Overview

Inboxes are a special kind of communication tool used for one way communication with external users.

An authorized PrivMX user can create an Inbox, configure it's snippet and place it in a desired place (like webpage or an app). Anonymous, unregistered users can send data to the Inbox. This procedure uses Inbox Public Key, which allows to write data to an Inbox. One time access assures that the writer has no possibility of reading the data once it's sent.

Inboxes can be organized as source-specific containers, where anonymous users from each source can securely submit encrypted data (messages/forms/files). All the active users are notified right away when new data arrives. The data can be plain text or binary.

All the data is stored in the Bridge and can be freely accessed by authorized users.

Prerequisites

Before working with Inboxes, you need to have a PrivMX Bridge instance. Learn how to install it here.

Architecture

Inboxes are containers for anonymous submissions. Think of an Inbox as a container that allows anonymous sources to send submissions with attachments (such as a form from your company's webpage). Each Inbox has its own set of permissions, managed by assigning the users’ public keys. Only the users with assigned public keys can read data submitted to that Inbox. Decryption of the data is possible only with the corresponding private keys.

Inboxes use public keys access for submitting any data by anonymous users. Dual-layer encryption for accessing this data, ensures that the system remains both safe and efficient.

The following diagram is a visual reference for Inbox architecture: