Why Yahzok exists

Most messaging apps treat a stranger, a bot, and someone you know the same. Yahzok is being built as a quieter alternative: a directory of real accounts, and conversations that stay in one place.

The name is a phonetic play on the Ukrainian word zvyazok (connection).

At signup, Yahzok asks for an ID photo and a selfie so it can read the name on the ID. That is not a completed identity check, and it does not by itself lock anyone out.