Frequently askedquestions

Beam sets the new standard for secure communication within the government. Don't have access to the platform through your department yet? No worries, we're expanding step by step. Later this year, Beam will also become available for local and regional government services. This way, we ensure that every department can make the transition smoothly and securely.

Beam is Belgium's sovereign, end-to-end encrypted messaging platform for government services. It enables secure, sovereign communication between government employees.

Commercial messaging apps are not designed for sensitive government information. Beam offers a sovereign, privacy-first alternative that is hosted on a Belgian government infrastructure.

Beam is meant to be used by employees of the Belgian public sector.

Please contact your IT administrator or HR department for access to Beam within your organization. Your organization on Beam

Yes, all 1-to-1 chats, group chats, calls and shared files are protected with end-to-end encryption. Only you and the intended recipients can read your messages.

End-to-end encryption means your messages and files are encrypted before they leave your device and stay encrypted until they reach the other participants' devices. End-to-end encrypted messages can only be read by the participants in the conversation.

Your (personal) mobile number is only used as a second verification method. This number is not visible in the application, nor will you be found in the app via this number.

Only you and the people with whom you communicate. Beam itself doesn't have access to the content of the messages because of the end-to-end encryption.

If you select that you are searchable during activation, people can find your contact details in the general contact list. If you have not checked this box, you can only be found based on your email address.

All Beam data is stored on Belgian, government-controlled infrastructure. No information is stored on foreign or commercial cloud platforms.

Because Beam is encrypted end-to-end, it cannot scan sent files for viruses. Because of this, it is advised you to always take the necessary precautions when receiving files.

Beam will only communicate through channels with the domain name "beam.belgium.be". So, always check that the domain name of the website and emails ends with "beam.belgium.be". Beam or an employee of Beam will never ask you to provide your recovery key. You can send suspicious e-mails and messages to suspect@safeonweb.be in the form of a screenshot.

Yes, Beam is available for free for authorized users within the Belgium government sector.

You can create a "recovery key" during the creation of your account. Keep it in a safe place, and preferably not just on your phone. In case you need to reactivate your account, you can only recover your messages with this "recovery key". You can create your "recovery key" in the "encryption" section of the app.

The mobile version of Beam is available on both Android and iOS. You can use your account on multiple devices.

Beam OS version support is closely aligned with the security support of the OS vendors. We primarily support mobile OS versions that continue to receive official security updates from the OS vendor. This ensures users' devices receive timely OS security fixes and reduces exposure to known vulnerabilities.

As of 25/02/2026 (version 1.00), we support:

• Android devices: running Android 13 through Android 16.
• iOS devices: running iOS 18.5 through iOS 26.

Supported browsers: The Beam web application supports the last 2 major versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. Other browsers may also work but are not officially supported.

It is not possible to install the app on a tablet, as the app was developed for smartphone screen ratios. There is no customized tablet version.

Although the app is visible in the "Store for iPhone," you cannot install it on the iPad.

Yes, Beam has a web version available for use on browsers for computers and tablets. You can access them at the following address: https://web.beam.belgium.be

From your browser go to the address: https://web.beam.belgium.be and scan the QR code provisioned. Using the application on your phone, you can click on your profile picture and select the option: 'Link a device'. Click on 'Ready to scan' to scan the QR-code visible on the web version of Beam. Verify the new device by following the different steps, indicated on both devices.

Your conversations are safely synchronized between your devices with end-to-end encryption.

Yes, you can safely share documents, pictures and other files. All files are end-to-end encrypted.

Yes, you can safely make group conversations with multiple participants.

Yes, Beam supports end-to-end encrypted video calls for both individual conversations or in groups.

Device verification ensures that a new device is genuinely yours. Verified devices can securely send and receive encrypted messages on your behalf.

Key storage is necessary to:

• Decrypt your message history on new devices when you add them to your account.
• Set up recovery so you can retain your cryptographic identity and message history even when you sign out of Beam everywhere or lose all your devices. Key storage is enabled by default. To function, your device(s) store a copy of your cryptographic identity and message keys on your account provider's server.

Beam uses a verification process that you can perform when you are in direct contact with your contact person, either physically or through another channel. With simple validation by checking several icons, you can further validate your contact person.

When you or your contact person completely reinstalls their account, you will receive a notification that this person has undergone an "identity reset." It is recommended that you do not share any additional sensitive information from that moment on, until you have been able to contact the person to confirm that their device has indeed been reinstalled.

An identity reset occurs often due to loss of devices. When this happens with one of your contacts, Beam will notify you as a safety measure.

When receiving such a notification, it is advisable to get in touch with your contact using another channel (this might be email/phone or in person contact) to verify if the identity of your contact is still intact.

When an identity reset has occurred for one of your verified contacts, it will not be possible to send messages until the identity of the contact has been reconfirmed. You can verify the identity of a contact by going in direct contact via another channel (this might be email/phone or in person contact). If you are not in the means to re-verify immediately, you can always withdraw the verification of your contact to be able to keep communicating via Beam. It is advisable to re-verify the contact as soon as possible.

Download the app from the Store on your new device and sign in again using your professional email and existing mobile number. By using your saved passphrase, you can fully restore your account on your new device. You can terminate your account sessions on the lost device via the application on your new device. ('Manage devices' > 'Where you're signed in' > Remove the active session(s) on your previous device)

No, you are in full control of your data and in archiving it.

Your messages are only stored in encrypted form on the Beam servers. Until further notice, these will not be automatically deleted.

Please contact your internal IT support or consult the help documents within the app.

Yes, Beam is completely GDPR-compliant and respects all European privacy legislation.

Yes. If the conversation history visibility setting in Privacy & Security is set to "Members (full history)", new members can read messages that were sent before they were invited.

Note on end-to-end encryption: In end-to-end encrypted groups, this feature is currently in development and will be available soon. For example, when Greg invites Kate to such an encrypted conversation, Kate will see an indicator on old messages that they were shared by Greg.

Since Kate was not in the room when the old messages were sent, it is Greg who provides her with the keys to decrypt the messages. While most users will notice little difference in practice and the messages are trustworthy, from a security perspective it is important to have full transparency about the origin of the keys and the so-called trust anchors. If Greg had malicious intentions and were to collaborate with a rogue server administrator, they could together manipulate those old messages.

When is history not visible? If the history is set to "Members since invitation", new members will not see messages sent before they were invited.

Important notes: No retroactive effect: Changing the setting does not affect messages that have already been sent. The setting that was active at the time of sending remains in effect. Example: If the setting was on "Members since invitation" at the time of sending, that message will remain invisible to later members forever. So if you change the setting to "Full history" on Tuesday at 10:00 AM, new members will not be able to read messages sent before Tuesday 10:00 AM. Explicit invitation required: In end-to-end encrypted rooms, the history is only available if the new member was explicitly invited. If a group is configured so that members of a space can join without an invitation, and a new member uses that option, they will not be able to see the history.