How to decrypt a PGP message on your phone.

About a minute from incoming ciphertext to readable plaintext. PGPony reads your secret key from your device\'s secure storage, decrypts in memory, and shows you the result.

~1 minute iOS / Android Your secret key required
// at a glance
  1. Copy the PGP MESSAGE block
  2. Open PGPony, paste into decrypt
  3. Authenticate
  4. Read the plaintext
Prerequisites
  • PGPony installed with your secret key
  • An incoming PGP-encrypted message (email body, file, or text) encrypted to your key
// step 01

Copy the encrypted block.

Locate the PGP block wherever it arrived — email body, chat message, paste site, file content. Copy the entire block including the -----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE----- and -----END PGP MESSAGE----- delimiters. The delimiters are part of the standard format and the parser needs them.

// step 02

Open PGPony and run decrypt.

Open PGPony and switch to the Decrypt tab. Tap Paste to drop the ciphertext into the input field, then tap Decrypt.

Shortcut If the ciphertext arrived as a .pgp / .gpg / .asc file, open it from Files (iOS) or your file manager (Android) and share into PGPony — it lands directly in the Decrypt tab with Choose Encrypted File already populated.
// step 03

Authenticate.

PGPony identifies which secret key the message is encrypted to and prompts to unlock it — biometric, passphrase, or whichever protection you have configured. The secret key briefly comes out of secure storage to perform decryption, then returns to its protected state.

// step 04

Read the plaintext.

PGPony displays the decrypted message. If the message was also signed, signature verification status appears alongside — typically a clear indicator showing the signer's fingerprint and whether the signature validates.

For decrypted files (rather than text), the Result screen offers Share Decrypted File, Save to Files, and Copy to Clipboard — pick whichever fits where the file needs to go next.

Verify it worked.

  • You can read the original message as the sender intended.
  • If signed, the signature shows as verified against the sender\'s fingerprint.

Common questions.

What if I don\'t have the right key?

PGPony reports which key the message is encrypted to. If that secret key isn\'t in your keyring (it\'s on another device, or the message was encrypted to someone else), decryption can\'t proceed. Import the correct secret key first.

Decrypt a .pgp file from email?

Yes. Open the .pgp file from your mail app or file system and route it into PGPony. Same handling as pasted text.

What if the signature is invalid?

Possible causes: sender\'s public key not in your keyring yet (import it); the message was modified in transit (resend); the signature comes from a different key than the one you have for that sender (verify out-of-band).

Does PGPony save decrypted content?

Decryption operates in memory; PGPony shows the plaintext rather than writing it to disk by default. Normal OS clipboard semantics apply if you copy the plaintext.

Why authenticate to decrypt?

The secret key sits in encrypted storage. Decryption needs to bring it briefly into memory, gated by your biometric or passphrase. Same protection covers signing.

Next steps.

Get PGPony

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