Secure Messaging

FAQ

Installation Instructions

Requirements

This plugin requires PHP 7 or greater to operate. It does not check for PHP compatibility directly and will not work if installed on an older server.

The GPG functionality requires GPG to be installed and available to WordPress. The plugin will try to test for this functionality upon activation, but will not work if GPG is unavailable.

Manual Installation

1. Upload the entire /secure-messaging directory to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory.
2. Activate Secure Messaging through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.

Does the server sign messages as well?

Not by default. On many installations, the GPG keychain folder needs to live in the /wp-content directory and might be readable by third parties. To avoid leaking GPG secret keys, none are ever added by the system in the first place. This means the server can’t sign messages before they’re sent.

Is there a limit to the size of the GPG key I can use?

Not to my knowledge. We’re using Pear’s Crypt_GPG module, which defer’s to the server’s GPG module directly. So long as GPG itself supports a key, this plugin will as well.

What if my host doesn’t support GPG?

Not every host does. Most self-hosting platforms will have GPG support by default, but some (like WP Engine) do not support the GPG subsystem and will not allow you to proactively encrypt messages.

I highly suggest you look into a managed host like Liquid Web, who does support GPG, for your hosting needs.

Note: This plugin has been tested to work with both Liquid Web’s managed WordPress hosting platform and the Dockerized WordPress system published by 10up.