Can they tell who sent it?
Last updated: 28 September 2026 · The Sea Messages safety team
On Sea Messages, an anonymous message stays anonymous to the person who receives it. This page explains, honestly, what the recipient sees, what we keep and why, when we might ever share a sender's identity, and why "sender detector" apps don't work.
Does the recipient know who sent the message?
No. When you send a message without your name, nothing on it points to you: no name, no account, no picture. The recipient sees the message and when it arrived, nothing more. Your name only appears if you choose "show my name" before sending.
What does the recipient see, and what do we keep?
We keep the real sender's account with every message on our servers, even when it was sent without a name. That is what makes blocking and reporting work: we can stop someone who misbehaves without revealing them. The sender's identity is never sent to the recipient and never appears on any screen or card the recipient sees.
| Information | Recipient sees it? | We keep it? |
|---|---|---|
| The message text | Yes | Yes |
| Sender's account, on an anonymous message | No | Yes, for safety only |
| Sender's name, if they chose to show it | Yes | Yes |
| When the message arrived | Yes | Yes |
| Where an attached photo was taken | No | No, we remove it from every photo |
Can anyone pay to find out who sent it?
No. We don't sell "hints" about senders or a subscription that reveals them, and we never will. In 2024 the US FTC alleged that another app sold an upgrade that claimed to reveal senders but didn't; the company agreed to pay $5 million to settle (what happened with NGL). On Sea Messages the feature simply doesn't exist, free or paid.
Do "sender detector" apps work?
Don't trust them. No app or site that promises to reveal who messaged you on Sea Messages has that information, because we never give it to users or sell it. Many of these "detectors" ask you to sign in with your account and may steal it. Never give them your login.
Sea Messages never asks for your Google or Facebook password. Signing in always happens on Google's or Facebook's own page.
How do I find out who messaged me on Sarahah or NGL?
On Sea Messages you can't, and no app can do it for you. We never give a sender's identity to users or sell it, so any app or site claiming to reveal who wrote to you here isn't telling the truth, and we have no paid reveal feature. A sender only appears if they choose to show their name.
What happened to Sarahah and NGL? See the Sarahah alternative and NGL alternative pages.
What about replies and story cards?
When the recipient replies, the reply lands on your shore and you stay anonymous to them. If they share your message as a story card, your identity is never on it, even if you sent it with your name. The card shows the message, their reply if they add one, and a Sea Messages link.
Tips to actually stay anonymous
We hide your account, but your words can give you away. If you mention something only the two of you know, or write in a style they recognise, they may work out it's you from the message itself. Write kindly, and leave out details that point to you if you want to stay anonymous.
- Don't sign with your name or a nickname people know you by.
- Avoid places or moments only the two of you share.
- A photo's background can show where you are, even after we remove its location data.
More questions
How can I find out who sent me a message?
There's no way, and that's on purpose. A sender only appears if they chose to show their name. If you receive a hurtful message, use block or report from inside the message: both act on the real sender without you needing to know who it is.
Does the sender know I read their message?
The sender sees on their Voyage page that the bottle arrived or was read, like a read receipt in any messaging app. They learn nothing else about you, and if they sent it to the open sea they don't know who received it.
Does the island owner know I visited their link?
No. Visiting a link isn't recorded under your name and isn't shown to the island owner. If you create your own island through their link, you each get one shell.