How NOID works

Groups for people and shared plans

A NOID group gives families, friends, clubs, study circles, project teams and community activities a shared place to coordinate. The creator chooses a name and description, becomes the first administrator and invites members by their NOID identities.

Membership is deliberate: each recipient can accept or decline an invitation. Accepted members can see the group context and use its shared calendar and Notice Board. Calendar events keep dates and details with the right people, while the Notice Board gives important announcements a durable home.

A group can also use a consent-based geofence for an appropriate event area or meeting point. Joining a group does not silently grant location access. Members remain in control of permission and can decline a presence request. Read the complete NOID Groups Guide.

The NOID address

A NOID address is the stable identifier that another compatible NOID client uses to start a call or message. The visible address contains eight letters and numbers after the NOID- prefix. It is designed to identify the account inside the NOID communication network rather than reveal a conventional telephone number.

The address is not the same as an IP address, Wi-Fi name, router, browser profile, SIM card or mobile operator. Those items can change while the NOID address remains the same. This is useful for people who move between home broadband, mobile data, an office connection or hotel Wi-Fi.

A stable address still needs to be handled carefully. Users should verify every character before contacting someone, avoid publishing another person’s NOID without permission, and use the phonebook alias feature only as a local label. An alias does not change the underlying address.

The installation credential

A NOID account and a NOID installation are related but different. Each supported installation receives or creates a credential that identifies that copy of the client to the relay. The credential helps prevent a random browser or application from claiming an existing installation merely by typing an address.

NOID for Web keeps its credential in protected browser storage. Clearing site data, using a private-browsing window, moving to a different browser profile or opening another device can therefore look like a new installation. That behaviour is a security boundary, not a sign that the account has become tied to the old internet connection.

Native clients also report supported installation and compatibility information. Account holders should keep their device and browser software current, protect access to the operating-system profile, and review unexpected devices or activity through the account tools.

The internet connection

The internet connection supplies a route to the public relay. It does not define the identity. When a guest network uses a captive portal, the user must first complete the venue’s sign-in or acceptance page so normal HTTPS traffic can pass. NOID can then reconnect through that route.

Some networks restrict real-time media, long-lived connections or background activity. A call can fail even though ordinary webpages load, and an operating system can pause an application to save battery. These are connection or device conditions; they do not automatically change the NOID address.

NOID is not a tool for bypassing network rules. Users remain responsible for following the terms of the connection they use. Where a venue blocks a required feature, use an approved alternative connection or contact the network operator.

The relay and operational metadata

The relay helps authorised clients register presence, discover recipients and exchange communication traffic. It also records enough operational information to authenticate installations, control abuse, measure delivery and diagnose faults. That can include NOID addresses, timestamps, connection state, client version, direction, call duration, message type, delivery state and attachment size.

Operational metadata should not be confused with conversation content. The administrator registers are designed to expose service measurements without presenting encrypted message bodies or attachment files. Some metadata must exist for a communication service to know where traffic is going and whether it arrived.

Encryption protects content in transit between supported NOID clients, but it does not make a compromised device safe. Someone with access to an unlocked device, a malicious browser extension or a captured account PIN can create risks outside the relay protocol. The Security Guide explains the threat boundaries in more detail.

Web, PWA and Android clients

The browser version can be opened directly and may be installed as a Progressive Web App where the browser supports that feature. The Android package offers a native client for compatible physical Android phones. Each environment has different permission, storage, background-processing and update behaviour.

NOID Rewards is deliberately narrower than general service access. Calls and messages can work in supported web clients, while reward eligibility is limited to verified activity from the official Android app on a compatible physical device. Browser, desktop, emulator, script and automated activity is excluded.

Always obtain releases from the official aieng.co.za Downloads page. Package version information and checksums help users distinguish an official release from a modified copy distributed elsewhere.

Important limitations

NOID depends on working internet access, compatible clients, permissions and relay availability. It cannot guarantee uninterrupted service, delivery to an offline recipient or media quality on a congested connection. Features can change as the service and clients are updated.

NOID is not an emergency calling service and must not be used as the only way to reach police, fire, ambulance or another emergency authority. Users should maintain an appropriate conventional emergency method for their location.