messaging Security

All text messages on Gruveo are relayed via Gruveo’s secure servers. The messages are relayed to and from client endpoints in encrypted form using TLS (SSL) as part of the WebSocket Secure (WSS) protocol.

Other Important Considerations

The Gruveo website is only accessible via the secure HTTPS protocol.

Endpoint security is out of Gruveo’s control. For example, we cannot detect or prevent a virus running on a client machine from recording the user’s communications, on Gruveo or otherwise.

All Gruveo users are encouraged to choose longer, non-trivial codes for connecting to ensure against a random third party joining under the same code before the intended counterpart does.

Once a call between two parties has been established on Gruveo, no one else can connect to it, even if they enter the same code. Anyone connecting under the same code while you are talking will get a "busy code" message.

We hope that this has been helpful in understanding how Gruveo protects your privacy and security. If you have more questions, please don't hesitate to contact us right away.

Gruveo Codes Get Human Touch with Letters Now Allowed

Gruveo codes have been numeric ever since we launched the service last year. The main reason was that we felt there was a smaller chance for error when you had to tell someone a Gruveo code verbally.

However, we quickly discovered that there were issues with numeric codes. First, they are hard to remember. Second, they carry no emotional charge, which further contributes to problem #1. And third, lots of new Gruveo users confuse them with telephone numbers that they can somehow “dial”.

Today, we are addressing these issues by allowing Gruveo codes to contain letters as well as numbers. This means that instead of using a faceless “10910” for a call with your friend Joe, you can go for “joe79”, “joesmith” or even “justchillin” as your code.

The new Gruveo codes may contain letters but they don’t have to. So if all-numeric codes is what you are used to, there is no need to change anything.

Gruveo us on #funkybanana, anyone? 🙂

Thank You!

Wow! The past couple of days have been really crazy over here at Gruveo. Shortly after the Gruveo 2.0 launch, the story was picked by a number of major media outlets across the world and we’re currently going through a massive traffic spike. This is what we call a "Lifehacker test" for our servers – thankfully, they are coping just fine.

Over just the past three days, people from 72 countries used Gruveo to make their "world's easiest" video call. The story about Gruveo landing on Android has been retweeted over 800 times.

But what's really important to us is this...

Feedback like this is the best possible payoff for the months of hard work we spent developing Gruveo 2.0. This is what keeps us pushing forward to bring the world’s easiest video calls to everyone. And make no mistake, there is even more exciting stuff coming this summer 🙂

Thank you very much for making it all happen!

Hello Android: The New Gruveo Is Live

The big day has finally come and Gruveo 2.0 is live! Starting today, you can make the world’s easiest video calls on desktop and Android. Try it right now:

Click here for the new Gruveo

Just agree with the other person on a code, enter it on Gruveo and you’re talking. As before, all Gruveo calls are secure, anonymous and require no installs or registration. And check out that call quality – we think you will be pleasantly surprised 🙂

But Wait… There’s One More Thing!

Before you dive in and take Gruveo 2.0 for a ride, there is just one thing we’d like to ask you.

We worked hard to make Gruveo 2.0 happen, and now we need your help. Please spread the word about the new Gruveo! Tweet about it, post about it on Facebook or simply make Gruveo an excuse to call an old friend.

Enjoy – and thank you for being a part of this!

Gruveo 2.0 Launch Date Announced

With beta testing in its final stages, we are thrilled to announce that Gruveo 2.0 will go live on Tuesday, July 15. Just to recap, Gruveo 2.0 is a top-to-bottom rewrite that will allow you to make ultra-easy, secure and anonymous video calls on desktop and mobile. You can read more about Gruveo 2.0 here.

We've had tons of fun developing Gruveo 2.0 and we are super-excited to finally get it into your hands. Thankfully, the big date is just round the corner!

Feel free to leave a comment below or contact us directly via our contact form if you have any questions about the upcoming update.